Applying Lean Six Sigma and TRIZmethodology in banking servicesFu-KwunWanga,bandKao-ShanChenbaDepartment of Industrial Management, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology,Taiwan,ROC;bGraduateInstituteofManagement,NationalTaiwanUniversityofScienceandTechnology,Taiwan,ROCService operations now comprise more than 80% of the GDP in the United States andare rapidly growing around the world. The cost to maintain and service an application istypically more than the initial purchase price. The revenue growth potential ofimprovingthe speedandqualityof service oftenovershadows the cost reductionopportunities. TheLeanSixSigmaapproachisapopular methodologytoimprovethe business opportunities in customer satisfaction, cost and process speed formanufacturing.Inthisstudy,weattempttoextendtheLeanSixSigmaapproachtoabroader application in the service industry and integrate TRIZ methodology to enhancethetraditional techniquesof LeanSixSigma. TheoriaResheneyvaIsobretatelskehuhZadach(TRIZ) isaneffectivemethodfor analysingcustomer needsanddevelopinginnovativesolutionstomeetthoseneeds.Asampleproblemofthebankingserviceisused to demonstrate how TRIZ can be applied to a real-world problem while in a LeanSixSigmaDMAICprocess. TheresultsshowthattheapplicationofLeanSixSigmamethodology with TRIZ performs effectively in the improvement of banking services.Keywords:LeanSixSigma;DMAIC;TRIZ;bankingservicesIntroductionOver the past two decades, industrial organisations have embraced a wide variety of man-agementprogrammesthat they hope will enhance competitiveness. Currently, two of themost popular programmes are Six Sigma and Lean management. The Six Sigma approachisprimarilyamethodologyforimprovingthecapabilityofbusinessprocessesbyusingstatistical methods toidentifyanddecreaseor eliminateprocess variation. Its goal isreductionofdefectsandimprovementsinprots,employeemoraleandproductquality.LeanmanagementoriginatedatToyotaMotorCorporationinJapanandisanapproachthateliminateswastebyreducingcostsintheoverall productionprocess, inoperationswithinthat process, andintheutilisationofproductionlabour. Inventorywasteisalsoeliminatedbyproducingtocustomerorderratherthantoforecastedrequirements.In more recent times, some businesses have combined the ideas of Six Sigma and Leanmanagement, to produce a method called Lean Six Sigma (LSS), to emphasise the qualityandserviceimprovement processofferedbySixSigmaandtheproductivityandcostreductiontoolsofferedbyLeanmanagement.ThusLSSimprovementisbroughtoutofmanufacturing and into services as much of the world economy is now based on servicesratherthanmanufacturing.Whenwe surveyedthe applicationof LSSapproachlocally, we foundthat mostresearch usually focuses on the process improvement of manufacturing spots andISSN1478-3363print/ISSN1478-3371online# 2010Taylor&FrancisDOI:10.1080/14783360903553248http://www.informaworld.comEmail:fukwun@mail.ntust.edu.twTotalQualityManagementVol.21,No.3,March2010,301315seldomdiscusses business performance fromthe viewpoint of the service industry,especiallyinbankingservices, whichis themost critical topicinserviceoperations.Serviceoperationsnowcomprisemorethan80%oftheGDPintheUnitedStatesandare rapidly growing around the world, and banking services are the most criticalconcern in the service industry. It is necessary to nd a method to improve the performanceof service operations. LSS for service is a business improvement methodology that maxi-mises shareholder value by achieving the fastest rate of improvement in customer satisfac-tion, cost, quality, process speed and invested capital. Most of the applications of LSS usedintheimprovephaserelyonpsychologicalbrainstormingtoolsthatmaketheimprove-ment inadequately. ThereislackofasystematicmethodintheimprovephaseofLSS.The theory of inventive problemsolving (TRIZ) is a systematic methodology thatallows creative problems in any eld of knowledge to be revealed and solved, while devel-oping creative (inventive) thinking skills and a creative personality. Often at the root of aproblemssolutionlieswhatseemsatrstglancetobeawildidea.TRIZgivesonetheabilitynot onlytobepreparedforsuchideas, but tocreatethem. TRIZisaneffectivemethod for analysing customer needs and developing innovative