Design for Lean Six Sigma (DFLSS) is an organizational philosophy that promotes the use of the best project management and system engineering practices, statistical and decision-making tools, as well as the use of a structured and disciplined approach to the design and development process. DFLSS is meant to supplement and not to supplant the commonly accepted design and development approaches. What results, in applying the DFLSS philosophy, is an improvement in a design’s effectiveness and efficiency as well as an improvement of the design process cycle time, cost, quality, and reliability.

At ARDEC, DFLSS is being successfully integrated into the existing System Engineering and Project Integration framework together with the overarching Integrated Defense Acquisition, Technology & Logistic Life Cycle Management Framework.

Relative to ARDEC’s DFLSS journey, the “Design for Lean Six Sigma Organization” presentation will present:

1. The key principles of the DFLSS philosophy (i.e. project structure and discipline, the process perspective, the critical to quality process output/input relationship, customer and organizational needs focus and fact based decision-making).

2. The elements of a successful DFLSS organization (i.e. active organizational commitment, training, project management, and infrastructure).

John Smisek has a BS in Electrical Engineering, an MA in Education and has done postgraduate work in nuclear physics. His work experience includes teaching mathematics at the university level, performing operations research analysis for the Navy and forty-three years of both technical and project management quality and reliability engineering support to armaments programs during the design, development, and production phases. His armament engineering experience includes mortar and artillery fusing, mortar and artillery projectiles as well as towed and self-propelled howitzer systems. Currently, Mr. Smisek is a Master Black Belt trainer/consultant, at ARDEC and conducts Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and DFLSS workshops with engineers and managers as well as consulting, mentoring, and facilitating LSS projects.