Executive Education Centre
Lean Six Sigma:
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
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UNB’s Executive Education Centre and the Juran Institute Inc.
What is Lean and Six Sigma?
Problems that Lean and Six Sigma can Solve
Lean Six Sigma (DMAIC) Curriculum
Awareness Briefing
Money Belt Seminar
Executive Seminar
Champion Seminar
Yellow Belt Training
Green Belt Training
Black Belt Training
Best Practices for Lean Six Sigma Success
Expectations and Goals for Lean Six Sigma
Characteristics of a Lean Six Sigma Project
Organizational Resources Needed for Lean Six Sigma
Rollout Plan for Lean Six Sigma
Integration of Existing and Newly Started Programs into Lean Six Sigma
UNB’s Executive Education Centre
(EEC) and the Juran Institute Inc. (Juran)
Ø  EEC is committed to providing exceptional educational programming for
executives and senior managers that focuses on proven business strategies
and tools to achieve success.
Ø  Juran is known world wide for its research, consulting and training that
enables organizations to increase quality, streamline business processes,
reduce costs and heighten their competitive edge. The Juran Institute is a
pioneer in providing transformational solutions to enable clients improved
system and financial performance. Their unparalleled pool of experienced
professional coaches and trainers believe all organizations can attain real
results and cultural change.
Ø  Together we are able to offer learning opportunities locally in the Maritimes
for those interested in expanding their knowledge in operational processes
and quality improvements.
What is Lean and Six Sigma?
Lean Six Sigma is a result of two powerful methodologies (Lean and Six
Sigma) that have a complementary toolkit. Combining the two techniques with
effective team skills has provided vast improvements. Juran uses two short
definitions to explain the methods of Lean and Six Sigma.
Ø  Lean is the elimination of waste, as seen from the customer and business
perspective. Waste refers to the non-value-added tasks that a customer or employer
would not pay for. Deployment of Lean is highly successful by using proven tools,
properly applying technology, getting things done systematically and quickly, and
creating a high performance work environment.
Ø  Six Sigma is a measure of performance that strives for near perfection in all
processes. Six Sigma is a systematic approach and information-driven methodology
for eliminating process deficiencies and variation that increase costs and reduce
revenues.
What is Lean and Six Sigma?
(cont.)
The fundamental objective of Juran’s Lean Six Sigma Services is to develop a
methodology and strategy that can enable your organization to focus on
process improvement and variation reduction through the application of Lean
and Six Sigma.
This can be accomplished through the use of two of the Lean Six Sigma methodologies: DMAIC and
DMADV:
Ø  The Lean Six Sigma DMAIC process (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control)
is an improvement system for (existing) processes falling below specification
and provides methods for obtaining incremental improvement.
Ø  The Lean Six Sigma DFSS or Juran’s Quality by Design (QbD) process builds on
the DMAIC tools to provide the additional tools to design new products: goods,
services and processes at Six Sigma quality levels.
What are the Problems that
Lean Six Sigma can solve?
Ø  Dissatisfied customers
Ø  Poorly designed workflows to support changes in
technology
Ø  Excessive waste and inefficiency
Ø  Declining revenue impacting cash flow and debt
Ø  Excessive number of process delays and work-arounds
Ø  Excessive costs
Ø  Multiple or inconsistent problem-solving approaches
Lean Six Sigma (DMAIC) Curriculum?
The typical Lean Six Sigma curriculum is as follows:
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Awareness (1/2 day)
Leadership: An Executive Briefing (1 day)
Champion Training (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) (Executive plus 1 day)
Money Belt (1 day)
Black Belt Training (8 days)
Green Belt Training (4 - 8 days)
Yellow Belt Training (2 - 4 days)
Master Black Belt Training (10+ days)
Awareness Briefing
This workshop is a primer for participants to understand the continuous
improvement methods of Lean and Six Sigma.
Training will include:
Ø  The principles of Lean and Six Sigma:
Ø  How to use systematic improvement projects to improve performance
Ø  The fundamentals of data driven problem solving and the ability to interpret
core tools:
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Brainstorming
Pareto
Cause & Effect
Frequency Distribution, and
Control Charts
Money Belt
One of the most important voices in an organization are the finance
professionals. Including them in the Lean Six Sigma program and on teams is
essential in developing credible return on investment. The Juran Lean Six
Sigma in Finance Workshop was developed to educate the finance function on
their role in LSS.
Topics for this workshop include:
Ø  The role of finance in a LSS program.
Ø  Understanding and creating a cost of poor quality metric.
Ø  LSS as it applies to the financial processes.
Ø  Participation on a LSS Team.
Ø  Determining the ROI of process improvement
Executive
This one-day workshop introduces participants to Lean Six Sigma and its
impact on business and operational performance. This workshop is the
foundation for all the other Lean Six Sigma workshops.
This workshop will answer the following questions:
Ø  What are the most effective and efficient methods to manage quality and attain
superior results?
