A Brief History of Lean and Six Sigma

This chapter aims to provide a brief history of Lean and Six Sigma and a generally accepted historical summary. However, many individuals played a role in the formation of both Lean and Six Sigma. In the Six Sigma methodology, a company’s performance is measured by the sigma level. One of the most powerful advantages of using both Six Sigma and Lean included the fact that both methods used the same set of analytical tools. Lean Six Sigma is about increasing quality and profit. Before examining Lean Six Sigma, the topic of Continuous Improvement (CI) programs should be explored. Both Lean and Six Sigma support the idea of CI. It is an ongoing effort to improve products, services or processes. Lean Six Sigma largely depends on the Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control model. The roles, responsibility and education for Lean Six Sigma Green Belts and Black Belts are the most consistent.