Lean Six Sigma

Earning an Lean Six Sigma certification shows employers and colleagues that your understand how to use the Six Sigma tools relevant to your position within a Lean Six Sigma process improvement project.

Lean Six Sigma training will teach you to work effectively as a member of a process improvement team working in a Lean Six Sigma project environment.

There are 4 levels of Six Sigma certification within the APMG Lean Six Sigma training scheme:

Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt

Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt training is suited for anyone who wants to learn the basics of Lean Six Sigma and effective process improvement and those involved in process improvement projects including:

• Operations Managers
• Team Managers
• Project Managers
• Change Managers.

The Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt course covers the following topics:

• Process improvement – the methods used and why it is important
• How to effectively implement improvement projects
• Setting up and facilitating Kaizen teams
• How to create and work within a culture of continuous improvement
• The tools and techniques needed to create stable and efficient processes.

Lean Six Sigma Yellow belt training can benefit anyone working with a Lean Six Sigma organisation. Ensuring all staff understand the Lean Six Sigma principles, processes, tools, and techniques is an important step towards implementing a lean approach in your organisation.

Lean Six Sigma Orange Belt

Lean Six Sigma Orange Belt training is suited to those staff responsible for implementing, monitoring, and controlling continuous improvement initiatives within their organisation.

This level of training teaches practical application of Lean Six Sigma tools and process improvement methods used to reduce process variation and improve production processes. Six Sigma Orange Belt training is suitable for:

• Operations Managers
• Team Managers
• Project Managers
• Change Managers
• Programme Managers.

The Lean Six Sigma Orange Belt course covers the following topics:

• The general philosophy of process improvement
• The way improvement projects should be executed
• How to establish the work environment and standardized work required for further process improvement programs
• Facilitation of problem solving and brainstorming techniques and quality tools
• Tools and techniques to visualize, analyse and improve the logistical flow of processes
• The application of Six Sigma and statistical tools.

Lean Six Sigma Green Belt

Lean Six Sigma Green Belts are specialists in the implementation of Lean Six Sigma projects. By applying their expertise, statistical analysis and the Lean Six Sigma methodology, Green Belts can achieve significant improvements in performance and quality. Green Belts generally work as Lean Six Sigma project managers or as a team member in a larger Black Belt project.

The Lean Six Sigma Green belt syllabus covers the following topics:

• The general ideas and methods of process improvement
• The role of Six Sigma leadership
• Identifying customers’ requirements, project management roadmaps, team formation, the project charter, and Lean Six Sigma project management tools
• Tools and techniques to visualize, analyse and improve processes
• The application of Six Sigma and statistical tools to assure reliable performance
• The application of Six Sigma tools in the product development process.

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt

Lean Six Sigma Black Belts are experts in implementing Lean Six Sigma projects. As a program manager, they are responsible for managing complex projects and supporting improvement teams with tools and techniques. They have skills for applying analytical tools and managing change.

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt training covers the following aspects of Lean Six Sigma management:

• The philosophy of process improvement
• The role and responsibilities of Six Sigma leadership
• Identifying customers’ requirements, project management roadmaps, team formation, the project charter, and Lean Six Sigma project management tools
• Requirements for organized work environments, reliable equipment, and standardised work
• The tools and techniques used to improve processes, make them more stable, predictable, productive, and agile
• The application of Six Sigma and statistical tools to create a reliable performance measurement system
• The application of Six Sigma tools in the product development process.

The 5 principles of Lean Six Sigma are:

1. Define Value

Lean Six Sigma defines ‘value’ as anything a customer is willing to pay for. To maximize the value of a single product, an organisation must take the time to discover our client’s needs.

Often, customers do not fully understand what they want from a service or product. This is especially common when it comes to software and new technology.

It is the job of industry experts to explore the full potential of a product or service and create an optimal solution by gathering data through interviews, surveys, and other methods.

2. Map the Value Stream

Mapping the value stream means using the customers’ idea of ‘value’ as an end-goal, and then working backwards to identify each step that must be completed to reach this goal. This information should be displayed visually so that everyone involved can easily understand the work involved.

As the value stream is mapped, it can be used to identify those processes that aren’t useful or do not add value, thereby eliminating them which leads to a reduction in waste.

Accurate mapping of the value stream helps to reduce costs, improves the speed of development, and ultimately provides a cost-effective and timely solution to a problem.

3. Map the flow

Once the value stream has been mapped and each step outlined, it must be decided what resources are required at each step.

Planning in advance can help reveal potential risks and inefficiencies. Production steps can be reconfigured to prevent bottlenecks. If necessary, cross-functional teams can be created to share the workload.

4. Establish Pull

A pull-based system limits work in process (WIP), ensuring that products are created only when needed and in the exact quantities required.

In a pull system, the tasks that must be completed are stored in a queue. Developers who are not currently occupied will go to the queue and take the item with the highest priority that they are able to complete.

5.Pursue Perfection

A large part of Lean Six Sigma focuses on imbedding the idea of continuous process improvement in organisational culture. Staff must always strive to improve the way they work.

To do this, organisations must create an environment of learning, communication, and collaboration that facilitates continuous improvement and the pursuit of perfection.