solutions to meetcustomer needs. Here, we propose a newapproach that integrates TRIZ into theimprove phase of the LSS approach to illustrate the business improvement for theserviceindustryfocusingonbankingservices.The rest of this paper is organised as follows. Section 2 reviews the related research onLSS and TRIZ methodology. Section 3 describes a case study using our proposed methodtoimprovethebusinessperformanceinbankingservices. Thenalsectionpresentstheconclusionsanddirectionsforfutureresearch.LiteraturereviewInthepast, SixSigmaandtheprinciplesbehindLeanmanagement haveoftenseemedmore like competitors than co-conspirators. The recent LSS approach in generaloutlineisapowerful actionplanfor dramaticallyimprovingquality, increasingspeedandreducingwaste. Arnheiter andMaleyeff (2005) suggestedthat aLSSorganisationwouldcapitaliseonthestrengthsofbothLeanmanagement andSixSigma. Therearemany examples of implementing the LSS approach in the manufacturing industry.Pickrelletal.(2005)presentedtwocasestudiesforLSSprojectscompletedataworld-wide manufacturer of precision slip rings and integrated motion systems for highperformance requirements in military and commercial aircraft, satellites and spacevehicles, missiles, andautomatedindustrial machinery. Theresultsshowthat theLSSapproachcanreducethecosts,cycletime,customerreturnsandinventory,andincreaseinproductioncapacity.Furterer andElshennawy(2005) presentedacasestudyof applyingLeanandSixSigmatoolsandprinciplestoimprovingthequalityandtimelinessinacitysnancedepartment. After implementing a LSS programme, the time to process payroll, purchas-ing and accounts payable were reduced by 60%, 40% and 87%, respectively. Heuvel et al.(2006) stated that hospitals faced major challenges where patients demand that quality ofcarebe improved continuously and healthinsurancecompaniesdemandthe lowestposs-ible prices. They applied a LSS programme to help healthcare providers to achieve theseconicting goals. Koning et al. (2006) illustrated how principles of Lean thinking and SixSigma can be combined to provide an effective framework for producing systematic inno-vationeffortsinhealthcareandemphasisedthataserviceoperationrequiressystematicinnovationeffortstoremaincompetitive,costefcient,anduptodate.302 F.-K.WangandK.-S.ChenThe theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ) is a science that allows creative pro-blemsinanyeldof knowledgetoberevealedandsolved, whiledevelopingcreative(inventive)thinkingskillsandacreativepersonality(Altshuller,2000).Oftenattherootofaproblemssolutionlieswhatseemsatrstglancetobeawildidea.TRIZgivesonethe ability not only to be prepared for such ideas, but to create them. TRIZ is the knowl-edge-based, systematicapproachtoinnovation. TRIZmethodsaredrawnfromanalysisof the most innovative inventions in different industries, technologies, and elds of engin-eering. These principles can be used to consciously develop a system along its path of tech-nical evolution. It has been proved that TRIZ is a powerful problem-solving methodologythrough its development over about 60 years. TRIZ provides people with a dialectic way ofthinking, which guides us to understand the problemas a system, to get an image of the idealsolution rst and to promote the performance of products by solving contradictions. DombandDettmer(1999)reportedthatinventorsusingTRIZexperiencedanimprovementof70% to 300% or more in the number of creative ideas that they generated for solving tech-nical problems and in the speed with which they generated innovative ideas.Many researches that integrate or compare TRIZwith different creativity tools,methods and philosophies have shown that TRIZprovides the most useful help todesigners for developing high-level products and service application as well. Manufactur-ing is an areawhereinone can easily nd applicationsof TRIZ integratedwith problem-solving tools (Stratton &Mann, 2003; Stratton &Warburton, 2003). During theapplication, it is important todenetheconicts, andthenbasedontheconicts, todevelopinnovativesolutions. TheserviceindustryisanareawhereTRIZisdifculttoapply; but along with its fast development and its integration with problem-solvingtools,integratedmethodshavebeenappliedinthisarea(King,2004).LeanSixSigmawith