Why do Lean Six Sigma?

Benefits for an individual of Lean Six Sigma certification
Benefits and Savings for organisations of Lean Six Sigma
List of companies who are implementing Lean Six Sigma

Benefits for an individual of Lean Six Sigma certification
The benefits for you to be trained correctly in Lean Six Sigma are vast.  The key is that you must get excellent training and coaching as well as complete projects to make it really worthwhile. 
Through certification you will have a worldwide recognised qualification that shows you have learned and applied the skills associated with Lean Six Sigma.  It is however essential that you have a good story to tell when asked about your certification process.

When you go to get your next job or promotion having Lean Six Sigma skills would be a major benefit.  However remember there is no governing body for Lean Six Sigma, there are no national standards of subjects, depth of subjects, types of project completed, number of projects completed or duration of training.  That is why it is essential that when you go to interview you can answer positively the following questions.

Who did your training and what is their background? - We have run courses all over the world for major companies such as Renault, BT, BAA, Alstom etc.  We are all master black belts from companies such as Honeywell and GE and have trained over 1000 delegates in the principles.  We are members of the statistical society and write papers on the subject as well as present at seminars.  Many companies offer training over the web for $99 how good will that sound at interview?

How long was it and what was covered? - Our courses are 5 days for a green belt and 15 days for a black belt.  We differ from most providers because we cover Lean, Six Sigma and the soft people skills which are essential to making your solutions effective and lasting.  Other training courses last from 1 day to 20 days, most however only cover Lean or Six Sigma very few cover the essential people skills needed to make your projects successful. 

How did you certify? - Certification is vital to prove that you have not only been trained but have completed projects.   Find out about our Lean Six Sigma Certification program.  If your training provider says that after the training you are certified then don't belive them all the major companies insist on a certification process.  Your story will be very weak if you have not completed projects. 

How many projects have you completed? - The more the better as it proves you have knowledge in depth

How many times have you used key tools? - Some times you may not have done that many projects but you have used the tools.  If you can say I have done 20 FMEA's or 10 DoE's then it adds credibility.

What type of deployment were you involved in and what level where you at? - If you can say I worked for company X and we did this that and the other and my position and involvement is Y then it again adds to your credibility

If y ou can answer these questions positively then you would have a great chance of career advancement.  If you can't and many people are in this situation then you many not get the benefit of having trained and certified as a Green Belt or Black Belt but you will obtain other benefits. 

What are the other advantages for individuals?

• Every time you run a project or have a problem to solve you will know exactly how to ensure success
• You will obtain a massive new skill base from which to work
• You will have the most up to date training in the market place today
• You will understand organisations and how to successfully solve problems and run projects to make them stick
• You will be more confident when selling a solution as you will know how to speak with data
• You will be more attractive to other employers as the qualification although not standardised is world renowned
• Many companies will not hire or promote unless you have Lean Six Sigma knowledge

Benefits and Savings for organisations of Lean Six Sigma?
Organisations who implement Lean Six Sigma effectively have seen massive benefits over the years.  Those that have not done so my not have achieved these benefits. The major benefit over time is a change in the culture of the organisation to one which is proactive in solving issues, has commitment to quality and continuous improvement and always does this in a Lean Six Sigma way.  It also gives you:-

• Bottom line cost savings (5% - 20% of turnover per annum)
• Improved quality of product or service as perceived by the customer both internally and externally
• Reduction in lead-times
• Improved staff skills
• A common language throughout the organisation 
• A standardised methodology for solving problems and running projects
• Development toward world class
• Decisions will be based on real reliable data
• Improved customer satisfaction with more customer focus
• Faster new product introduction
• Team working will be enhanced - more people will understand what happens in the organisation
• Improved and simplified processes
• Lower cost of goods and services
• Improved adherence to strategy get the whole organisation in alignment understanding what you are trying to do and how
• All benefits and savings are traceable as you must speak with data and set up data collection for each project to prove the benefits which must be signed off by finance
• The training, coaching and consultancy will pay for itself in one or two projects at the most
• Projects worked on are based on their importance to the business as the Define phase forces discussion on what to work on when

Ultimately the companies who have implemented Lean Six Sigma see great financial improvements.  Some examples

Allied Signal 
Cost savings exceeding $800 million since 1995.

General Electric 
Most admired company three years running, and consistently increasing growth and profit - cost saving exceeding $2 billion.

US ARMY
Lean Six Sigma techniques implemented throughout the Army continue to prove successful, and leaders anticipate reaching a $2 billion-savings mark this year.

List of Companies who are implementing Lean Six Sigma
The list of companies who are implementing Lean Six Sigma is vast here are just some:-

3M, A.B. Dick Company, Abbott Labs, Adolph Coors, Advanced Micro Devices, Aerospace Corp, Airborne, Alcoa, Allen Bradley, Allied Signal, Ampex, Apple Computers, Applied Magnetics, ASQC, Atmel, Baxter Pharmaseal, Beatrice Foods, Bell Helicopter, Boeing, Bombardier, Borden, Bristol Meyers - Squibb, Bryn Mawr Hospital, Campbell Soup, Cellular 1, Chevron, Citicorp, City of Austin, TX, City of Dallas, TX, Clorox, Cooper Ind, Dannon, Defense Mapping Agency, Delnosa ( Delco Electronics in Mexico), Digital Equipment Corp, DTM Corp, Eastmen Kodak, Electronic Systems Center, Empak, Florida Dept. of Corrections, Ford Motor Company, GEC Marconi, General Dynamics, General Electric, Hazeltine Corp, Hewlett packard, Holly Sugar, Honeywell, Intel, Junior Achievement, Kaiser Aluminum, Kraft General Foods, Larson & Darby, Inc, Laser Magnetic Storage, Lear Astronics, Lenox China, Littton Data Systems, Lockhee Martin, Loral, Los Alamos National labs, Martin Marietta, McDonnell Douglas, Merix, Microsoft, Morton Int'l, Motorola, NASA, Nat'l Institute of Corrections, Nat'l Institute of Standards, Nat'l Semiconductor, Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, Northrop Corp, PACE, Parkview Hospital, Pentagon, Pharmacia, PRC, Inc, Qualified Specialists, Ramtron Corp, Rockwell Int'l, Rohm & Haas, Seagate, Society of Plastics Egineers, Solar Optical, Sony, Star Quality, Storgae Tek, Symbios Logic, Synthes, Technicomp, Tessco, Texaco, Texas Commerce Bank, Texas Dept. of Transportation, Texas Instruments, Titleist, Trane, TRW, Ultratech Stepper, United States Air Force, United States Army, United technologies, UPS, USAA, Verbatim, Walbro Automotive, Walker parking, Woodward Governor, Xerox, Lloyds TSB, BAA, BT, Nissan, Renault, Vodafone, Tesco