Lean Six Sigma case studies literature overview: critical success factors and difficulties

Abstract

PurposeRecently, several areas are successfully applying the Lean Six Sigma methodology, specifically in healthcare, public services, higher education institutions and manufacturing industries. This study aims to present an extensive literature review involving Lean Six Sigma practical applications in the last five years, described in a case studies format.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review was conducted, and 39 articles were selected and analyzed.FindingsAn increase in Lean Six Sigma applications in healthcare and higher education institutions was identified. Furthermore, Lean Six Sigma is effectively applied in several areas and is continuously used in traditional industries. The main critical success factor identified was leadership and management involvement, project management and organizational infrastructure, as well as training and education. Also, the main difficulties found are related to the organization's culture and developing communication with leaders and managers.Research limitations/implicationsThe main difficulties found in this research are related to the lack of data presented in some articles analyzed, where only information about how the Lean Six Sigma application was conducted is shown, not mentioning difficulties or success factors identified.Originality/valueCase studies are fundamental to help popularize Lean Six Sigma applications, showing a real-life scenario of how the methodology is implemented, the main difficulties encountered and critical success factors found. Thus, the value of this study is promoting and developing research involving Lean Six Sigma case study applications to guide new researchers and practitioners on the subject.

Structural Equation Modeling of The Critical Success Factors of Lean Six Sigma Implementation in Nigeria

“…Gastelum-Acosta et al ( 2022) identified nine CSFs, finding a substantial relationship between these criteria and the success of LSS programs [23]. Francescatto et al ( 2022) identified leadership, management involvement, project management, organizational structure, and effective communication with leaders and managers as key CSFs for successful LSS implementation [24]. Mishra (2022) identified five top CSFs for implementing LSS, including organizational readiness, project selection and priority, resource and skill facilitation, dedicated management and employees, and emphasis on estimation and results [25].…”

Mapping Risks Faced by Startup Investors: An Approach Based on the Apriori Algorithm

“…SRs are used to obtain an overview of the investigated topic, providing insights into existing knowledge and opening avenues for the development of future research (Neuenfeldt Júnior et al 2022;Francescatto et al 2022) by using replicable and scientific criteria in the selection of articles incorporated into the textual corpus (Tranfield et al 2003), which requires the development of a well-defined research protocol (Obregon et al 2022).…”

Lean Six Sigma Tools for Efficient Milking Processes in Small-Scale Dairy Farms

“…LSS is regarded as the latest generation of improvement methodologies that have a global outreach (Samanta et al, 2023). It is the result of merging lean theory and six sigma theory, which sparked revolutions in administrative strategies and were the object of tireless research throughout the 20 th century (Patel and Patel, 2021), and their integration was considered to be essential (Francescatto et al., 2023). LSS helps reduce the non-value-added activities, waste, defects, and nonconformities encountered during processes, and it addresses issues related to waste and process flow with a focus on reducing product and process variation (Patel and Patel, 2021).…”

“…Considering the flexibility of LSS, Francescatto et al (2023) highlighted the versatility of its application in different areas, which is noted in the high number of recent articles published on the topic, with a diversity of approaches and foci. However, no field studies have been identified which are applied to dairy producers in order to improve their organizational environment -in this case rural land -using administrative tools that contribute to efficiency gains.…”