Welcome to our Six Sigma Lean Green Belt Course, which is a continuation from our White and Yellow Belt courses. The course will be broken down into the following:

·         The Basics of Lean: Understanding the background of Lean methodology with the learning outcome of understanding its development, basic concepts, and frequent Lean terms and reasons for applying Lean in the workplace.

·         Lean in Action: Understanding the analysis and procedural activities of undertaking a Lean review with the learning outcome of discussing the core of a Lean review of a production process.

·         The Impact of Lean: Understanding how to manage within a Lean environment and considerations for management decisions with the learning outcome of looking at the impact of Lean across industry sectors and the integration of Lean and Six Sigma.

·         Defining a Process: Understanding the importance of determining which parts of a work task or tasks to measure and how to define a process with the learning outcome of determining process owners, scope, and boundaries.

·         Critical to Quality Characteristics: Understanding the importance of identifying the several Critical to Quality characteristics for a Six Sigma project team with the learning outcome of understanding Critical to Quality (CTQ) measures.

·         Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ): Understanding the cost of poor quality, which is the sum of internal and external failures, with the learning outcome of understanding the cost of poor quality.

·         Six Sigma Metrics: Understanding the goal of maintaining statistical process control for Six Sigma projects with the learning outcome of understanding the Sigma level, RTY, DPU, DPMO, FPY, Consequential metrics, Quality Metrics, Cost Metrics, and Scheduling Metrics.

·         Estimating the Baseline: Understanding the importance of estimating the baseline to provide an accurate metric to measure improvements against with the learning outcome of understanding the process of estimating the baseline.

·         The Define Stage: Understanding the activities expected at the initial Define stage of a Six Sigma project with the learning outcome of understanding the project definition and scoping of goals and objectives, defining the process in terms of stakeholders, and the functionalities of the process.

·         The Measure Phase: Understanding the activities expected at the Measure stage of a Six Sigma project with the learning outcome of getting more detail into the process, what metrics and measurements are involved, and estimating the baseline of the current “as is” process.

·         Six Sigma Tools: Understanding the useful tools that may be applied throughout the Six Sigma project with the learning outcome of understanding the factually presented information on various Six Sigma tools.

·         The Analyze Phase: Understanding the activities expected at the Analyze stage of a Six Sigma project with the learning outcome of examining the value stream proposition and analysis and determining the factors that influence the process output.

·         The Improve Stage: Understanding the activities expected at the Improve stage of a Six Sigma project with the learning outcome of defining the new process, examining potential benefits, and verifying the new process.

·         The Control Stage: Understanding the activities expected at the final control stage of a Six Sigma project with the learning outcome of standardizing the new practice, verifying the impacts/savings, and documenting lessons learned.

·         Valuing Six Sigma: Understanding the role of a Green Belt in Six Sigma with the learning outcome of covering the activities of a Green Belt and how it differs from a Black Belt and the communications project tasks a Green Belt may undertake.

The Basics of Lean

The Basics of Lean is an important aspect of Six Sigma Lean Green Belt training, as it provides a foundation for understanding the Lean methodology and its applications in the workplace. The goal of this module is for learners to understand the development and background of Lean, its basic concepts, and the common Lean terms used in the industry. This will help learners understand the reasons for applying Lean in the workplace and prepare them to take on Lean projects in the future.

The development of Lean can be traced back to the Toyota Production System (TPS), which was created in Japan in the 1950s and 1960s. TPS was designed to increase efficiency and reduce waste in the production process, and it became the basis for the Lean methodology. The key principles of Lean include reducing waste, increasing efficiency, and continuous improvement.

There are several key concepts in Lean that are important for Six Sigma Green Belts to understand. These include:

·         Value Stream Mapping: A visual representation of the entire production process from start to finish, including all the steps, activities, and materials involved. This tool helps to identify areas for improvement and streamline the production process.

·         Waste Elimination: Lean is all about reducing waste in the production process, including overproduction, waiting, defects, overprocessing, unnecessary inventory, and unused talent.

·         Continuous Improvement: Lean is not a one-time improvement project, but a continuous process that involves ongoing evaluation and improvement of the production process.

·         Standard Work: The documentation of the best way to perform a task, taking into account all the necessary steps, tools, and resources. This helps to ensure consistency and eliminate waste.

·         Kaizen: A Japanese term that means "continuous improvement." In Lean, this refers to the ongoing effort to improve the production process and eliminate waste.

·         5S: A method for organizing and cleaning the workplace, consisting of the steps Sort, Simplify, Sweep, Standardize, and Sustain.

There are several reasons for applying Lean in the workplace, including increased efficiency, reduced waste, improved customer satisfaction, increased employee morale, and increased profitability.

The Basics of Lean is a critical aspect of Six Sigma Lean Green Belt training, as it provides a foundation for understanding the Lean methodology and its applications in the workplace. Understanding the development and background of Lean, its basic concepts, and common terms will help learners take on Lean projects and drive continuous improvement in their organizations.

Lean in Action

Lean in Action refers to the practical application of Lean methodology to a production process in order to improve efficiency and reduce waste. The goal of a Lean review is to identify areas of inefficiency and implement changes to streamline the process. The following are the key steps in a Lean review:

Value Stream Mapping: The first step in a Lean review is to create a value stream map of the current production process. This map will show all the steps in the process, as well as the flow of materials, information, and people.

Process Analysis: Once the value stream map has been created, the next step is to analyze the process to identify areas of inefficiency and waste. This can be done by identifying activities that do not add value, such as waiting times, overproduction, and excess inventory.

Identify Opportunities for Improvement: Once the areas of inefficiency and waste have been identified, the next step is to identify opportunities for improvement. This can be done by implementing Lean tools such as 5S, kaizen, and standard work.

Implement Changes: Once the opportunities for improvement have been identified, the next step is to implement the changes. This may involve changes to the production process, equipment, and/or personnel.

Monitor Results: After the changes have been implemented, the final step is to monitor the results to ensure that the improvements are sustained and that the production process continues to run smoothly.

Example:

Suppose a company has a production process for manufacturing a certain product. The company wants to improve efficiency and reduce waste in the process. To do this, they conduct a Lean review of the process.

During the value stream mapping phase, the company creates a map of the current production process and identifies areas of inefficiency and waste. During the process analysis phase, they identify activities that do not add value, such as waiting times and excess inventory.

Next, the company identifies opportunities for improvement by implementing Lean tools such as 5S, kaizen, and standard work. They implement changes to the production process, equipment, and personnel, and monitor the results to ensure that the improvements are sustained and the process continues to run smoothly.

Terms to Know:

·         Value Stream Mapping: A visual representation of the production process that shows all the steps involved and the flow of materials, information, and people.

·         Process Analysis: The examination of a production process to identify areas of inefficiency and waste.

·         5S: A Lean tool used to improve the organization and cleanliness of a workplace by sorting, simplifying, sweeping, standardizing, and sustaining.

·         Kaizen: A Japanese term that means "continuous improvement." Kaizen is a Lean tool used to make small, incremental improvements to a process in order to improve efficiency and reduce waste.

·         Standard Work: A standardized way of performing a task that ensures consistency and efficiency.