Focus of Lean Six Sigma Projects

At the Shingo Conference in Atlanta this week, Professor George Easton presented findings from a study of two company’s Six Sigma projects. He split them in many ways, but the simplest view uses operations management metrics: quality, cost, delivery, flexibility and innovation. Here are Pareto charts of the two companies. Both focus on quality, but one is more focused on delivery; the other is more focused on innovation and cost. Professor Easton suggests that this might indicate a difference in strategy.

What do your Lean Six Sigma projects say about your corporate strategy?