Process Excellence Using Lean Six-Sigma and Excel: Green-Belt Body of Knowledge

The material presented in this book is a culmination of learning and experiences by the author in a career spanning over 25 years in operational excellence and process improvement. Welcome to learning on how to improve processes. All work is a process and like Dr. Deming said, ‘You do not know what you are doing, unless you can describe what you are doing as a process!’ Everyone wants to work smarter and not harder, and all companies want to improve their processes to improve their productivity and profitability. This body of knowledge is a compilation of best practices in process improvement, and learners mastering this to improve any process and make it as efficient as possible, can have a great career for life in operational excellence and process improvement. Process improvement professionals through societies like the American Society for Quality (ASQ), and the Society for Manufacturing Engineering (SME) have come up with ways to qualify professionals who have mastered the art of improving processes. ASQ uses the martial arts terminology of Black-belt, Green-belt, Yellow-belt, and White-belt to identify the level of proficiency achieved by students mastering the material. The generally accepted understanding is that the Black-belt level requires 16 days of training, the Green-belt requires 8 days of training, the Yellow-belt requires 4 days of training, and the White-belt requires 2 days of training. SME uses the bronze level, the silver level, the gold level, and the platinum level to qualify participants’ proficiency in process improvement. There levels are also like that of ASQ. This book is structured as layers of knowledge that build on previous ones. Chapters 1 and 2 cover the body of knowledge for the LSS White-belt (LSSWB), Chapters 3, 4 and 5 cover the body of knowledge for the LSS Yellow-belt (LSSYB), and Chapters 6 through 11 cover the body of knowledge for the LSS Green-belt (LSSGB). Successfully demonstrating knowledge from Chapters 1 – 5 through a test can earn a participant the certificate of LSSYB. After earning the LSSYB, participants can undertake LSSGB projects that follow the DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, implement and control) process. The requirement for a LSSGB project is to at least save $50,000 per year after the project has been deployed successfully for a year. The chapters are presented as PowerPoint slides and notes as if participants were taking a class in operational excellence using LSS. The author prefers this format to teach classes also. The slides can be used by instructors to give a lecture on a topic. Instructors can use the description of the material presented with the slide to supplement their lectures. The slides can be used as highlights or checklists by students to quickly review the material when needed. Appropriate chapters also have review questions at the end of the chapter with answers for questions requiring calculations.