DIY Lean Six Sigma Green and Black Belt Program

Most affordable pathway to boost skills and achieve certification

Do It Yourself (DIY): $347 – 899

If you’d like to try to do this on your own, that’s great!

This is the best option for those on a budget, especially if you cannot get your current company to pay for any training, and you are self-motivated and don’t require much oversight.

Did you know? Only 25% of candidates get through the entire certification program when they try to do it themselves on their own. If you this might be a problem for you, and you don’t want to go alone on this journey, consider the guided coaching program instead.

You can sign up for one of the self-paced online training and certification programs with OpEx Training or BPI, and you will receive 2 hours of one-on-one coaching with me.

Choose from the following options (must select project certification review option):

• Lean Project Coaching: Ideal starting point covering Lean principles, tools, and methodologies ($347)
  • Lean Concepts and Principles, 8 Wastes (DOWNTIME), Gemba Walks, Kaizen, 5S Workplace Organization, Visual Controls, Data types, Check Sheets, Pictograms, Surveys, Interviews, Focus Groups, Sampling, Takt time, Lead Time, Cycle Time, Yield, Little’s Law, Process Cycle Efficiency, Rolled Throughput Yield, DPU, DPPM, DPMO, Sigma Level, Selecting a Project, Prioritization Matrix, Impact-Ease Matrix, Problem Statements, Is-Is Not Matrix, SMART Goals, DMAIC, A3, Value and Value Stream Mapping, Process Mapping, Swimlane Diagrams, 6 M’s, Current-Ideal-Future State, Spaghetti Diagrams, Takt Time, Level Loading, Pivot Tables, Pareto Diagrams, Multi-vari Charts, Fishbone Diagrams and 5 Whys, OEE (Availability, Performance and Quality, Planned/Unplanned Downtime), Theory of Constraints, One Piece Flow vs Batching, Heijunka, Workload Balancing, Problem Escalation, Rapid Changeover (SMED), Point vs System Efficiency, Standardized Work, Cellular Layout, Standard WIP, Work Sequence, Single-stall production, Pull vs Push Systems, Kanban, 2-bin System, Supermarkets, Personal Kanban, Mistake Proofing, Team Decision Making, Lean Startup, Toyota Kata, Cardboard City, Paynter Charts, Yokoten, Kaizen Events, Standard Work and SOPs, One Pager, ideo Training, Cross-training Matrix, Leader Standard Work, RACI Matrix, Behavior Change, Daily Management System (Huddles)
• Six Sigma Green Belt – Comprehensive DMAIC methodology without statistical software requirements ($499)
  • Intro to Six Sigma, Define Phase, Define Measure Analyze Improve Control (DMAIC), Intro to Lean, Project Charters and Examples, Process Mapping, C&E Matrix, Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Basic Statistics, Basic Quality Tools, Statistical Process Control (SPC), Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA), Capability Analysis, Multi-Vari Analysis, Hypothesis Testing, T-test and ANOVA, Correlation and Regression, Chi-square Tests, Design of Experiments (DOE) and Control Plans
• Six Sigma Black Belt – Builds off Green Belt with advanced statistical applications requiring Minitab or SigmaXL ($849)
  • Green Belt Review, Central Limit Theorem, Confidence Intervals, t-distribution, Advanced Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA), Advanced Capability, Data Transformations, Multiple Regression, Design of Experiments (DOE) Planning, Full and Fractional Factorials, General Factorial Designs, Sample Size Calculations, Optimization Designs, Multiple Response Optimization, Evolutionary Operations (EVOP), Advanced Statistical Process Control (SPC) and Change Management

Upon completion of the online training, you will receive a training certificate of completion.

Upon completion and approval (by a Master Black Belt) of a real-life improvement project, you will receive your Lean Six Sigma certification which is what is most valuable for your resume or CV.

If you cannot complete a real-life project, there is one alternative approach that only requires an exam, which is the ASQ Green Belt certification. If you’ve taken training in the past, and just need help completing a project, check out our project review for certification option.

FAQ

Why do only 25% of self-paced candidates complete the full program?

The biggest challenge is that they get busy with work and their personal life, and often their company is not fully supporting this program, so it is added on top of their other roles and responsibilities. They struggle to find time to complete the training or work on a project.

We also don’t have strict deadlines like a college course, so you can keep pushing it out indefinitely. The main driver is that you lose access to the online training after 6-12 months.

It can also be difficult to identify and select a project to work on, but we can help you work through that. This program requires self-discipline to stay on track with the training and project work. If you think that will be a struggle, we would recommend you check out our guided certification programs to keep you on track, or coordinate a training and certification program with others at your company.

What if I already took similar Lean Six Sigma training but never got certified?

We have just launched a new service where we review your past training and help you complete your certification. If you did an improvement project, we’ll review it and sign off on it. If you haven’t done a project, we’ll help you finish a project. Learn more >>>

However, if you haven’t taken the training in over 2 years and haven’t been using the statistical tools or statistics software regularly in your job, we would recommend retaking the training so it is fresh in your mind. Simply add the coaching option to the certification you’d like to have.

If you don’t want to retake an entire class, we also have refresher courses on specific Lean Six Sigma tools and methods that are very affordable.

For Green Belt, another option is to get a certification through ASQ. This involves studying and taking a 4-hour exam on the topics in the body of knowledge. You will also need to spend money on the exam (about $500 USD) and study materials (about $100-150 USD). The overall price will come out similar as our program above, and if you don’t pass the exam, you would have to pay another $200-400 USD to retake it.

For Black Belt, you will need to complete a real-life project and pass a more difficult exam than Green Belt. ASQ requires one validated project for their Black Belt certification. If you want help on completing an improvement project to qualify for the ASQ BB exam, check out our project review for certification option. Costwise, our program with OpEx Learning will be most affordable if you include the certification review option. If you find another Black Belt certification that doesn’t require the completion of a real-life project, I would not recommend it.

Do we need to determine the real-life improvement project before we start training?

No, the first few sessions will explain the concepts and what types of projects are ideal for a certification project. Here is a comprehensive list of project ideas you can think about now, to give you some ideas on the type of projects that might be applicable for your industry.

Can I add the certification review option at a later date, or do I need to decide when I sign up?

Yes, you can go through the training first, then decide to add the project certification review at a later date.

We do recommend that you decide within 6 months of completing the training, so you don’t forget what you learned.

What is the difference between “DIY” and the “guided” Lean Six Sigma certification?

DIY (this program) is for those looking for the lowest cost option (usually paying for it themselves, not paid by your company). This program requires you to complete the online training at your own pace, and work with the coach to complete a project. No one is babysitting you, so you will need to be self-motivated.

Guided is for those who need more hands-on help and motivation to progress through the program. You will be assigned homework to work on each week, and we will check on your project progress. The cost is higher because there is more instructor time to help you understand how these concepts in the online training pertain to your work, and we incorporate some hands-on learning exercises.

Will this self-paced certification be recognized by employers, or considered equivalent to traditional/ instructor-led courses?

Yes, whether you choose the DIY option, the guided option or the organization program, the certification will be equivalent. The key elements of the program is that you learned new skills and applied them to a real-life project. We are offering different approaches to accomplish the same outcome (positive results for the organization you are helping). Learn more about our accreditation.