Lean Six Sigma: the contribution to business excellence

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how quality award‐winning organisations have used lean Six Sigma to assist their efforts to improve their business excellence scores. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a case study approach and uses data collected by interviews and at public workshops. In addition, publicly available materials such as award applications were also examined. Two organisations were studied, one in New Zealand and one in the USA. Findings The results show that lean Six Sigma can contribute strongly to each category of the business criteria for performance excellence. There was no evidence of compatibility problems between the lean and Six Sigma components. Research limitations/implications This paper is based on two case studies of award‐winning companies that had adopted lean Six Sigma after a long journey using a wide range of improvement approaches. More work is needed to examine the use of lean Six Sigma in the early stages of the business excellence journey. Practical implications Some literature on lean Six Sigma suggests that the tools associated with each component are used in a sequential fashion or dominant/subordinate roles. This research showed that the choice of lean Six Sigma tools by project teams was decided more by the complexity of the project rather than following some particular sequence. Originality/value Business excellence awards are common in many parts of the world. Organisations are continually seeking ways to improve their performance and to advance up the scoring scale. This paper shows how two award‐winning companies have harnessed lean Six Sigma to improve their operations and improve their scores.