Lean Six Sigma approach to increasing operational efficiency: An action research in a meter supply contractor for energy providers

The purpose of this research is to investigate the practical implications of the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) application in a service environment of the power generation sector. A meter supply contractor for a major UK energy provider was selected for the case study. An action research about job completion was conducted through application of LSS methodology. It was found that implementing LSS can minimise causes of the unnecessary job abortion as the defect, and therefore increase the efficiency of the operation in short term with some financial benefits. This research project is limited to a single case study that explores one particular unit of a company in the energy sector. The UK Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) as a service provider for power generation sector has not been targeted by LSS before and this research project has investigated the practical feasibility and strategic benefits of LSS application in this sector. This project was conducted in a customised operation of a service environment and different mixtures and volumes of work over a period could not be controlled, as part of the operations are driven by customer requests. The results also indicated that more data is required to establish if the improvements have been able to reduce the defective rate in the long-term.