TRIZNo matter what the approach is for deploying improvements within the company, having astandard improvement model like DMAIC (Dene, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control)isextremelyhelpful becauseit provides thecompanywithanimprovement roadmap.TherearealotofresourcesouttherethatdescribetheDMAICprocess.Generally,afterthe projects denition phase, key process characteristics are identied and benchmarkedinthemeasureandanalysephases;thisisthenfollowedbytheimprovephasewhereaprocess is modiedfor better performance, andthecontrol phaseaims at monitoringand sustaining the gains. The basic elements and key tools in LSS DMAIC are as follows.In the dene phase, a team and its sponsors reach agreement on what the project is andwhat it should accomplish. They should establish some metrics to measure the success oftheproject,suchascustomersatisfaction,speedorleadtime,sigmalevelimprovement,andnancialoutcomes.Inordertoaccomplishtheobjectivesofthisstep,atoolisusedtohelpinconrmingor reningproject scopeandboundaries. Acommontool is aSIPOCdiagramwhichincludesSuppliers, Inputs, Process, OutputsandCustomersforcreatingahigh-levelmapofprocess:.Suppliers theentitiesthat providewhatever isworkedonintheprocess. Thesuppliermaybeanoutsidevendororanotherdivisionoraco-worker..Inputstheinformationormaterialprovided..Process the steps usedtotransfer (boththose that addvalue andthosedonot addvalue)..Outputsthe product, service or information being sent to the customer (preferablyemphasisingcriticalqualityfeatures).TotalQualityManagement 303.Customersthe next step in the process, or the nal customers. A core principle ofLSSisthatdefectscanrelatetoanythingthatmakesacustomerunhappy,suchaslongleadtime,poorquality,orhighcost,forinstance.Toaddressanyof theseproblems, therst stepistotakeaprocessviewof howthecompanygoesaboutsatisfyingaparticularcustomerrequirement.Inthemeasurephase,theperformancestandardoftheprocessisveriedandestab-lishedtoobtainabaselineforfutureimprovements.OneofthemajoradvancesofLSSisitsdemandfordata-drivenmanagement. Most otherproblem-solvingmethodologiestendedtodivefromidentifyingaprojectintotheimprovephrasewithoutsufcientdatatoreallyunderstandtheunderlyingcauses of theproblem. Aservicethat istryingtoimprove the process will spenda great deal of its time dealingwithdata problems.Therearealotofmeasuretoolsthatincludeseverythingfromdatacollectiontobrain-stormingmethodsandprioritisingtools. Someof themost commontoolsareprocessdescriptiontools(valuestreammaps,processcycleefciency,andtimevalueanalysis),focus/prioritisation tools (FMEA (failure mode and effects analysis), Pareto), data collec-tion,andquantifyinganddescribingvariation(controlcharts).The purpose of the analyse phase is to make sense of all information and data collection inthe measure phase, and touse that data toconrmthe source of delays, waste and poor quality.The most common tools used in the analyse phase are those used to map out and explore causeand effect relationships such as 5 Whys analysis, cause and effect diagrams, scatter plots,etc. One of the major themes of LSS is that slow processes are expensive processes. Valuestream mapping analysis is also a key tool for a team to identify the hidden time traps, andto nd out the root causes to achieve a substantial increase in value-added time in process.The purpose of the improve phase is to make changes in a process that will eliminatethedefects,waste,costs, etc.Common tools arethose suchassolutionmatrices thatlinkbrainstormedsolutionalternativestocustomerneedsandtheproject purpose. ManyoftheLeantoolsplaytheirmostimportantroleintheimprovephase,forinstancethepullsystem, set-upreduction, queuingmethodsfor reducingcongestionanddelays, and5s(structurise, systemise, sanitise, standardiseandself-discipline). Asregardstheserviceindustry, inparticular thebankingservice, theabove-mentionedtoolsfor theimprovephasewouldbeinsufcienttosolvetheproblem.HereweintroduceTRIZmethodologytosubstitutethetools. TRIZprovides peoplewithadialecticwayof thinking, whichguides us to understand the problem as a system, to visualise the ideal solution rst and topromotetheperformanceofproductsbysolvingcontradictions. Exceptfortheareasofscience and