An Integrated Lean Six Sigma Approach to Modeling and Simulation: A Case Study from Clothing SME

Abstract To improve quality, production, and service delivery, clothing industries look toward continuous improvement approaches such as lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and Lean Six Sigma (LSS). Simulation is one of the effective methods which aim to examine different solution scenarios. This study explores how LSS and simulation can be integrated based on the Sim-Lean approach, using a process improvement effort in clothing small–medium enterprises (SMEs). A structured framework integrating these research methodologies is developed, which might benefit a variety of future clothing process improvement efforts, and could inform quality improvement efforts in other industries. The aim is to allow a successful implementation of the approach in the clothing industry to improve the lead time, the daily output, the average staying times (min) of jobs waiting in queues, and the resource utilization.