Ø  What is the role of the executive management team in developing a quality
management system?
Ø  What is the optimal infrastructure to support a quality management system?
Ø  What results can we expect?
Ø  How are Lean, Six Sigma, and PDSA used to drive system results and make us more
competitive in our market?
Ø  How do we align the Performance Excellence Program with the Corporate Strategic
Business Plan?
Ø  How do we integrate this with other initiatives?
Ø  What is the roadmap to go from here to there?
Champion
Over the course of two days, you will learn how to successfully deploy Lean Six
Sigma, how to build an optimal project management system, and how to improve
your company’s infrastructure. The Lean Six Sigma Champion seminar also teaches
you about effective project charters, integrating improvement projects with strategic
plans, and the best tools and methods for solving problems
Workshop Objectives:
•  Exploring the leadership roles necessary to build and manage a successful deployment.
•  Preparing leaders to deal with the practical day-to-day human, structural, and
technological issues that arise when deploying change.
•  Learning how to select the right improvement methods and tools to solve problems.
•  An understanding of Lean Six Sigma and its deployment
•  Definitions of Executive Management team roles
•  Preparations for dealing with day-to-day issues that arise from change
•  Knowledge of how to integrate Lean Six Sigma with your strategic plan
•  Ability to identify and draft project charters
Yellow Belt Training
This four-day workshop is intended for team members, department managers,
and quality specialists.
Workshop Objectives:
Ø  Training will include Lean Six Sigma core competencies, tools, methodologies,
and change management principles.
Ø  Individuals who complete this process will have the skill level of a Yellow Belt and be
prepared to facilitate performance improvement projects at your organization.
Upgrade: Green Belt Training
This four-day workshop is designed as a follow up to the yellow belt training.
Workshop Objectives:
Ø  Learning the DMAIC methodology and how to use Lean Six Sigma tools to identify
and resolve chronic problems.
Ø  Practicing the use of Minitab® data analysis software to increase the participants’
speed and effectiveness in applying the tools.
Ø  Enabling participants to conduct or participate in Lean Six Sigma projects and apply
Lean Six Sigma tools and statistical analysis in a real project while working with little
or no supervision from Black Belts. Their projects will contribute to the profitability of
the organization through improved quality and productivity.
Black Belt Training
This eight-day workshop will take place over two, four-day sessions.
Workshop Objectives:
Ø  Obtaining an in-depth understanding of the Lean Six Sigma philosophy, theory, strategy, tactics,
and quality management tools.
Ø  Learning Lean techniques and principles and Lean Six Sigma DMAIC methodology, when and
how to use the appropriate tools and statistics to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness
of the organization, along with project selection, deployment, and change management.
Ø  Enabling participants to lead Lean Six Sigma Black Belt level project teams.
Ø  Teaching participants how to develop, coach, and lead cross-functional Lean Six Sigma
Improvement (DMAIC) teams and also how to use, teach, and distribute Lean Six Sigma tools and
methods to Lean Six Sigma Green Belts and team members.
Best Practices for
Lean Six Sigma Success
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Do not get caught up in arguing over which came first, Lean or Six Sigma
Do not allow short term quick wins which may lead to early success
Keep it going when there is a change in leadership
Manage impatience of executives and identify those that do not buy-in and
work with them
Create an effective and sufficient infrastructure to deploy LSS
Lookout for macroeconomic events that may cause us to stop the effort
Deal with the roadblocks
Pilot first and expand from there
Communicate, communicate, communicate why Lean Six Sigma and
project success
What expectations and goals can be set
for Lean Six Sigma and how can you
measure your achievement to them?
To be a Lean Six Sigma company you will need to achieve objectives such as:
Ø  Developing a common language, common tool set
Ø  Creating an external obsession for customers
Ø  Assuring everybody understands, is provided and utilizes the language, the
methods, and tools in alignment with corporate strategy
Ø  Changing the way we think and work
What are some typical characteristics
of a Lean Six Sigma Project?
Each successful project:
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Has an ROI of $500K to $1M.
Will require 2-4 months to complete.
Must complete an approved project charter.
Uses 6-8 employees as team members at 20% of their work-week.
Uses one Black Belt full time. Their first project will be a training project.
Requires an organization Champion to sponsor.
Will be launched, monitored, and will have recommendations approved by a
Steering Team.
What resources are needed for an
effective Lean Six Sigma initiative?
1.  Executive Team: The Executive Team consists of business leaders, the
CEO, and direct reports, all of whom provide oversight to the Steering
Team.
2.  Steering Team: The Steering Team reports to the Executive Team and
responsible for activities that cannot be delegated. “The Steering Team
members are senior executives, thought leaders, and fanatics of LSS!”
3.  Champions: Champions are management representatives that will drive the
implementation within a business unit, function, or process. Champions are
not just from management; they are those who want to demonstrate the
benefits of Lean and are willing to take a risk to achieve the intended
results. Champions are viewed as leaders of the initiatives
What resources are needed for an
effective Lean Six Sigma initiative?
