Teaching Lean Six Sigma at Roland Manufacturing Malaysia

What I set out to change

On 9 and 10 September 2026 I ran "Lean Six Sigma for Efficiency & Cost Reduction" as a 2-day in-house programme for Roland Manufacturing Malaysia Sdn Bhd in Port Klang. My aim was a mindset shift: from working harder to working smarter. That means looking for the cost of poor quality, shortening lead times, and using data rather than gut feel when a production bottleneck shows up.

Day 1: seeing the waste

I started with where Lean (the Toyota Production System) and Six Sigma come from, and why efficiency and quality have to be worked on together. We then went through the 8 wastes using the DOWNTIME lens: defects, overproduction, waiting, non-utilised talent, transportation, inventory, motion and extra-processing. The rest of the day covered the lean tools I use most on the shop floor: 5S, Value Stream Mapping to see material and information flow, and Just-in-Time with Kanban to keep inventory under control.

Day 2: solving it properly

Day 2 was built around DMAIC: Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control. I covered process variation and sigma levels, then root cause analysis with the fishbone diagram and 5 Whys. To make the gains hold, we worked through poka-yoke (error proofing), visual management, control plans and standard work, plus how to calculate and improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).

How I taught it

I don't teach Lean Six Sigma as slides. I used a customised case study so the tools landed on a real manufacturing problem, with lively two-way discussion, role play on giving feedback to subordinates, and group presentations so teams had to explain their thinking.

This engagement is also listed on the Visi Armada Consulting portfolio: Roland Manufacturing Lean Six Sigma.