How do you decide whether to use Six Sigma or Lean for a process improvement project?

When interviewing Manufacturing or Process Engineers, a goto question I ask is, “Explain the difference between Lean and Six Sigma.” It’s very effective at differentiating people that use Lean Six Sigma as a buzzword vs people with a deep understanding of what tools to use when and how to employ them.

That said, there are many more tools available than just Six Sigma and Lean, and many leaders are much too quick to jump to Lean as the tool to cut costs. Implementing Lean on top of a bad process is a recipe for failure not success!

How do you decide whether to use Six Sigma or Lean for a process improvement project? (linkedin.com)