What is the difference between Six Sigma and Lean in the office?
Both Six Sigma and Lean were originally developed for the manufacturing shop floor and have found application in the office environment. Both take a continuous improvement approach to making operating performance better everyday. Both are customer focused and have their roots in quality improvement; though both have evolved to not only improve quality but also increase responsiveness, throughput, and employee and customer satisfaction. Although their roots are similar, Six Sigma and Lean are two different tools; just as a hammer and a saw are two different tools. Each has sweet spots where they works the best, areas where they are OK, and other areas where they are a waste of time. Over time the two approaches are adopting the techniques of the other, as organizations realize that there is no more reason to build a house with just a hammer, as there is to build a house with just a saw. Six Sigma’s primary focus is on the reduction of variation. Six Sigma uses statistical mathematics to