technology, TRIZ also has been applied to non-technical problems.The purpose of the control phase is to make sure that any gains made will be preserveduntil new knowledge and data show that there is an even better way to operate the process.There are some areas of control that are critical in service environments, such as making surethe improved process is documented, turning results into dollars, ensuring that maintenanceof gains is veried down the road, ensuring that an automatic monitoring systemis installedwhich will identify any out of control situation, piloting the implementation, and develop-ing a control plan. A control chart is one of the key control tools; mistake prevention andmistake proong are two other very helpful closely related concepts in the control phase.CasestudyWeproposedanewapproachthat integratedTRIZintotheimprovephaseoftheLSSapproachtodemonstrateperformanceimprovementinbankingservices.Thecasestudy304 F.-K.WangandK.-S.Cheninthis researchis apractical project involvedinimprovingwealthmanagement andcustomer services in a representative savings bank. The case company called company-Twas established in 1966. During many years of operation, the company has provided a com-pleterangeofservices, includingsavingsdeposits,loans, guarantees, foreignexchange,overseasbankingunit(OBU),trusts,creditcards,cashcards,securities,bonds,nancialderivatives,electronicbanking,etc.ThegrowthofthecompanyhasbeencloselylinkedtoTaiwanseconomicdevelopment,asthecompanybothexperiencedandplayedapartin the formation and development of the countrys nancial market. To enhance customerssatisfaction and improve competitive advantage in the banking industry is very important.In order to strengthen its position in 2006, in view of the hyper-competition in business, thetop management of company-T determined to gain further competitive advantage by utilis-ingtheLeanSixSigmaapproach. Oneoftheprojectswastoimprovetheoperationofsavings accounts. Others include cycle time reduction of call centres, IT process redesignandimprovement of theoperationof remittancebasedontheKPIs(keyperformanceindicators) of MBO (management by objectives) in the companys yearly plan.Thesampleof thesavingsaccount project wasselectedinthisarticlebecausetheproject is veryimportant for bothinternal andexternal customers. TherepresentativeactivitiesoftheLSSapproachandTRIZinthiscasestudyaredemonstratedasfollows.DenephaseInthedenephasetherearethreesteps:Step1Identifytheimportantproblemsandselecttheproject accordingtotheexperienceofcompany-T,ittakesmuchmoretimeandresourcestoservethecustomersascomparedto the expectations of top management and external customers. Consequently, it was ident-ied that the important problem was to shorten the cycle time of operation of the savingsaccount. Thus, forbetterturnoverefciency, accordingtothevoicesofcustomers, theprojecttitleisidentiedastoreducethecycletimeofoperationinsavingsaccount.Step2Denethevaluestreammapanddeterminethevitalfewfactors basedonstep1,theproject teamanalyses the high-level process of SIPOC-related activities and valuestream map. It is a very effective and important communication tool in service operation.Itensuresthattheteammembersareallreviewingtheprocessinthesameway.Italsoinformsleadershipofexactlywhattheteamisworkingon. Theprocessismappedatahighlevel. Thenworkingfromtheright, identifythecustomers, theoutputs, theinputsandthesuppliersasshowninTable1. Basedonthehigh-level processofSIPOC, andthevaluestreammapof theproject whichtheactivityisvalueadded or non-valueadded as the process of Figure 1. Accordingtothe value streammapas showninFigure1,allproceduresascircledwillbeidentiedthemainproblemsinthisproject.Step3Dene defects and determine the successful indicatorsaccording to the cycle time col-lection from the value stream map, there is approximately 40% difference between targetand actual time in the banking service activities for opening a new account, i.e. the averageTotalQualityManagement 305actualtimeisabout16minutesforacustomerwhilethetargettimeis12minutescom-paredtothebenchmark. Forin-scope, theproject teamdenesmorethan12minutesfor an opening new account activity as one defect in this case, and the successful indicatorisdeterminedtoreduce70%cycletimeofthisactivity.MeasurephaseIn