Business Frameworks

The Process Improvement Playground

Learn Lean & Six Sigma by fixing a terribly inefficient sandwich shop.

Your Goal: Make a Better Sandwich, Faster.

Below is the current process for making a sandwich. It's slow and the customers aren't happy. Let's fix it.

Part 1: The Lean Method (Finding the "Waste")

Lean is all about eliminating steps that don't add value. Click the button to identify and remove the waste from our process.

The "Before" Process:

1. Take customer order.
2. Walk to the other side of the kitchen to get bread.
3. Wait for the meat slicer to be free.
4. Slice meat.
5. Realize you forgot the cheese, walk back to the fridge.
6. Add cheese and lettuce.
7. Make the sandwich fancy, even though the customer just wants a simple lunch.
8. Wrap sandwich and serve.

What we did: We identified and removed 4 types of classic "Lean Waste":

  • Unnecessary Motion: Walking back and forth for bread and cheese.
  • Waiting: Idle time waiting for the slicer.
  • Defects/Rework: Forgetting an ingredient and having to go back.
  • Over-processing: Adding fancy touches the customer doesn't value.

The result? A much faster, more efficient process!

Part 2: The Six Sigma Method (Fixing the Quality)

Our process is faster, but now customers complain: "My sandwich has a different amount of meat every time!"

The Problem: Inconsistent Quality

🥪

Too Little Meat

🥪🥪

Just Right

🥪🥪🥪

Too Much Meat

What we did: We used the core idea of Six Sigma:

  • Measure Everything: We weighed the meat for 50 sandwiches and found the weight was inconsistent.
  • Find the Root Cause: The slicer's thickness setting was loose and changed easily.
  • Standardize the Process: We fixed the slicer and trained staff to use a scale for every order, ensuring exactly 4 ounces of meat each time.

The result? A consistent, reliable product every single time!

So, What's the Difference?

Lean 🏃

Main Goal: Be FAST.

How: Removes wasteful steps from the process.

Asks: "Does this step add value for the customer?"

Six Sigma 🎯

Main Goal: Be PERFECT.

How: Uses data to remove errors and inconsistency.

Asks: "Can we measure this and make it more consistent?"

Great companies use both! They use Lean to get fast, and Six Sigma to ensure quality.