Enhanced Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training and Certification

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt training and certification needs to provide more than a description of how to use process improvement tools.  What is needed in this process enhancement education is a template for project selection and execution so that the business as a whole profits and executives see the benefits from expended efforts to improve processes!

 

Lean Six Sigma process improvement techniques are to improve business processes; however, often lean Six Sigma projects that are undertaken in an organization:

  • Do not have process owner support.
  • Are not completed.
  • When completed,  only have an anecdotal statement of what was done.
  • Do not truly benefit the business as a whole.

Because of these lean Six Sigma shortcomings, the organizational interest in lean Six Sigma tools for process improvement can be short lived.

 

It is essential that Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training and Certification instruction confront these implementation issues in its instruction!

 

Organizations often (probably typically) do not have an effective analytical system to determine where to focus process improvement efforts so that the business as a whole benefits.  For success, it is essential that the schooling in Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training and Certification confront this issue head-on and provide instruction so that attendees understand how to address this common-place organizational issue.

 

This how/when to use issue of lean Six Sigma needs to be addressed, in addition to the utilization of a well documented roadmap for improvement project execution.

 

It is essential that Lean Six Sigma Black Belts understand how to work with their leadership so that organizational silo projects are avoided that do not benefit the enterprise as a whole.

 

lean six sigma black belt training and certification silo avoidance

 

Improvement Projects that Benefit the Enterprise as a Whole

A Lean Six Sigma (LSS) practitioner may receive an improvement project task from their boss or someone else that describes what they are to work on.  This project might need to be completed as part of a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training and Certification workshop or as a separate task from this education. A manager-hand-off-project statement may not be well defined.  For this situation, a lean Six Sigma Black Belt needs to ask questions that lead to what measurement is to be improved for this undertaking and how this metric will be tracked from a process-output point of view.

 

In traditional lean Six Sigma training, a problem statement is required for a project; however, what business metric that is to be improved and reported from a process output point of view is typically not given much, if any, focus.

 

What is needed is an enhanced Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training and Certification process that addresses these traditional Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training and Certification issues.  Integrated Enterprise Excellence (IEE)  offers a Lean Six Sigma 2.0 methodology provides a means to overcome traditional Black Belt training shortcomings.

 

IEE is an enhanced Business Management system that consists of nine steps:

 

lean six sigma black belt training and certification IEE roadmap

 

This IEE 9-step system, which is taught in our IEE Black Belt and Master Black Belt training, provide a system for aligning Lean Six Sigma improvement projects so an enterprise’s satellite-level metrics (financials) improve.

 

 

IEE Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt training provides the details of implementing this 9-step system.  However, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt training also needs to provide a basic understand of this business management system.  The important aspect of IEE for Black Belt training is the selection of improvement projects that benefit the enterprise as a whole (and how the metrics for these process enhancements are reported).

 

Steps 6 and 7 of the 9-step IEE system addresses the project selection and execution issues.  In step 6, an Enterprise Improvement Plan (EIP) is created which shows linkage of improvement projects that are to benefit the enterprise as a whole. This linkage is illustrated in the following example EIP via steps 4 – 7 of the 9-step IEE system:

 

enterprise improvement plan

 

 

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training and Certification should include in its instruction the use of an EIP to show the alignment of improvement projects that address true analytical-determined business needs.

 

Another point that needs to be noted from the above EIP is that focus is given to improving Key Performance Indicators that are important to improve for the business as a whole.  These metrics that are to be improved need to have ownership, where a periodic leadership reporting provides a status of project progression to improve the metrics.  When this occurs, improvement projects will not “fall off people’s plates”.

 

This is a different focus than a traditional lean Six Sigma deployment where emphasis is given to monetary savings, which sounds good but can have issues; e.g., what often happens is that a Lean Six Sigma Deployment reports 100 million dollars in savings but nobody can find the money.

 

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training and Certification should also include in its instruction how to demonstrate the improvement of process-output metrics so that the benefits of the efforts can easily been seen and understood by everyone.  The IEE 30,000-foot-level reporting methodology provides the means to demonstrate the true benefits of process improvement efforts.

 

The 30,000-foot-level chart below demonstrates the benefits of an enhanced process with the above EIP:

 

improvement demonstration

 

One might initially think that 30,000-foot-level reporting is just Statistical Process Control (SPC) control charting, but this is not true.

 

A 30,000-foot-level report-out:

  • Does not give focus to the “control” of a process.
  • Assesses whether a process is stable from a high-level point of view (30,000-foot-level), not a low-level process-output response.
  • Provides a predictive capability statement for a stable process in words that everyone can easily understand at the bottom of the chart.
  • Provides a process stability and capability statement in one chart, with the understanding if a prediction statement is not desirable the process needs enhancement.
  • Shows process improvement when a 30,000-foot-level chart is staged to an enhanced level of performance and reports-out the new-improved process capability performance at the bottom of the chart.

 

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training and Certification needs to includes the details for 30,000-foot-level reporting in its education.  If this is not done, the stated benefits of a project typically becomes only an anecdotal statement that leadership and others can have difficulty understanding the value of the performed work; i.e., the true project-improvement-efforts’ benefit to the business and its KPIs.

 

Education Delivery of Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training and Certification

 

Effective education in lean Six Sigma (LSS) needs to follow a detailed improvement project execution template.  An IEE enhanced lean Six Sigma Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control (DMAIC) roadmap provides additional details of the measure phase of the DMAIC roadmap:

 

lean six sigma black belt training and certification IEE DMAIC roadmap

 

The training-taught LSS roadmap needs to truly integrate lean and Six Sigma tools so that the right tool is used at the right time to improve a process-output response.   The IEE DMAIC roadmap accomplishes a lean tools integration in both the measure phase drill down and the analyze phase.