the measure phase, the performance standard of the process is veried and established toobtainabaselineforfutureimprovements.Twostepsaregivenasfollows:Step1Data collection planin order to understand the process capability before improvement, adatacollectionplanisdeployedtogathersampledatafromactualtimecollection.Table1.TheSIPOCprocessmapwithprojectscope.Supplier Input Process Output CustomerCustomersStaffIDcardIDsheetSealContractformSignatureFilltheformCheckthedataEstablishsavingsaccountleValidatethedataDeliveralldocumentsConrmeddocumentIDcardContractApplicationformAccountdocumentBankbookBandcardCustomersStaffOfcerFigure1.Thevaluestreammapwithprojectscopebeforeimprovement.306 F.-K.WangandK.-S.ChenStep2Measureas-isprocesscapability. Accordingtotheindividual control chart oflatest 56samples (see Figure2), theresults showthat theaveragetimeis 14.83minutes, theshort-termcapabilityCpkandlong-termcapabilityPpkofthisprocessis0.86and0.57.Thus,thecurrent-stateprocesscapabilityisnotsogoodcomparedtothetarget.AnalysephaseIn the analyse phase, the performance objective is dened and the key sources of variationsareidentied.Threestepsaregivenasfollows:Step1Identify root causesthe root causes of the problem of variation and waste between targettime and actual time are identied by using a cause and effect matrix and Pareto diagram(see Figure 3). The cause and effect matrix is a method that uses the relationship betweeninput factors and output variables to identify the priority of causes, and the Pareto diagramillustrates80%problemsarefrom20%rootcausesasinFigure3.Step2Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA)the use of FMEA is to identify in advance thefactors that maycausefunctionfailureinthekeyprocess andallocateariskprioritynumber (RPN). FactorswithahighRPN, usuallydenedasgreater than125, will beselectedandcorrectiveactionswillberecommended(seeTable2).Figure2.Theprocesscapabilitysixpackforbeforeimprovement.TotalQualityManagement 307Step3Identify vital few initial variablesin the Pareto diagram and FMEA as depicted in Figure3 and Table 3. The project team concludes that the main problems in this project are: llinginall newaccount forms; theprocedureofapplyinganewaccount; andcheckingpro-ceduresofsupervisors.Thevitalfewinitialvariablesare(1)toomuchoftheleneedstobelledin;(2)thelethatneedstobelledinisunclear;(3)nonoticecustomers;(4) nostandardoperational procedure for supervisor tocheckthedocuments; (5) noconsistentoperationalstandardforstaff.ImprovephaseIntheimprovephase, weuseTRIZmethodologytoimprovetheprocessperformance.Fourstepsaregiven:Step1Developsolutionsbasedonthendingsofthesignicantcausesintheanalysephase,theimprovement activitiesusingTRIZmethodologyareproposed. TRIZanalysespro-blemsthroughtheuniqueperspectiveofcontradiction.Intechnicalareas,contradictionsare relativelymore tangible andeasier toappreciate. Althoughservices are differentfrom physical products, contradictions are also often found in services. Service contradic-tions may seem more intangible and abstract than those found in technical areas. To extendthe TRIZapplication andprogress the project of implementingTRIZinthe serviceFigure3.TherootcausesanalysisbasedonParetodiagram.308 F.-K.WangandK.-S.ChenTable2.FMEAanalysisforthekeyprocess.Specicfunction(s)ofprocessstepPotentialfailuremodesPotentialeffectsoffailures SeverityPotentialcausesoffailure OccurrenceCurrentprocesscontrols DetectionRiskpriorityno.(RPN)RecommendedcorrectiveactionsCompletethedocumentsThedocumentisnotcompleteReworkbycustomers 3 Toomuchleneeds to be lled7 No 10 210 RedesignthesheetCustomerscomeagaintocompletethedocuments6 Noremarktonoticecustomers10 No 10 600 RedesignthesheetSupervisorcheckandacceptanceDocumentscheckuncompletedCustomersneedtocomeagaintocompletethedocuments6 Noconsistentoperationalstandard4 No 10 240 RedesignthecheckmechanismTake wrong passworddocument6 Nostandardoperationalprocedure4 No 10 240 ErrorproongmechanismTotalQualityManagement309industry, 40non-technical inventiveprinciples withapplications inserviceoperations(Saliminamin & Nezafati, 2003) will be applied in this case to solve the service contradic-tions.Basedontheprofessionalanalysisintheanalysephaseandtheexperienceoftheproject