Black Belt (Service & Transaction)

Course details

Lean Six Sigma is now a highly regarded and widely deployed approach to Continuous Improvement and has become the process improvement methodology of choice for organisations that are serious about achieving world class performance in quality and customer satisfaction. Lean Six Sigma is a team based application of process data and process knowledge to drive process improvement and cost savings in a disciplined project by project approach. This Black Belt (Service & Transaction) course works through the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control) approach to process improvement in the Service and Transaction environment providing delegates with the critical tools involved.

This in-house course can be customised in advance to meet the specific needs of the organisation, including the choice of statistical software (SigmaXL or Minitab). Practical use of the software can be tailored to the delegates’ organisation by using real data examples from the organisation (where possible).

SQT certification of the delegate as a Black Belt (Service & Transaction) is only achieved on completion of a major project, documenting application of the learning tools and evidence of the savings generated. This strategic and comprehensive project must be identified in advance of training which, once successful, will deliver real improvement and tangible savings of €50k annualised. Delegates have up to 12 months following training to complete their final written project report.

This project forms a major part of the training process as it is only by ‘doing’, that people really learn the tools and techniques of Lean Six Sigma. For this reason our training is specifically designed to be very practical and hands-on so that delegates, once they achieve Black Belt status, can go on to lead major improvement initiatives and drive lasting change within their respective organisations.

Key Success Factors Differentiating Lean Six Sigma from other Quality Initiatives:

• Major emphasis on analytical approach, leading to accurate data-based decision making
• Project driven using a defined set of problem solving tools
• Top management leadership focused on success and driving bottom-line savings
• Structured training at various levels to deploy tools and methodology, so that they become “the preferred way of working”

Learning Outcomes

The aim of the course is to produce graduates who possess advanced knowledge of theory and practice of Lean Six Sigma to enable them to establish and/or take leadership roles in process improvement efforts in service & transactional organisations.

On successful completion of this programme the graduate will:

• Be able to effectively plan a lean six sigma black belt project, considering all key elements such as scope, stakeholder buy-in, resource requirements, milestone planning, business case, customer requirements, risk assessment and communications planning. (Define)
• Demonstrate the ability to refine a project in response to data findings once the project has commenced, adjusting scope/goals/timing as appropriate. (Define)
• Demonstrate the ability to lead a project team in characterising a process via data collection, observation, mapping, waste walking and engaging subject matter experts taking care to avoid bias and jumping to solutions. (Measure)
• Have detailed knowledge and understanding of a wide range of problem solving tools and techniques and the manner in which these are combined to ensure effective root cause analysis (Analyse)
• Be able to apply analytical and advanced statistical methods applicable to their business and demonstrate the ability to draw conclusions from the use of analytical and statistical tools (Analyse)
• Be able to confidently plan and facilitate solutions workshops, utilising innovative tools, to identify and prioritise effective solutions (Improve)
• Demonstrate the ability to plan and manage solution implementation in both the technical and managerial aspects, including managing change, and communicate effectively their progress and impact. (Improve)
• Demonstrate, through leading a project through sustainable delivery of significant financial (minimum target of €50k annualized) and/or customer benefit, that the delegate thoroughly understands the rigour and discipline of the proactive, investigative and data driven approach that is DMAIC. (Control)

Entry Requirements

• Ordinary Bachelor Degree or equivalent undergraduate qualification, or
• A person who has a minimum of two years’ experience in a role requiring the analysis and use of data in decision making
• Suitable project to complete during training
• Competence in basic Microsoft Office suite of software, particularly Excel and Powerpoint
• A laptop with the most recent version of SigmaXL software or Minitab. (as agreed on course booking).

Course Programme

Session 1 (4 days)

Introduction to Lean and Six Sigma Concepts (may be omitted if delegates are at Green Belt Level)

Define Phase tools

Project Charter, Project Plan, Customer Surveys, CT Tree, Kano Analysis, QFD, Stakeholder Analysis, RACI Communications, Planning, First Pass Analysis of Data, Customer Journey Mapping, Y-Tree, Belbin Team Roles, GRPI Team Assessment, SIPOC

Measure Phase tools

Value Stream Mapping, Activity Mapping, Spaghetti Mapping, Deployment Mapping, IPO Mapping, Waste Walking, Brainstorming Tools, Data Collection Planning

Optional Module: Emotional Intelligence

Session 2 (3 days)

Analyse Phase tools

Graphical Analysis, Multiple Regression, GLM ANOVA, Hypothesis Testing (incl. non parametric tests), Temporal analysis, Multi-Vari analysis, Root Cause Analysis, XY Matrix

Session 3 (3 days)

Improve Phase tools

Creative Thinking tools, Prioritisation tools, Change Management tools, Risk Management tools, Implementation Planning, Kaizen Event Planning

Control Phase tools

Standard Work, 5S, Visual Management, Dashboards, Statistical Monitoring, Error Proofing, Control Plans, Project Reporting

Onsite assessment – an additional onsite day for project report outs, part of assessment, will be included without charge. This is usually scheduled once projects have reached their Improve phases.