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Ger de Waard, Management Consultant, Netherlands
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Lean 6 Sigma and DMAIC Approach at a Laboratory
According to Andrew Harte, laboratories can be a taxing environment in which to implement Lean and Six Sigma. Labs are not the same as manufacturing – where Lean and Six Sigma got their start – because they typically have more variability in workload, less operational focus, less process reliability and longer task cycle times. However, through creative adaptation of the techniques it is possible for practitioners to deliver significant improvements in cost or speed. Harte did a case study that shows how a Lean Six Sigma project at a leading global pharmaceutical company was managed to reduce lead times while improving productivity in the company's quality control testing laboratory using the DMAIC approach.
See: https://www.isixsigma.com/implementation/case-studies/improving-lab-performance-six-sigma/.
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