team, it couldbeobservedthat customer satisfactionis theprimaryproblem.Improvement of customer satisfactionbecomes thegoal of thecompanyas it tries togain a competitive advantage in the operation of its business. The other problemsinclude extra costs due to waiting time of operation and working errors. For thispurpose, the project teamdeliverednewbusiness solutions tocustomers. Fromthis,improved customer satisfaction, operation cost and time management are acquiredthrough the useful functions of improving operational availability and enhancing the oper-ational performance. However, the harmful functions (HF) of anoperation cost andwaitingofserviceavailabilityareaccompaniedbyacorrespondingincreaseinthecom-panystotal operationcost. Sincethereareinherent contradictingrelationshipsexistinginthissituation, wecouldidentifytheproblemstobewithinthevariousareasof theoperations efciency, waitingtime, cost of operation, andperformanceof operation.Toimprovetheperformanceoftheaccountingoperation,theprojectteamattemptedtosimplify the checking process of opening an account, enhance the ling capacity,shortenwaitingtimes, andenhanceeaseofusewithintheoperations. Correspondingtothe denition of the 39 features of the contradiction matrix, the features will be consideredforimprovementasfollows:.3Speed(correspondingtotheoperationsefciency)..19Lossoftime(correspondingtowaitingtime)..27Easeofuse(correspondingtoeaseofuse)..32Extentofautomation(correspondingtosimplifythecheckingprocess).Ontheother hand, intheprocess redesigns, theriskwill beincreasedwhenthenewprocess is released, andtheoperationbecomes complex. Addtothesethedifcultiesencountered and we now come up with the worsening situations occurring in the new oper-ation.Hence,weconsiderthefollowingcontradictionmatrixastheoneswhichbecameworse:.2 Weight of stationary object (shorten the waiting time, the voice of customer will beignored)..21Reliability(simplifythecheckingprocess,theperformancewillbeworse).Table3.Thepartialcontradictionmatrixwithsuggestedinventiveprinciples.Worseningfeature ! 2 21 29 32ImprovingfeatureWeightofstationaryobjectReliability Adaptability /versatilityProductivity3 Speed 11, 35, 27, 28 15,10,26 26,35,18,1919 Lossoftime 10,20 10,30 35,28 2,26,3526,5 4 10,1827 Easeofuse 6,13 17,27 15,34 2,351,25 8,40 1,16 35,2433 Extentofautomation28,27 1,35 1,35 15,1,3215,3 10,38 28,37 1,8,35310 F.-K.WangandK.-S.Chen.29Adaptability/Versatility(enhancethelingcapacity, theoperationsystemwillbelimited)..33Productivity(enhanceeaseofuse,theoutputofoperationwillbeworse).We examine the contradiction matrix to denote the numbers of the inventive principlesinwhichtherowscontainthefeaturesthathavebeenworsenedasaresultofimprov-ingthefeaturesinthecolumn;thepartialcontradictionmatrixwithsuggestedinven-tive principles is showninTable 3. The principles will be usedinthe project asfollows.Thedenotednumbersbythefrequenciesinthematrixwill berankedtheorder asfollows: no. 35(occurredninetimes), no. 1(occurredsixtimes), no. 10(occurredvetimes),nos.15,26,28(occurredfourtimes),no.27(occurredthreetimes),nos.2,8,18(occurredtwotimes),andtherestoccurredonlyonce.Arulewillbesuggestedthatweuse those non-technical inventive principles occurring at least three times as our targetedreferenceprinciplestostartwith.Thesearethefollowing:.Inventiveprinciple35:Transformationofthestructurefunctionorvalueinsocialprocessunits..Inventiveprinciple1:Socialintermediate..Inventive principle 10: Recognisingandmakingnecessarysocial situations forfuture..Inventiveprinciple15:Dynamicity..Inventive principle 26: Recognising similar systems and renewed programmerunning..Inventiveprinciple27:Temporaryandsmallsystemsforold,permanentsystems..Inventiveprinciple28:Usingmoreinuencesocialprocesswithlessconnection.Step2Implement improvement planthe project team iteratively analysed each of the inventiveprinciplesandmetwiththeprofessionalstaffandmanagersfromrelateddepartmentstogeneratetheimprovementactionaccordingtotheproblems(seeTable4).Step3Redesign the value streammap and identify the newprocess capability after the improve-ment plan has progressed for approximately six months, the project team collects the