“Lean” and “Six Sigma” are two popular business principles and improvement methodologies. They can be used independently but when fused together as “Lean Six Sigma” it can transform teams and organizations.
Lean Six Sigma has become a popular training option for organizations as they seek to enhance their effectiveness. If you're a process improvement practitioner looking to better understand this methodology and the available certification levels, read on to find out more.
What is Lean Six Sigma?
Simply: Lean streamlines processes while Six Sigma reduces problems.
Initially used for streamlining manufacturing, "Lean" is now implemented in all industries. In the context of business, it gets rid of anything that is “non-value add” from your organization’s processes.
"Six Sigma" is a data-driven methodology offering tools and strategies to create better services and products – achieving maximum effectiveness, eliminating wasted time, and resolving issues.
At its core, Lean Six Sigma aims to create and support a continuous improvement organizational culture.
Six Sigma Certification
The Six Sigma Certification has different rankings (known as belts). Each belt promotes distinct skill levels, knowledge, and experience to help you become a Lean Six Sigma professional.
The Lean Six Sigma Belts Explained
White Belt
Provides a general understanding of how Lean Six Sigma works and the correct use of terminology.
Yellow Belt
Develops an understanding of how Lean Six Sigma works and how to actively contribute to process improvement projects. Yellow Belt is ideal for those who lead limited improvement projects.
Green Belt
Reinforces a confident understanding of Lean Six Sigma and how to apply it successfully. This certification is best for those working in a project management role.
Black Belt
For those who drive cross-functional process improvement projects or work on projects tied to the business’ long-term success.
Master Black Belt
Develops advanced level knowledge and experience of Lean Six Sigma. A master black belt certified individual manages process improvement on a strategic level.
Champion Belt
Targets the executive leadership team and implies that you have achieved high proficiency in Six Sigma methodology.
Here are the Top 5 Benefits of Lean Six Sigma Training
1. Increases Efficiency
Engaging in a Lean Six Sigma training course will contribute towards your organization’s efforts to eliminate waste in the forms of time, effort, physical resources, and talent. Through the training, you will learn how to identify and rectify areas of waste within your organization.
2. Enhances Motivation
Empowering yourself or your team with Lean Six Sigma training will boost satisfaction and motivation, encouraging performance at high levels and becoming problem-solvers who surpass goals. Not only will training enhance professional development, but the process improvement itself from the implemented methodology will increase productivity. (A win-win!)
3. Improves Customer Satisfaction
The goal of Lean Six Sigma is to eliminate mistakes and waste. Specifically, it is the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt that focuses on the customer as part of the development process. With Green Belt training, you will learn how to see the business process through the customer lens by considering the user experience when reducing costs and improving quality.
With this focus in mind, the outcome has a higher probability of resulting in happier customers.
4. Reduces Organizational Expenses
Developing the ability to identify and eliminate waste within your organization will help to reduce costs. It’s that simple. A Lean Six Sigma certification equips you with the tools and techniques to streamline processes, make important decisions and eliminate errors – all of which can save your organization money.
5. Develops More Effective Teams
Lean Six Sigma puts the emphasis on continuous improvement—for you and the organization. Successful organizations are built with effective and high-performing teams. Hands-on, project-based training develops essential collaboration skills. Moving incrementally up the certification belt ladder progressively develops your technical expertise as well as your team leadership skills.
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Are you inspired by the benefits of Lean Six Sigma training? Then take a look at these top providers that we highly recommend for Lean Six Sigma courses.
- Corporate Education Group (CEG): With more than 30 years of experience rooted in corporate training, CEG delivers talent strategies and development solutions that align with targeted business goals to transform organizational performance. Its focus is to provide relevant, actionable, and practical solutions tailored to address the challenges specific to each client.
- Mainstream Corporate Training: The Mainstream team’s approach to training is to ensure an engaging balance between information and entertainment. We appreciate that learning should be enjoyable as much as it is informative. Our methods ensure participants are engaged and achieve maximum learning impact in an atmosphere that is comfortable and open, so participants feel confident to learn.
- Procept Associates: Procept has trained over 1 million people from over 17,000 organizations. It focuses on developing competencies in project management, change management, agile management, leadership, business analysis, IT and data management. They are experts in online training with over 70 accredited instructors and 20 years of delivering instructor-led virtual training plus decades of developing self-directed e-learning. Offices across Canada and the USA, in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
- Analyze and Improve, Inc: With a company philosophy of "Stability before Capability and only then Capital," A&I's key foundation is to provide training to drive Operational Improvement. The company aims to deliver the tools and approaches to help individuals and corporations solve their problems and take advantage of business opportunities. A&I specializes in using operational improvement and management systems to help you reduce costs, eliminate waste, increase production, or improve efficiency.
