The establishment of a six sigma methodology is the goal of most, if not all, businesses in the modern world. This is the creation of a project plan where the deliverables being produced only have 3.4 defects in every 1 million that are produced. This might sound like an unachievable goal, but it is now possible with the right methodology in place within your organization.

The basic concept behind the six sigma methodology is to reduce possible errors in all process and procedures involved in a project. This is a constant process where all areas of the procedure are constantly reviewed, along with modifications to processes, until no waste is possible from your production facility.

In many industries, achieving the goal of the six sigma methodology is not practical, but the effort to achieve it will have positive results on your organization. This is a path for constant improvement of your organization which will reduce the waste and costs of producing the goods you sell to the global marketplace.

For most medium and large size organizations, they will have a group whose sole responsibility is to reduce waste. They are constantly reviewing the SOP’s, procedures, and process to locate any place where waste is possible. Unfortunately, waste is just part of producing a product for the market place. Machinery breaks down or bad raw materials make their way to the production floor. This is why for most businesses, the possibility of actually achieving six sigma is only theoretical.

What is achievable is a reduction in the waste that is being produced without this process of constant improvement. This makes the implementation of the six sigma methodology advantageous for an organization to do.

Unlike the lean methodology that has a goal of reducing costs, the six sigma methodology is there to also improve the processes that are in use to increase efficiency. This will result in a reduction of waste while making all of the processes better, with the final result of being more profitable to operate.

The creation of the lean methodology was necessary after the end of World War Two when there was a shortage of manpower for the production of civilian goods. Just as all wars do, there was a great amount of life lost. To help compensate for this low allowable allowance of manpower, the project managers in the Far East had to devise a new approach to getting their factories working so they could once again turn a profit.

The basic concept of the lean methodology is simple. It is the reduction of all waste from a process so only the components that contribute in a positive manner towards the deliverable and its staying on its production schedule are allowed to remain in place. One of the hardest parts of developing this methodology is deciding just what makes a positive contribution to the deliverable and what really is waste.

What most realize is that when deploying the lean methodology, it is a continuous process towards the improvement of all processes involved in the planning and production of a deliverable for the global market place. This process should involve every level of management to help make the final decisions. It will also be necessary to involve the entire project team. It is their hands on experience with the project that can pinpoint areas where improvements can be made. These small contributions from the project team have an accumulative effect that will make the difference in just how successful your project is at cutting and eliminating waste from the project.

One of the newest additions to the lean methodology is the “just in time” supply network. By bringing in the required resources necessary for your project as they are needed, the elimination of storage for them has been eliminated. This saves both money and space in providing a warehouse for the resources just to sit in waiting to be used.

The lean methodology has expanded far beyond its intended purpose of dealing with a manpower shortage. Today most manufactures have implemented it to some extent to best fit their needs. This increases the profitability of every project it is used in when implemented correctly.