Lean Black Belt Program

Watch video overview of program.

Learning Outcomes

• To fully understand the history of lean and the contributing developers of lean.

• To fully understand the strategic objective of lean.

• To mentor and lead the organizational organization in lean.

• To become an expert of all lean tools and advanced methods.

• To become conversant at the development of a strategic Operational Excellence plan and lead the execution of Lean Projects.

Training Methodology and Philosophy: Philosophical Consistency

Most organizations are attempting to create a consistent philosophical approach to solving fundamental problems. This notion of Continuous Improvement (CI) must cascade from the leadership team to the shop floor operator. If the philosophical approach is consistent ~ then we are finding marvelous results. Typical results with consistent approaches are showing:

• 50% Time Reduction

• 50% Cost Reduction

• 50% Quality Improvement.

These are startling results even to skilled practitioners.

However, if the CI portfolio is NOT managed consistently, then communication breaks down and the results above are NOT achieved. What is different about the two camps is the philosophical approach to problem solving. We at ASU have addressed this aggressively. We have established a consistent problem solving approach for everything we do. We call this: "RDdmaicSI"

• R - Strategically Recognize that an opportunity exists

• D - Strategically Define the opportunity.

• d - Tactically Define the purpose, viewpoint and context of the problem in a Value Stream Map or other format.

• m - Measure the key attributes and align these to the strategic metrics found in "R".

• a - Analyze the situation and identify the root cause

• i - Make Improvements happen with the users owning the results.

• c - Achieve Control of the new solution over the long run

• S - Standardize on how this process should be conducted throughout the enterprise.

• I - Integrated this into the fabric of the enterprise.

This "RDdmaicSI" comes from page 115 of the classic Six Sigma text written by Mikel Harry and Richard Schroeder. It extends the "dmaic" problem solving approach to a strategic focus and strategic metrics.

We at ASU used this consistent philosophical approach in all of our CI offerings:

• Obviously we use this in our Six Sigma offerings because "dmaic" is the foundation of Six Sigma. However, we consistently add the "RD" on the front end and the "SI" on the back end.

• What is not so obvious is that we also use "RDdmaicSI" for our Lean Roadmapping. Lean and Six Sigma are complementary and the teams are using the same philosophical approach to solve problems.

• We are now extending this into our new Sustainability thrust by incorporating "RDdmaic" into our ISO 14000 Environmental Management Systems efforts.

By applying a consistent philosophical approach to problem solving, we find we achieve synergies from Senior Leadership to Knowledge Worker, from one organization to the next.

Instruction Format and Schedule

The program is offered in four 1-week sessions at Arizona State University, or at your company site. Each 1-week session is offered each month over a period of four months. Class sessions are Monday-Friday 9:00 am-5:00 pm.

View a sample course schedule.

Quizzes and Projects

The program concludes with student Project Report presentations demonstrating effects on operational performance. This session is required for all students wishing to receive a certificate, as the project is used as the major criterion for grading. A quiz will be administered at the end of each instructional week.

Who Should Attend

The program is aimed at directors, managers, engineers, supervisors and others who have responsibility for implementing continuous improvement within their organizations and also those who wish to develop individual knowledge and skills in the area of strategic lean systems leadership.