Lean Methodology And Six Sigma

Abstract—Lean is to eliminate or reduce waste or non – value adding activities and Six Sigma is to continuous quality improvement within the construction processes. This paper describes the combination of Lean methodology and Six Sigma approach as a quality initiative and waste elimination that may be applied to various construction industries. A quantitative study based approach will be adopted in order to identify and understand the attributes affecting the quality and causing waste within the construction processes. The data collected will be quantified using SPSS (Statistical Package for social science). Thereby providing necessary improvements and control measures. In this paper application of DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and

These methods provide a logical solution to the various problems and help in enhancing the quality and efficiency of products and processes [7]. The critical power of Lean Six Sigma is its focus on finding the variables impacting the majority of variations in process {3]. Thus Lean Six Sigma methodology together helps in achieving project goals and the targets

Improve

How can we improve?

Control

What controls can be put in place to sustain gain? Fig 1. Six Sigma’s structured DMAIC methodology (adopted from Rodney A 2006).

Lean Six Sigma methodology incorporates number of tools which can be employed in different phases of DMAIC approach such as; 5s, PDCA (Plan, Develop, Check, Act), Project charter, Pareto chart, DMPO, Standard deviation, Root cause analysis, Failure mode effect analysis, Comparative and full factorial experiments, Process thinking, Control charts, and Scorecards. [ book]. Depending upon the type and nature of project any tools can be used in order to achieve research goal.

Ⅳ. Conclusion

In order to eliminate or reduce the material waste or non-value adding activities and improve the quality of construction works, a quantitative study approach will be adopted. The application of DMAIC methodology will be adopted to justify the research work. DMAIC acts as a road map to the project managers to identify and understand the various root causes and their effects. Therefore, providing necessary improvements and control measures. Thus the combination of Lean Six Sigma leads to the projects of superior quality at the right