New Frontiers for Lean and Six Sigma

At their core, lean and Six Sigma methodologies eliminate waste, optimize processes, streamline business, and improve product and service quality. Thanks to digital disruption, healthcare transformation and a growing emphasis on soft skill development, there is an opportunity to apply lean and Six Sigma practices to a new and ever-changing landscape, and in the process discover significant gains in productivity and quality.

Those gains, however, can only be attained with a thorough understanding of these frameworks. At the 2022 Lean and Six Sigma Conference quality professionals were able to explore how to link lean and Six Sigma fundamentals to the latest tech innovations and ensure excellence through quality on an enterprise-wide basis in an array of industries. In addition, the 2022 LSSC technical program included a selection of sessions from an expert perspective for a sophisticated understanding of current trends, emerging best practices, and advanced applications.

A Quality Cure: Lean and Six Sigma in Healthcare

Taking a cue from the corporate world, the healthcare industry has increasingly turned to lean and Six Sigma and methodologies to reduce waste, decrease errors, improve quality, and optimize patient outcomes. Sessions in this track offered real-world examples of how implementing lean and Six Sigma in healthcare has contributed to cutting red tape, preventing error, improving care, and creating cost savings.

• Lean & Six Sigma’s role in improving healthcare processes
• Change management for medical professionals
• Lessons learned and solutions identified from the COVID pandemic

Digitalization, Lean and Six Sigma: Beyond Business as Usual

With digital transformation bringing innovation to organizations, lean and Six Sigma methodologies are emerging as a recognized platform upon which efficient operational processes can be built. This area of focus demonstrated how integrating digital capabilities into lean and Six Sigma frameworks can elevate organizational change, technology implementation and process standardization.

• Measuring the success of a digital transformation
• Applying lean and Six Sigma methods to technology adoption
• Virtual QM tools and strategies: What COVID taught us

The Human Side of Lean and Six Sigma

Organizational change succeeds when the workforce is engaged and committed to transformation. Lean and Six Sigma tools provide visibility to concrete facts and data, which in turn contributes to a problem-solving culture that empowers employees to make improvement through process changes. Sessions in this focus area emphasized power and impact of these tools and provide insights into how they can be applied to manage the human side of change.

• Change management strategies
• Gaining stakeholder buy in
• The voice of the customer

Lean and Six Sigma Essentials

There are basic and foundational tools and techniques that represent the core of lean and Six Sigma methodologies. This area of focus explored these foundational aspects through topics such as practical application, technical and statistical tools, and common terms and methodologies.

• Common lean & Six Sigma terms and trends
• Teaching tools with exercises
• Strategies for sustaining results