Effect of ISO (9001) Certification and Article Type Produced on Lean Six Sigma Application Successes: a Case Study Within Textile Companies

This study focused on how the ISO 9001:2008 standard has influenced organisational Lean Six Sigma (LSS) implementation success. Data were collected through a survey, followed by interviews with the quality managers/representatives of 85 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the textile industry. Additionally, case studies on four of the textile SMEs were carried out to validate the results. Our analysis revealed that the main benefits of LSS, among others, are problem solving improvement, reduction of the quality problem, waste reduction, and increase of productivity. However, certified companies are aware of continuous improvements to tools, which ensures the continuity of improvements made by the LSS project and facilitates the integration of Lean Six Sigma tools, which can help to make better use of the Lean Six Sigma project. The type of article produced was also found to have a considerable effect on the success of the Lean Six Sigma project.