Lean certification is about building those skills in critical thinking and problem solving that are proven catalysts for creating strategic organizations. The lean tools build capacity in designing/leading effective change initiatives, promote creativity (ideas that are novel and useful) and spur innovation. Ultimately, they build mastery in the area of process thinking. This leads to a comprehensive organizational change approach and a continuous improvement mind-set.
These highly participative programs are for people that have responsibilities for developing teams, managing people and processes and have accountability for results. Lean introduces participants to the concepts and tools that will help make them successful now and in the future as change and process improvement takes hold. The key ingredients of the competencies required to create a culture of improvement leading to world class results will be explored.
Program Outcomes
- Increased ability to recognize improvement opportunities
- Provision of practical tools for implementing change and process/service improvement
- An ability to identify high value services and increased organizational capacity
- An ability to change organizational culture and increase employee engagement
- Elimination of waste in areas that add no/little value to services and products
- Meaningful conversations with employees about leveraging LEAN
- Tools for transitioning to high value business practices
- Support employees with the resources to apply LEAN principles and tools
- Initiate LEAN assessments to improve internal operations
- Strategies for increased customer focus
- Strategies for increased productivity and efficiencies
- Tools for sustainable business practices
- Increased skillset to engage in projects that have the potential to have a high ROI
White Belt Certification
This course is applicable to every employee in an organization. Upon completion of a White Belt program, participants will be able to understand the language of Lean thinking, Lean Principles and the application of introductory Tools for identifying and eliminating waste.
Content
- Introduction to Lean - History and principles
- Customer - Identify your customer and understand their role in the continuous improvement cycle.
- Value Streams & Waste - Definition and examples in organizations.
- Simulations - Participation in a simulation, in which participants identify and describe waste forms.
- Lean Concepts - An introduction to key Lean concepts including 5S, Flow, and Pull systems
- Tools - A high level introduction to Lean tools to describe the current state and quantify waste. ( what is getting in the way of doing the work)
- Identifying process issues
- The 8 wastes or Lenses of how we look at processes
- Tools for identifying set up and flow at work
Format
Online Delivery
Yellow Belt Certification
At this level of certification participants become skilful with the processes and tools of Lean by completing an applied project. After completing the online White Belt course, participants come together as an in-class cohort and deepen the learning with the additional of new tools/topics. By actively engaging with the methodology, participants learn how lean can create value by eliminating the activities that consume resources or which add cost or time without an increase in value. As part of the Yellow Belt Certification, participants receive personal mentoring and coaching during the project stage.
Content:
- Impact on organizational culture
- History of Continuous Improvement
- Five core principles
- Value Add vs Non Value Add activities
- Voice of the Customer
- Eight wastes
- Introduction to metrics and measurement
- Problem Statement to identify the issue
- Charter
- SIPOC ( Supplier Inputs, Process Outputs, Customer)
- Value Stream Maps
- Process Maps
- Spaghetti Diagrams
- Brainstorming
- Cause and Effect diagrams
- Pareto Charts
- Standard Work
- Batching and Takt Time
- 5S/6S
- Error Proofing
- Visual Management and Visual Controls
- Organizational Change and Change Management
- Kaizen – An in-depth look at how to run a standard Kaizen, including topics, timing and team selection.
Format
Three days of in-class training ; completion of an approved project (2-30 minute coaching sessions provided)
Green Belt Certification
Green Belts have two primary tasks: first, to help deploy lean tools and processes and second, to lead small-scale improvement projects within their respective areas. Upon completion of the Green Belt Certification program, participants will be able to execute continuous improvement projects as part of their overall jobs. Instruction is application focused and requires all participants to successfully complete a project and present on the results. Certification will be awarded when the participants have demonstrated the level of mastery expected at a Green Belt level. Extensive coaching will be provided as part of on-going project support.
Content:
- Review of Yellow belt Lean Principles and tools
- 5S - Introduction and application of organizing the work space for efficiency and effectiveness in addressing how to store, streamline and maintain items in the work space in a standardized way.
- Kanban/Pull - Introduction to the control tools that improve and maintain the logistical chain of high-level production and customer-based replenishment.
- DMAIC-Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control - Data-driven cyclical roadmap to improve and optimize business processes and designs.
- Tools - Theory and application of using key Lean tools including data collection, root cause analysis and solution implementation
- Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) - Systematic risk management technique that analyzes failure and determines corrective and preventative measures.
- Accelerated Change Management - Insight into proactive management of change, including an assessment of typical responses to change and approaches to making positive, lasting change in every environment.
- Improvement Projects - An in-depth look at how to manage an improvement project from defining the problem through to validating and sustaining the change.
- Value Stream Mapping (VSM) - Highly effective tool that creates a visual map of the current state and desired future state for either a product or a service chain of activities. This groundwork will define strategies and priorities required to eliminate non-value adding steps and achieve a lean workflow.
- Performance Management and KPI - In-depth look at measuring performance and plant or business sustainability.
Format
3 days of in-person instruction plus extensive mentoring and coaching. Project report-out required in order to receive Green Belt certification.