(cont.)
4.  Black Belts: A managerial level or technical specialist assigned full-time
responsibility to implement multi- functional Lean Six Sigma improvement
projects within a business unit. Black Belts have an in-depth understanding
of Lean and Six Sigma philosophy, theory, strategy, tactics, and quality
management tools.
5.  Green Belts: A Green Belt will lead a departmentally focused improvement
project or participate as a team member on a multi-functional improvement
project. A Green Belt receives 10 days of training and must pass a written
and oral review (required for certification).
6.  Yellow Belts: A Yellow Belts serves as a team members and Subject Matter
Experts and play a part in the current process selected as a project. Yellow
Belt receives four days of training.
What resources are needed for an
effective Lean Six Sigma initiative?
(cont.)
Communication Methods:
Communicate LSS “White Paper” to all managers
PowerPoint presentation and speaker notes on LSS
Executive announcement “Talking Points”
Website: Lean Six Sigma Portal
Need advice for external communications i.e. Annual Report and
Customer presentations
Ø  Lean Six Sigma newsletters
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What resources are needed for an
effective Lean Six Sigma initiative?
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Metrics and Measures of Lean Six Sigma:
Ø  Program metrics are needed
Ø  Project Metric: Achievement of each project mission with financial staff sign
up and sign off for hard savings of ROI
Ø  Individual metrics: Executives, Belts, Champions, Employees
What resources are needed for an
effective Lean Six Sigma initiative?
(cont.)
Change Management and Human Resource Support:
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Recruitment, role, and reward for full-time Black Belts
Use targeted selection process
Create charge codes to allow employees to work on projects
Determine recognition and reward for Belts and Team Success
Awareness to Unions
What will the Rollout Plan look like?
The speed and magnitude of the deployment is critical; too small and you do not have a big enough
impact, too big and you do a poor job and risk doing more harm than good. You do not want to engage
everybody in your organization on the first day or even in the first year because it will be impossible to
manage and will waste enormous time and energy. Worse than that, you could damage the reputation
of Lean Six Sigma with your employees.
A better strategy is a pilot phase to promote learning and improving through a controllable number of
improvement projects with specific LSS criteria for success. The Steering Team will define these
criteria.
In order to meet the needs of your organization and to assure positive cultural change, Juran
recommends adopting a simple model: The Juran Roadmap and Model for Change. The Juran
Roadmap contains five different phases: Decide, Prepare, Launch, Expand, and Sustain that enable a
pragmatic deployment of Lean and Six Sigma.
The following information provides a brief description of each of the five phases:
Decide Prepare Launch Expand Sustain What will the Rollout Plan look like?
Decide Phase (30-60 days)
Ø  This phase begins when your executive team concludes that a change is
needed if the organization is to change its culture. It ends when a decision is made
to prepare a clear plan for organizational change. The plan must include a Cost of
Poor Quality and ROI Assessment, infrastructure to steer the changes, methodology
and tools to be used, goals and objectives, a detailed plan for achieving results, and a
scorecard to assure results are sustained.
Decide What will the Rollout Plan look like?
Prepare Phase (30 days)
Ø  In this phase, your organization should train senior and middle managers on Lean Six
Sigma methods and tools. This phase begins by deploying the plan created in the
Decide phase and ends after a successful launch of demonstration or the first
wave of improvement projects. Deployment Leader coaching occurs throughout this
phase.
Prepare What will the Rollout Plan look like?
Launch Phase (90-180 days)
Ø  This phase happens when an organization begins the improvement projects that must
be carried out to meet the desired goals. It trains employees in the tools and
techniques of Lean and Six Sigma, reviews progress of each team, certifies team
members, and enables success. Champion, Deployment Leader, and project team
coaching occurs throughout this phase and is mutually scheduled between Juran and
your organization’s staff. As projects are completed, the executive team evaluates
lessons learned, makes changes, and expands the plan throughout the
organization.
Launch What will the Rollout Plan look like?
Expand Phase (on-going)
Ø  During this phase, your organization adds more projects and implements new
processes to gain more breakthroughs. Positive results will occur long before cultural
change takes place. Staying in the Expand phase is not a bad thing. An organization
must continue to implement change unit by unit until the entire enterprise has had
time to implement all of the desired changes.
Expand What will the Rollout Plan look like?
Sustain Phase (on-going)
Ø  In this final phase, an organization has a fully integrated operation, and all
improvements and goals are aligned with the established strategy and deployment
plans. Key business processes are defined, and process owners are assigned to
continuously improve their performance.
Sustain How will you integrate Lean Six Sigma
into existing and newly started
programs?
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There are a number of other existing and new programs that need to be aligned with
your Lean Six Sigma approach and not appear to be disconnected.
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Simply stated, all of these programs will fit with your new Lean Six Sigma campaign
by simply using the Lean and Six Sigma methods and/or tools to achieve their goals.
Thank You!