Our subject company used tools such as 5S to establish consistent workforce organization and improve productivity per square foot of space. They used standard work to ensure consistency of the most optimal methods and communicated these to its manufacturing divisions throughout North America. By reducing inhibitors to just-in-time manufacturing, they reduced inventories, total cycle time and internal costs.

However, the quality of that velocity is forever tied with reducing variation–thus the innate and required linkage with Six Sigma tools.