Such awards are a source of information for firms seeking benchmark partners, case studies they can learn from, or just plain old inspiration. The lists include technology companies, hospitals, government and military candidates, proving that Lean Six Sigma’s reach is far and wide. Candidates for Largest-Breakthrough Improvement Project included organizations in four industries: customer Service, manufacturing, supply chain, and transactional. Areas addressed by the finalists were cycle-time, defects and error rates, process improvement, parts avaiability, advisor licensing, lead time, call abandonment and handle time, and efficiency.

I was most impressed with the variety, both in the industries represented and the projects. I’m often asked if “Six Sigma” or “Lean” will work in {name the industry or process}, my answer is “If you are working with a process, then you can improve with Lean, Six Sigma, or a combination of the two.” The iSixSigma awards confirm it.