Lean Six Sigma For Dummies

Chapter 10

Discovering the Opportunity for Prevention

In This Chapter

Applying good housekeeping

Using prevention rather than cure

Undertaking proactive maintenance

Levelling your processes

The concept of prevention has been in existence for a long time – a very long time. Even before our grandmothers told us that prevention is better than cure, and probably even before Laozu had highlighted its importance back in 600 BC:

Before it moves, hold it,

Before it goes wrong, mould it,

Drain off water in winter before it freezes,

Before weeds grow, sow them to the breezes.

You can deal with what has not happened,

Can foresee

Harmful events and not allow them to be.

Prevention is a good way to tackle waste and delays in your processes (which we cover in Chapters 9 and 11). If you create less waste and fewer delays, you reduce the need for rework and avoid some other non-value-adding activities, too. For example, by providing more information upfront to your customers, you may reduce the volume of customer enquiries.

Keeping Things Neat and Tidy

A simple ‘housekeeping checklist’ can ...