The OODA Of Six Sigma

Lean six sigma principles could possibly be used to minimize waste in just about any environment. From your standpoint of lean principles waste can be considered the loss of man hours on a particular project. So, don't even think eliminating waste is just taking out trash; it's eliminating stuff that cost money and expend time. There's a basic pattern to stick to in order to use six sigma principles when you get rid of waste and that pattern is usually known as an OODA loop. OODA spells out the steps you undergo along the way of eliminating waste, the first O stands for observe, the second O represents Orient, the D represents Decide, and the A stands for Act.

During the observe stage you are simply making notes of how a process is currently being done. During the next stage, orient, you are not only taking notes of how a process is done you are investigating how the process came to be done the way it is being done currently, often termed "root cause". Then, during the decide stage you are investigating ways to go about changing the way the process is currently done and looking to eliminate any identified waste, non-value added tasks, from the process. Finally, after eliminating all the non-value added tasks within the process, you act by introducing the new process and training those carrying out the task in the new process.

This might be the simplest break down of what occurs when using the six sigma lean process to get rid of waste, but it is clear and easy. Within the individual steps there are dozens of other tools which can be utilized during the improvement process. For instance, when first observing the process or gathering information on the current process you will probably chart out just what happens in the process with decision points indicated by the letters "Y" or "N." What this does is asks the question, "is it necessary to do this before we can do that?"

Afterwards, you move to the orient stage where you might be using tools including fishbone diagrams, Pareto charts, or other statistical products you'll be able to come up with to find out the strength of the process. As you try this you will begin identifying the possible root cause of any discrepancies are hang-ups in the operation.

Once you have discovered root factors behind the waste you are hoping to eliminate then you turn to the decision stage and brainstorm with ideas that may eliminate your problems. Finally, you are done at the act stage plus you've successfully eliminated waste via six sigma principles.

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