Offerings
Lean Six Sigma Overview (One Day)
The purpose of this one day Lean Six Sigma overview is to provide
executive leadership with a detailed review of what Lean Six Sigma
is, why it is important to an organization and most importantly,
describe a first year deployment and the roles and responsibilities
of management.
Desired Outcomes
• Understand what Lean Six Sigma is as a management philosophy
• Understand how Lean Six Sigma differs from other quality
initiatives
• Understand the critical success factors to make Lean Six Sigma
work in their organization
• Understand pitfalls to avoid in implementing Lean Six Sigma
• Understand management’s roles and responsibilities in implementing
Lean Six Sigma
• Understand the major deployment types and the advantages and
disadvantages of each
• Understand the importance of managing change
Audience
Executive Leadership team and key management personnel in the
organization
Creating the Business Process Management System
(Four days done in two two day blocks)
Business Process Management is the cornerstone of a successful
Lean Six Sigma initiative. Without Business Process Management Lean
Six Sigma is often nothing more than a short-lived cost savings
initiative. Creating and maintaining the Business Process Management
system results in Lean Six Sigma being an enabler to achieve the
goals and objectives of the organization rather than being seen as a
quality effort.
Desired Outcomes
• Confirmation of the organization’s Strategic Business
Objectives(SBO’s)
• Identification of the Key Processes of the organization
• Conduct an alignment check to insure proper SBO and process
identification
• Identify Process Ownership
• Create Process Dashboards-measures of process
effectiveness/efficiency
• Evaluate current process performance
• Determine project selection criteria
• Select 1st Wave projects
Audience
Executive Leadership for the first two days and Executive
Leadership for the second two days in addition to all process
owners.
Champions Coaching (3 Business Days)
These three days usually follow the completion of creating the
business process management system as part of our traditional first
year deployment (see first year deployment pull down on the main
menu). However, in recent years, some clients request a this stand
alone course offering that is the foundation of George Eckes’ third
book Six Sigma Team Dynamics, the Elusive Key to Project Success.
Among the highlights of these three days is learning the improvement
methodology through an exciting and popular business simulation and
a review of some of the “99 questions a champion should ask their
team.”
Desired Outcomes
• Learn the improvement methodology of Lean Six Sigma through a
business simulation
• Learn how to manage a team through the 15 tollgates of process
improvement
• Learn what questions to ask a team and how to create an “audit
path” to insure project success
Audience
All executive leaders and process owners who may at one time be a
project sponsor (i..e., project champion)
Lean Six Sigma Project Coaching & Implementation (14 days)
Desired Outcomes
• The Project teams will learn how to facilitate Six Sigma team
meetings, which will include how to set meaningful Six Sigma
agendas, desired outcomes for each meeting, and how to provide good
preventions and interventions during Six Sigma team meetings.
• The Project teams will learn how to validate the charter,
specifically how to develop the goals and objectives of the team,
their initial problem statement, the team’s scope and roles and
responsibilities of the team to ultimately be approved by the
project sponsor (Champion).
• The Project teams will learn how to identify the customers of the
process to be improved, their needs and requirements.
• The Project teams will learn how to create a high level map of the
process to be improved.
• The Project teams will learn how to create a data collection plan,
which will lead to calculation of baseline sigma performance.
The Project teams will learn how to analyze the data collected, the
process itself and ultimately the root causes for current sigma
performance.
• The Project teams will learn how to validate root causes through
designing and implementing experiments.
The Project teams will learn how to create solutions that improve
sigma performance and assist achievement of their initial project
goals.
• The Project teams will learn how to create buy-in to solutions and
sustain their sigma improvements over time.
Audience
7-10 Project Teams (usually 5-7 people per team, all identified
by the project Champion). Master Black Belts in training & their
management.
Master Black Belt Certification Training (12
days)
The American Society of Quality reports that certification to
the Lean Six Sigma standard raises a quality professional’s salary
over 30%. Normally, at the end of a first year deployment working
with Eckes & Associates, Inc. over 80% of our clients hire us to
conduct a train the trainer program to wean themselves off of the
consultant organization. In recent years, clients who have not
worked with us have requested this 14 day program to have their
internal resources certified to the Eckes & Associates, Inc.
certification standard which is identical to the certification
program Eckes & Associates, Inc. helped to create at General
Electric.
