Lean Six Sigma - Intermediate

Examine lean six sigma, lean thinking, and lean organizations, emphasizing value, waste elimination, and flow. Outline five lean principles: specify value, map value stream, establish flow, and just-in-time.

Identify the types of waste in Lean Six Sigma: transportation, inventory, motion, waiting, overproduction, overprocessing, defects, and wasting people's talents.

Learn key Lean Six Sigma metrics, including value added ratio, talk time, and cycle efficiency, and standardize calculation to improve process duration from value added time to cycle time.

Apply the scientific method, identify and reduce variation in processes in Lean Six Sigma. Follow observation, hypothesis, experiments, and conclusions, and use plan to check act framework to guide action.

Learn the dmaic framework's define and measure phases, including project charters, scope, goals, financial benefits, process maps, data collection, and baseline measurements for improvement.

In the analysis phase, identify value add and non value add steps, bottlenecks, and key inputs/outputs; use data, charts, and hypotheses to drive PCE improvements through kaizen and controls.

Define value stream, map end-to-end processes from concept to customer, visualize material and information flow, identify waste, and plan future state improvements using value stream map.

Analyze lead time by summing wait and cycle times, compute the value added ratio, and apply Little's law to estimate throughput in a drive-thru example.

Create a current-state value stream map by defining the process, customer, and goals, then map flow, material and information, inventories, and lead times to identify waste and improvements.

Learn how to implement the five s workplace organization method—sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain—to overcome resistance and support lean manufacturing on the shop floor.

Learn how visual management uses color codes, icons, and dashboards to present 3–5 key metrics with real-time analytics, enabling immediate understanding of factory performance.

Balance the workload between people or machines to prevent waiting and overload, standardize the work for consistency, and use time and output rates to guide line balancing.

Optimize production flow by reviewing cellular layouts to minimize travel and delays. Common patterns include u-shaped, line-shaped, l-shaped, and fishbone layouts for complex processes.

Master rapid setup techniques with smed to convert internal to external activities, minimize changeover time, and reduce inventory, defects, and setup costs while increasing machine work rates and safety.

Explain push production based on demand forecasts versus pull delivery when needed, and how just in time builds to order while reducing inventory and costs, yet increasing vulnerability to shocks.

Kanban, rooted in the Toyota just-in-time system, uses visual boards to move tasks from backlog to in progress to done, limiting work in progress to boost visibility and delivery speed.

Prevent defects with poke yoke toward zero defects by designing processes that make errors impossible, reducing rework and warranty costs and ensuring built-in quality.

Learn how the A3 report anchors lean six sigma problem solving on a single sheet, detailing background, problem and goal statements, root cause analysis, countermeasures, target states, and implementation plan.

Discover kaizen as a continuous improvement mindset driven by small, collaborative changes, 5 whys root-cause analysis, and kaizen events using the PDC framework to empower employees.

Create a Kaizen event charter that defines team, scope, process boundaries, KPI, problem statement and measurable objectives, plus resources, milestones, and the sign-off for project success.

Plan a kaizen event by defining goals and scope, appointing a skilled facilitator, assembling a diverse team, and securing leadership support for measurable success across quality and cost.

Standardized work documents steps, talk time, work sequence, and standard inventory to define who does what, when, and how for stable output, safer operations, and continuous kaizen.

Balance the workload across operators with an upgraded operator balance chart, using vertical bars built from stacked work elements to minimize bottlenecks, waiting, and excess capacity, approaching tuck time.

Explore standardized work in lean manufacturing and the theater production system, using the standardized work combination table to coordinate man and machine timing, list processes, and measure task times.

Use a standard work chart to map worker routes, inventory, safety and quality information, and tuck time, with header details and a numbered process flow.

Write a specific, fact-based problem statement that defines the gap between reality and ideal performance within the define, measure, analyze, improve and control framework, including what happened and financial impact.

Explore a lean six sigma intermediate project from problem framing to A3 data analysis, accelerating oil change throughput by reducing time and increasing cars served per day.

Celebrate completing the Lean Six Sigma intermediate course and continue your growth with advanced Lean Six Sigma, earned value management analysis, and PMP test prep resources.

Master project management job searches with tailored resumes, cover letters, interview prep, ChatGPT prompts, agile and earned value management, a 30–60–90 day plan, salary negotiation, and career planning.