Continuous Improvement

Your Continuous Improvement Journey at Montco

Continuous Improvement (CI) is an ongoing commitment to improve products, services and/or processes. The Japanese term “Kaizen” associated with continuous improvement means “good change.” Toyota Corporation began to implement Continuous Improvement as part of their innovative manufacturing process in the 1950's, where all employees are focused on improving the business.

Six Sigma, a data-driven process improvement methodology developed by an engineer from Motorola Corporation, is a quality initiative embraced by industries all over the world oriented at improving quality and business performance by focusing on business processes. The process uses statistical analysis and employs “DMAIC” (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control) approach to problem-solving to reduce errors.

Diagram of the Six Sigma process

Lean Six Sigma is about understanding and removing sources of variation in a business process and learning to solve problems with an unknown root cause. It accomplishes this by using good project tools and a rigorous understanding of process and data sources in the business. The focus on eliminating waste while reducing variation helps drive increased performance in any organization, whether you’re scheduling events or making the products we use every day.

All of Montco’s Lean and Six Sigma courses can be taken independently or sequentially and are taught by an ASQ© (American Society for Quality) Master Black Belt in Six Sigma, MBA, and Industrial Engineer. Graduates of Lean Six Green Belt will be able to sit for ASQ’s credentialing exam with additional study.

Kick off your CI journey at Montco with the following Lean and Six Sigma course offerings:

Lean Practitioner (8 Hours)
Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt (16 Hours)
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (80 Hours)

Lean Practitioner

Time Commitment: 8 Hours

Perfect For:
This is a great class for those who are new to Continuous Improvement, as it focuses on easy-to-make changes that improve outcomes for everyone.

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Course Overview

An Introduction to Continuous Improvement through learning about Lean processes and concepts. The principles of Lean can be applied to almost any industry, not just manufacturing. Lean practitioners focus on eliminating waste in the organization. Waste is considered anything that doesn’t add value to the customer. These are items that the customer is not willing to pay for, such as time spent reworking a report or sorting parts before delivery. Students will learn the “8 Wastes” and how to begin eliminating them.

Course Registration

Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt

Time Commitment: 16 hours

Perfect For:
This course is intended for people with no previous background in CI thinking (Lean Practitioner is not required prior to taking this course)

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Course Overview

This course begins to introduce employees to the concepts of Six Sigma and will position employees to support green belts and black belts in the implementation of Six Sigma projects within their respective organizations.

The Yellow Belt course will help students dig deeper into Lean Six Sigma to support CI efforts within their respective organizations, and will prepare students for Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.

The course provides participants with the tools required to follow the Six Sigma DMAIC Methodology (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control) to solve process problems they encounter within the workplace. Participants will learn a structured process with a defined set of rules for problem-solving. Participants will learn project charters, process maps, root cause tools, Lean tools, and control plans.

This is a foundational course that leads to Six Sigma – Yellow Belt certification or continuing with further study to LSS Green Belt certification. The course follows the A3 methodology of executing projects to completion and includes learning how Lean and Six Sigma tools work together. Yellow Belts commonly enable organizational CI efforts in support functions like IT, Finance, Operations, or Purchasing.

Course Registration

Lean Six Sigma Green Belt

Time Commitment: 80 hours

Perfect For:
This course is intended for people who have been exposed to CI and want to learn more.

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Course Overview

This course delves into the various tools used by Six Sigma Practitioners, including statistical analysis of data, DMAIC, and root cause analysis to help improve processes within their respective organizations. Students are professionals who have been charged with improving processes and will be able to lead teams on the implementation of smaller-scale projects under the guidance of a Six Sigma Black Belt.

The Green Belt course is oriented toward employees who are either assigned to help Six Sigma Master Black Belts on projects within an organization; someone who wants to introduce the concept within their organization; and/or a person who wants to become a Lean Six Sigma Practitioner.

In order to take this course, individuals must bring their own device/laptop. Students will be provided QI Macros to complete the level of statistical analysis that will be required for this course.

This course starts with basic principles of CI and builds on that firm foundation with project management and root cause tools to solve problems so they stay solved.

Course Registration

Questions? Reach out to Bernie Debias at bdebias@mc3.edu for additional detail.