Green Belt Training Summary

Lean Six Sigma is an advanced, problem-solving technique based on factual data. Business processes are measured and analyzed to understand their natural variation and flow. These processes are then improved to reduce variation to levels that exceed customer specifications and improve flow and process efficiency to maximum potential levels. Finally, plans are implemented to ensure continuous improvement and the creation of an information-based, innovation-driven, problem solving culture.

The goal of Lean Six Sigma is to reduce mistakes/defects to less than 3.4 parts per million units produced or transactions processed – while maximizing process flow. Business processes such as human resources (turnover and absenteeism), purchasing (supplier quality), finance (discrepant invoices), service (customer complaints and unanswered calls), sales and other processes can be improved.

This workshop will enable a broad spectrum of employees to use Six Sigma to solve problems. It makes Six Sigma easy to learn and implement. By educating 15 to 20 employees in three 1 day sessions, and implementing during that same time, Six Sigma will begin to become part of your culture in as little as 3 months. Managers, front-line employees, technical employees and executives can all take part in small teams that work to solve company problems.

Benefits of Six Sigma:

• Dramatically reduce mistakes/defects in processes
• Provide improved and more consistent customer service
• Reduce direct and indirect costs
• Increase sales

Participants will:

• Work as a team to solve real company problems, resulting in real savings and improvements
• Use a structured process (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) for solving problems
• Define problems
• Lead data-gathering (Measure) phase of the project
• Analyze data statistically and graphically
• Understand statistical experimentation to improve processes
• Create Control Strategies

Six Sigma Workshop Learning Process

Strategy Associates teaches a hands-on, practical approach to Lean Six Sigma that combines classroom lecture, hands-on exercises and workplace implementation:

1. Explanation of the tool, its origins and application is given
2. Examples of how to apply the tool are shown
3. Paper airplane simulation of accuracy and distance is demonstrated
4. Manual calculation of statistical answer is performed
5. Participants return to their workplace
6. Teams of company associates apply classroom learning on workplace problems
7. Teams present accomplishments
8. Each team is judged on the quality of the implementation and results that are achieved

Green Belt, Phase One

Define, Measure and Analyze

Company executive management chooses 3 to 4 problems that need solving and assigns a team of 4 to 5 associates to each problem.

1. Lean Six Sigma Overview
   • Introduction
   • Structure of Six Sigma
   • Project teams
2. Define
   • Select a project
   • Pareto Analysis – Concentrate on the vital few
   • Prepare a problem statement
3. Define Simulation Exercise
   • Each team will prepare a Pareto Analysis
   • Each team writes a problem statement for the classroom simulation
4. Measure
   • Standardize data collection
   • Measurement repeatability and reproducibility
5. Measure Simulation Exercise – Airplanes
   • Each team practices measurement repeatability and reproducibility
   • Each team throws paper airplanes, and each team member measures distance from the target
6. Calculate Measurement Reproducibility using Descriptive Statistics
   • Use airplane simulation to practice calculations
7. Analyze
   • Variation in processes
   • Descriptive statistics (Mean, median, mode, range, and standard deviation)
   • Graphical analysis
   • Process capability
   • Calculating confidence intervals
   • Statistically proving performance improvement (T- and Chi-Squared Tests)
8. Analyze Simulation Exercise
   • Compare each team’s performance statistically and graphically

Teams write a problem statement and create a measurement plan, including precautions to measurement error.

Green Belt, Phase Two

Improve & Control

Teams present definition, measurement and analysis of their problem to the class.

9. Improve
   • Cause-and-Effect Diagrams
   • The Five Whys
   • Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ)
   • Designed experiments
   • Control and noise factors
10. Improve Simulation Exercise
    • Create a designed experiment to improve paper airplane accuracy
    • Change one factor and give it three levels of variation
    • Use TRIZ principles to decide how to improve accuracy
    • Run experiment and analyze results
    • Use scatter diagrams to determine correlation
11. Experimental Arrays
    • Choose factors and factor levels
    • Create an experimental array to vary more than one factor
    • Determine the best combination of factor levels
    • Quarterly, Monthly or Weekly
12. Improve Simulation Exercise
    • Create another designed experiment to improve paper airplane accuracy
    • Change one new variable and give it three levels of variation
    • Use the three levels of the variable changed in the previous experiment
    • Run experiment and analyze results
    • Confirm results
13. Control – Performance Measures
    • Create process scorecards
14. Control – Statistical Process Control (SPC)
    • Role in Six Sigma and process improvement
    • Continuous Data SPC
    • Attribute Data SPC
    • Simulation exercises using each type of control chart

Teams create performance measurement scorecards for the area of your company that has been improved and present them to the class.

Cost of Training:

$2,400 – including software and materials, handbooks, manuals.