The TPS (Toyota Production System) not only applies its principles of Six Sigma in the manufacturing areas, but also in other non-manufacturing areas such as engineering, product designing, marketing, customer service, supply chains, and distributions.
These non-manufacturing areas are all co-dependent components of the Six Sigma system and ignoring any of these elements may induce failure in attaining the level of achievement enjoyed by Toyota. Yet this is more effective than other complex methodologies. At times, people like to follow shortcuts and they succeed too by following them. All these are business tricks coming with various risk factors.
Many people witnessed the mixed outcomes of TQM (Total Quality Management) in the year 1980s and 1990s. Several sources advocate a success rate of not more than 25% to 30% among firms, which have tried TQM over Six Sigma systems.
Recently, in the US, numerous entrepreneurs are emphasizing more on the principles of Six Sigma on manufacturing areas and are overlooking supply chain, engineering, customer service, and distribution elements.
This is mainly due to the misconceptions that, these manufacturing areas only bring desired returns, but applying Six Sigma strategies to marketing, engineering, and customer services are likely to bring more productive outcomes than manufacturing areas do.
Lean Tools for Non-Manufacturing Areas:
Often, non-manufacturing organizations dealing mainly in retail or office-based operations may desire to expand their business operations. However, due to lack of knowledge and necessary tools they find it difficult to do. Hence, it is advisable to consider lean non-manufacturing Six Sigma tools and techniques to achieve efficiency in business operations.
For instance, TPS considered this below discussed Lean Six Sigma tools for improving their non-manufacturing areas:
1. 5S: This tool helped them to create a clean, efficient, and well-organized work environment. It provided them with a quick and visible achievement, while training the labor forces for other highly developed improvement efforts.
2. Self-Managed Teams: With the natural progression of Lean work settings, employees of TPS started to work as interdependent teams to accomplish company’s goals. When this started, TPS found that this is the ideal time to support and transform their manpower into a self-managed workforce capable of managing their areas individually with reduced supervision and oversights. Often, self-managed teams interact voluntarily with internal suppliers and customers to advance area effectiveness and tackle with area problems.
3. Six Sigma: It is a widely popular and quality Lean tool used in non-manufacturing areas. In GE (General Electric), the approach of Six Sigma has widened to include program and project management rules and tools, all these are complementary tools to lean manufacturing.
How TPS Enhanced Through Six Sigma Principles?
TPS applied its principles of Six Sigma in a systematic way. Initially, TPS targeted customer values. TPS know that customer itself may only define the value of the goods appropriately. Generally, it is expressed when customers find a product or service attractive.
At the basic level, there is no much reliability, availability and maintainability, but at the higher level, the value may certainly increase leading to multiple streams of income and good potential customers.
After the success of getting reputation and popularity, TPS followed other necessary steps to get greater exposure among the global prospects.
These important management steps included below mentioned tasks:
1. Customer Service: With complete product design and engineering, TPS has helped the customers to get full satisfaction once they use the product.
2. Information Management: TPS team members also play a vital role to inform customers about the marketed products and services. From order taking, to thorough scheduling to delivery, they are very effective.
Non-manufacturing work varies only where work product is often invisible. Nonetheless, non-manufacturing activities provide even more possible benefits than manufacturing activities.
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