Course Length: 2 days

Course Overview

Lean principles have come a long way since the late 1700s – beginning with Benjamin Franklin’s early ideas, then Henry Ford’s streamlining work in the 1920s and then Toyota's traditions in the 1930s. More recently, Jeffery Liker has provided a bridge to these traditions in his book The Toyota Way. Lean principles have evolved from simple concepts into widely-used best practices.

The popularity of Six Sigma concepts is credited to Motorola in the late 1980s. Jack Welch made it a central philosophy to his business at General Electric in 1995. Today, the two philosophies of Lean and Six Sigma have merged into a symbiotic relationship where Lean is about production speed and Six Sigma is about production quality. This 2-day course provides participants with a solid foundation in both of these philosophies.

Course Objectives

  • Define Lean and key terms
  • Define Six Sigma and key terms
  • Describe the critical process improvement concepts
  • Identify and reduce various types of waste
  • Explore the uses of Gap Analysis in process improvement
  • Use specific Lean and Six Sigma tools to improve business processes

Note: For a customized Lean/Six Sigma program at your company or for Green Belt / Black Belt Certification based on your company’s projects contact your Learning Coach. 

Course Outline

  • CPI and Corporate Culture
  • Understanding Lean
  • Toyota Production System
  • The TPS House
  • Five Critical Improvement Concepts
  • Understanding Value with the Kano Model
  • Understanding Types of Waste
  • Creating a Lean Enterprise
  • Standard Tools for Implementing Lean
  • Kaizen Events
  • Gap Analysis and Other Tools
  • A Plan to Take Home