Lean Project Coaching Program for Organizations

Interested in individual training for yourself or a small group? Learn more about our Lean Six Sigma Project Coaching Program for Individuals >>>

If you are looking for a more comprehensive program that includes Six Sigma data analysis methods, check out our Lean Six Sigma Project Coaching Program for Organizations >>>

If you are looking for private group training for your organization, please read below…

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In my experience, the most successful Lean training programs for both employees and companies have the following characteristics:

• Content that covers a comprehensive set of Lean tools and principles
• Blended content (combination of live instructor and self-paced videos)
• Hands-on training and exercises
• Leadership support provided to participant for training and project work
• Coaching and support after training from expert
• Requirement to complete a real-life project
• Projects benefits/results that pay for the training investment

We have a blended Lean training program for your organization that incorporate these key elements. See how we have helped our clients achieve amazing results with a similar program, where their project success paid for the training in a matter of months! (Example)

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Let us guide you on a journey to transform your culture around employee engagement, rapid process improvement and increased flow and throughput by solving real-life projects in your organization.

What is the cost?

You have three Lean options to choose from (assumes 10 people and 10 projects, contact us for accurate quote):

• Option 1: Private Live (Virtual or In-Person) Instructor – All content is presented live and employees are expected to attend all sessions. No self-paced videos. Coaching support to help complete projects after training. Cost is $12,000 per organization for up to 10 of your employees.
• Option 2: Private Blended Virtual Instructor – Employees complete self-paced videos on their own time, and attend live weekly sessions with instructor to ensure completion of modules, comprehension of material to their work, and support to help them complete improvement projects. Cost is $8,000 per organization for up to 10 of your employees. No travel costs.

If only 5 employees complete a project or kaizen event and save only $5,000 per project/event, you will have less than a 6-month payback on your investment. I can guarantee you will have more than 50% completion rate if you follow our guidance and they attend most of the live sessions (Example).

The cost is around $1300 per week for 6 weeks for blended training, and $2000 per week for 6 weeks of live virtual instructor training. You would pay much more than that if you had a full-time Lean Six Sigma consultant working with your team with no long-term obligation.

In-person training: In-person training can also be requested, but cost will include additional time for travel and expenses, and lead time for training dates may be months in the future. Course requires 5 days of training (one trip, about $3000 in travel expenses).

If you already have access to Lean training materials within your Learning Management System (LMS) or another training provider, we can review the content and supplement our materials if there are any gaps, and offer a reduced cost on the program for coaching only support.  Contact us to get a quote for these modified versions of the program.

Schedule time to discuss availability and get your questions answered

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Virtual Program Overview

• Setup call to discuss program
• Gain internal approval for program
• Get team members setup in online training course platform
• 1-hour kickoff meeting with course attendees
• 6 weeks of online training with a 2-hour live learning and discussion sessions each week with Master Black Belt (MBB) instructor
  • Students should plan for 1-4 hours (average of 2 hours) of online training per week
    • Total online learning time = 12 hours
  • Students should plan for 2 hours of live instruction class time per week
    • 6 sessions (one per week) for 2 hours per session = 12 hours
    • Sessions will consist of:
      • Review of online training homework
      • Hands-on exercises and discussions
      • Coaching and mentoring to apply concepts to a real-life project
    • After the course, an additional 2 hours of coaching per project will be available
  • Minimum hours of commitment (not including project/event time)
    • 12 hours of online training + 13 hours of live instructor time + 2 hours of 1-on-1 coaching = 27 hours
  • Additional time will be required to apply what they learned to a real-life project or kaizen event outside of these planned hours, along with documenting and submitting their final project/event for approval to the MBB instructor. We would recommend an additional 40-60 hours to complete a project or kaizen event.
  • For students who complete the online training, attend the live sessions and complete an approved project/event, they will receive a Lean certification.