 

The enhanced Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training and Certification of IEE “walks through” usage of the IEE DMAIC roadmap in its training.

 

Effective education in lean Six Sigma needs to provide more than just a deck of slides. IEE Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training and Certification includes six books that are referenced during the training: Integrated Enterprise Excellence Volume III, Integrated Enterprise Excellence Volume II, Lean Six Sigma Project Exectuion Guide, Minitab and Lean Six Sigma, Management 2.0, and Leadership System 2.0.

 

training books

 

From IEE LSS training, attendees can use the provided books long after their training to refresh their memory in classroom-taught, how-to concepts and/or describe/coach others in the wise application of tools.

 

lean six sigma black belt training and certification use of book in training

 

 

Smarter Solutions has built its Lean Six Sigma Black Belt training and certification material to cover all areas of the business; i.e., manufacturing, transactional/service, and research and development industries.

 

Smarter Solutions has leveraged its 25+ years of business to develop training materials that primarily use data sets and exercises that derive from real business issues and problems. We incorporate nearly every modality of training, such as exercises, examples, homework, mini-projects, videos, reading, and lecture to ensure that we reach all student learners.

 

All of the Smarter Solutions instructors have a minimum of 8 years of Lean Six Sigma training as a Master Black Belt along with many more years as an improvement practitioner.  The implication of this is that our Lean Six Sigma Black Belt trainers can rapidly understand the student’s issues and provide targeted coaching and feedback.

 

Key learning points and benefits

  • Practical application to all areas of businesses
  • Every tool is provided with a context for manufacturing and service industries.
  • Soft Skills
    • Communication tools
    • Change management techniques
    • Leadership skills for teaming and advocacy
  • Experiential/Hands on activities
  • Follows a clear process improvement roadmap
  • Exceeds the ASQ standard body of knowledge
  • Very experienced instructors
  • From a provider with a long history of providing lean six sigma and other instruction

Added Value:

  • Relationship between Lean Six Sigma improvement efforts, business goals, and strategies
  • Drives business excellence by going beyond just doing projects
  • Corporate performance reporting (scorecards) enhancements

Included in most Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training tuition options is:

  • Coaching (during, between, and after course) – Value of $1,600
  • Certification (project required) – Value of $500

 

Who should Attend this Enhanced Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training and Certification Offering

This Lean Six Sigma training  is designed for business professionals or companies who desire a strong foundation in Lean Six Sigma and general process improvement that positively impacts the business as a whole. No prior Lean Six Sigma training is required; i.e., one does not need to be a lean Six Sigma Green Belt to attend Black Belt training.

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification is granted by Smarter Solutions after a successful completion of the course and all of the associated homework and in-class projects in conjunction with the successful completion of an independent improvement project using the IEE Project DMAIC roadmap that is taught during the course. There is no specific monetary requirement for the project savings, but it is required to demonstrate a “significant” performance change that is valued by the company. Smarter Solutions provides individual coaching from a Master Black Belt for each student during their independent project that supports the learning and provides guidance in the project execution. This option is included in the full course price and can be added to the basic course with a minimal charge.

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Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training and Certification: Additional Information

A description of what is provided in this Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training is provided through the following link:

Many have have gained much from this LSS MBB training.  A few statements about our Lean Six Sigma Training are provided in:

Two example testimonial statements from the above “Testimonials” link are:

“This (IEE Black Belt) course is highly recommended for anyone interested in eliminating and preventing process problems.  This course is highly recommended for (making) process improvements .” Jacquelyn Barnett, Operations Supervisor, Bama Companies.

“(This IEE Black Belt course) helped me look at each process relative to how it impacts overall company goals.  (This course encourages asking) how does improving this process improve the bottom line?  Looking forward to implementing these tools in my daily work.”  Seth Nienhuis, Bama Companies.

 

Past students provide stories about their Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training and Certification experience through the following webinar (no sign-in required):

 

 

student stories

 

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training Considerations: Published Article and Webinar

Choosing a training offering for Lean Six Sigma should be examined from different perspectives.  The following published articles and webinar provides considerations for this decision making process.

Article: “Lean Six Sigma Training and Objectives

Article “Implementation Beyond Lean Six Sigma: Why lean Six Sigma Deployments Fail and What you can do to Resolve Issue

 

article

 

The following webinar provides consideration thoughts for selecting a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training and Certification offering that addresses your needs is (no sign-in required to view the webinar):

 

lean six sigma black belt training and certification webinar

 

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training Considerations: Training Deliver Options and Next Steps

Smarter Solutions, Inc. currently offers delivery of Lean Six Sigma Black Belt training in several formats:

  • On-site classroom Lean Six Sigma Black Belt training with coaching and certification: Four weeks over four months — Can also include leadership training [Contact us to discuss pricing options]
  • On-site classroom Lean Six Sigma Black Belt training with coaching and certification: Two weeks over two months (accelerated-training offering) — Can also include leadership training [Contact us to discuss pricing options]
  • Public classroom Lean Six Sigma Black Belt training with coaching and certification: Two weeks over two months (accelerated-training offering)  [$4,900; $4,500 (early registration)]
  • On-line Lean Six Sigma Black Belt training without coaching and certification [$3,100]
  • On-line Lean Six Sigma Black Belt training with coaching and certification [$6,395; contact us to discuss other pricing options]

 

Contact Us to set up a time to discuss with Forrest Breyfogle how your organization might gain much from an Integrated Enterprise Excellence (IEE) Business Process Management System approach for Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training and Certification.