latest60samplestocalculatethenewprocesscapabilityinordertoobservetheimprovement.AfterimplementingimprovementactionfromTable5,thereissignicantimprovementforthewaitingtimeofopeninganaccount,andtheoperationalcostandinternalfailurecost arereducedas well. Anewprocess has beendesignedas per Figure4andtheprocesscapabilityafterimprovementasperFigure5. Theresultsofanalysisshowthatthe average waiting time is reduced dramatically from 14.83 minutes to 9.96 minutes foreachoperation. Furthermore, theprocesscapabilityof PpkandCpkareenhancedfrom0.57 and 0.86 to 1.51 and 2.04, respectively.Control phaseIn the control phase, a robust control plan of risk management to prevent system failure isproposed, together with use of a control chart. The project team uses possibility points andTotalQualityManagement 311inuencepoints, whichrankfrom1to9pointsindividually, todeterminethenalriskscore,whichisformedbypossibilitymultiplyinginuence.TherepresentativeexampleisdemonstratedasTable5andthecontrolchartisasFigure6.After theadaptationof theLSSapproach, thewaitingtimeisreducedfrom14.83minutesto9.96minutesforeachoperation, andthecost savingduring12monthswillbeaboutUS$828,000.Table4.Theimprovementactionwiththeinventiveprinciples.No.Problemsneededtobeimproved Selectedinventiveprinciples Improvementaction1 CustomersusuallymakemistakeswhilewritingdocumentinpeaktimeInventiveprinciple15:DynamicityMakingplacardtoremindcustomerstoavoidmistakeInventiveprinciple27:Temporaryandsmallsystemsforold,permanentsystemsMarkinganannotationintheplace where it is easy to makemistake2 TheannotationinthedocumentisunclearthatcausedtheerrorsthatoccurredinbranchofceInventiveprinciple1:SocialintermediateThestaffinthebranchofceremindcustomerstoreadtheannotationthroughSSCannouncement3 Thekey-instaffeasilymakemistakesInventiveprinciple26:RecognisingsimilarsystemsandrenewedprogrammerunningImprovingtheperformanceappraisalforkey-instaffSettingthecriteriaforrecruitmentRecruitingthepersonwhoisreliable4 Thepersonwhohasthehigh-speedkey-inusuallymakeslotsoferrorsInventiveprinciple26:RecognisingsimilarsystemsandrenewedprogrammerunningImprovingtheperformanceappraisalforkey-instaffInventiveprinciple28:UsingmoreinuencesocialprocesswithlessconnectionSettingtheerrorproofmechanisminoperationsystem5 SimplifytheoperationofcheckingdocumentsInventiveprinciple35:Transformation of the structurefunctionorvalueinsocialprocessunitsRearrangethecheckingsystembasedontheaccountvolumeThestandardoperationprocedureofopeningaccountwillbeamendedtomatchthenewchecksystemTable5.Exampleofriskmanagementinthecontrolplan.Riskcauses Possibility Inuence Riskscore PreventionactionsJobturnaroundperiodically.4 5 20 EstablishastandardoperationalproceduresguideRecords in system arenon-conformance.3 6 18 Buildingamistake-proongmechanisminkey-insystem312 F.-K.WangandK.-S.ChenFigure4.Thevaluestreammapwithprojectscopeafterimprovement.Figure5.Theprocesscapabilitysixpackforafterimprovement.TotalQualityManagement 313ConclusionThe majority of applications of the LSS approach are usually focused on the improvementofthemanufacturingspotsinsteadoftheserviceindustry,especiallyinbankingservice.The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the improvement effectiveness of utilising theLSS approach with TRIZ methodology in the service industry, to reduce waste and cost ina savings bank company. Basically, for LSS to work smoothly, managers at all levels mustcommit to invest the resources to initiate, promote, actualise and support the programme.In other words, providing employees with training, resources, knowledge and authority tosolveproblemsiscrucialforthesuccessoftheLSSproject.By execution of DMAIC TRIZ, the case study company,company-T,successfullyeliminateswasteofwaitingtimeforopeninganaccount,modiesbusinessculturesandcreates theinfrastructuretoinitiateandsustaingreater performanceandprotability.The concrete performance of utilising LSSin company-Tshows the cost saving ofUS$828,000andobviousenhancement of short-termandlong-termprocesscapabilityfrom0.86and0.57to2.04and1.51. Theresultsprovethat theapplicationoftheLSSapproachcombinedwithTRIZmethodologyeffectssuccessful improvement ofserviceactivitiesaswellastheimprovementofmanufacturingspots.ReferencesAltshuller, G. (2000). 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