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Program Agenda

Week 0

• Kickoff meeting (1 hour)
• Sign into online training platform

Week 1

• Lean Concepts and Principles
• A3
• Kaizen and Kaizen Events
• Project/Event Charter

Week 2

• Lean Wastes
• Case Studies
• 5S workplace organization

Week 3

• Value
• Process Mapping
• Swimlane Diagram
• Value Stream Mapping
• Gemba Walks
• Common Process Measurements
  • Takt time, Lead Time, Cycle Time, Yield, Little’s Law, Process Cycle Efficiency
• Data Collection and Display Methods

Week 4

• Root Cause Analysis (5 Why’s and Fishbone Diagrams)
• Flow
  • Theory of Constraints
  • Workload Balancing
  • Problem Escalation
  • Rapid Changeover (SMED)

Week 5

• Pull vs Push System
  • Capacity Analysis
  • Kanban System
• Mistake Proofing
• Perfection
• Brainstorming

Week 6

• Ideal and Future States
• Lean Six Sigma Overview
• Course Review

After Week 6

• 1-on-1 coaching sessions (2 hours per student)
• Project/event submission, review and approval
• Receive certification

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What are the dates and times for the training?

This course is private within your organization, so we will work with the attendees on the exact dates and times for the 6 sessions (1 session per week over 6 weeks)

What if I miss a live class?

Live classes will be recorded, and must be watched before you complete your certification.

Is there an exam for the certification?

No, but you will be asked to answer a series of quiz questions after each online module to ensure competency.

What if I need more time or more coaching hours?

Taking a little extra time or needing a little extra help is not a problem. If you need a lot more assistance, there are options available to extend or add on additional hours. Please discuss with us during your next coaching call.

What happens after I complete my certification?

You can consider learning more about Six Sigma by taking our Green Belt program as an individual or as an organization.

Can I work with someone else on a project?

Yes, you can partner with another employee, but the total project benefits will need to be double, so you both average the minimum amount of savings (i.e. 2 people should save at least $10,000). Each person must also equally contribute to the project (based on feedback from the other person).

What if I don’t have others in my organization interested in the training?

Check out our coaching program for individuals

What is the payment plan?

We will require a signed purchase order before the training begins, with 50% of the payment made within 30 days of the first training date. After the training is completed, and projects have been launched and coaching sessions are underway, we will ask for the remaining 50% payment (after 4 weeks).

What is different about this program than the Green/Black Belt program?

The Lean program is a good starting point for process improvement. The investment in the training time and overall cost is much lower. There is less technical tools and techniques provided with Lean versus Six Sigma, which makes it easy for anyone to learn. The Six Sigma tools can be overwhelming for those who are not data savvy or have not had much exposure to statistics.

If you’re not sure where to start, I would recommend this program for the reasons above.

What software is required for the program?

There are no required software packages, but some companies find process mapping programs like Visio, eVSM, and Creately (affiliate link) to be helpful.

What if we have access to Lean training material already, can we do our own training program, where you help us with the project coaching and certification with our teams?

Yes, if you already have access to Lean training materials within your Learning Management System (LMS) or another training provider, or your team was recently trained, we can review the content to ensure it adequately covers the content. If it isn’t an exact match, we can supplement our materials if there are any small gaps, and offer a reduced cost on the program (since there would be less training time required from us). We can also offer a coaching only option to help the team implement projects.  Contact us to get a quote for a modified versions of the program.

What are the differences between the Individual program and the Organization program?

The Individuals program can be started right away, so it takes less time to complete the training. The courses are all online and self-paced (no live instructor), whereas the Organization program is a blend of live instruction, live coaching and self-paced online training. The cost reflects the additional amount of live training hours and coaching support. The accountability of the live sessions is what ensures students complete the training and have the best chance to complete their real-life project.

Is there a time limit for completing the real-life project?

If students work on their project throughout the course, it is possible to have most of it completed at the end of the 6 weeks. Most will finish within 12 weeks (3 months), with a few taking up to 6 months. Those who go beyond 12 months have a very low chance of finishing their project. However, we will support students who are actively working on their project beyond 12 months. We want to see real-life projects completed and will help as much as possible. After 6 months of inactivity, we reserve the right to stop our coaching support of the project.