Desired Outcomes
• Coaching of internal candidates on all aspects of the strategy
and tactics of Lean Six Sigma
• In depth tutorials provided by Eckes & Associates, Inc. personnel
on selected modules associated with Lean Six Sigma
• Review and feedback on completed projects complete with
suggestions for improvement on next projects
• Coaching and test preparation for the certification examination
• Coaching and tutorials provided on Adult Learning Theory and how
to become a successful Lean Six Sigma instructor
Audience
All MBB Candidates wishing to be certified, black belts and master black belts
wishing to become either certified to the Lean Six Sigma standard or
desiring to become a Lean Six Sigma instructor.
Maintaining the Business Process Management System (3 Business
Days)
Most Business Process Management systems reach a plateau as 1st wave
projects take precedent for an organization. At some point, the
Business Process Management system should be “jump started” to truly
make Lean Six Sigma a management philosophy and a strategic weapon
for the organization. The goal of these three days is to take this
strategic weapon to the next level. Both Eckes & Associates, Inc.
clients from year one and clients who have worked with other
consultants have availed themselves of this course offering.
Desired Outcomes
• Revision (if necessary) of the key processes of an organization
• Creation of objective, data driven process dashboards
• Establish the relationships between process factors and process
dashboards
• Learn how to create response plans to control and improve the
process without projects
• Learn how to conduct process reviews
• Conduct an overall deployment assessment and conduct corrective
action to improve the organization’s Lean Six Sigma results
Audience
Executive Leadership, Process Owners, and the Quality Support team
Change Management (3 days)
Any Lean Six Sigma initiative means change for the organization as
they migrate to managing with fact and data. Experts have shown
quantitatively that the natural reaction to change is resistance.
This stand alone offering from Eckes & Associates, Inc. is an
expansion of the materials taught both strategically and tactically
as part of a first year deployment.
Desired Outcomes
• Learn the characteristics of successful and unsuccessful change
efforts
• Learn methods to create a need for change and develop specific
strategies as it applies to Lean Six Sigma projects
• Learn how to shape a common vision for change and develop specific
strategies as it applies to Lean Six Sigma projects
• Learn how to develop commitment to change by actively managing
resistance and develop specific strategies as it applies to Lean Six
Sigma projects
• Learn how to make change last and develop specific strategies as
it applies to Lean Six Sigma projects
• Learn how to monitor the progress of the change effort and develop
specific strategies as it applies to Lean Six Sigma projects
• Learn how to modify systems and structures of the organization
when necessary and develop specific strategies as it applies to Lean
Six Sigma projects
Audience
There are two different Change Management offerings. One is for
Executive Leadership where change management is dealt with
strategically. The other is for quality professionals learning how
to manage change at the tactical and project level.
Design of Experiments (3 days)
Design of Experiments (DOE) is a specific tool set used in both the
Analysis and Improve sections of the Six Sigma methodology. However,
there are Eckes & Associates, Inc. clients who hire us for DOE
training and consulting. Like all our offerings, DOE is a
combination of learning and doing. In the first two days
participants learn the methodology through lectures, large group
exercises and two different business simulations. On the third day
actual DOE projects are set up for participant so that by completion
of the training they have actual projects to either identify process
factors affecting some measure of performance or solutions to
implement that affect performance.
Desired Outcomes
• A brief review of Six Sigma and how Design of Experiments fits
into the six sigma model
• Understand the four major types of Design of Experiments, their
advantages and disadvantages
• A review of design set up issues including how to measure the
response variable(s), determining inference space, experiment
strategies and how to select process factors and what levels should
be set for those process factors
• A review of how to execute both full and fractional factorials.
• A review of how to analyze experiment results from a practical,
graphical and mathematical manner
• Understand the concept of Design of Experiments through two
business simulations
• Be coached on setting up an actual DOE on a project related to
their business
Audience
All engineers, quality professionals and management responsible for
process improvement. No pre-requisites are necessary for this
offerings.
Lean “Quick Hits” Project Coaching (5 days)
Eckes & Associates, Inc. does not typically distinguish between Lean
and Six Sigma. As seen elsewhere here our traditional Six Sigma
projects always include activities to remove waste, add value to the
process stream and increase workflow. However, in rare cases a
project qualifies for our 5 day Lean “Quick Hits” program. These
cases involve projects around a specific department or function,
when there is no impact on a external customer, when no data is
needed and when it is anticipated that steps will be removed from
the process that are non-value add.
Desired Outcomes
• Conduct proper project selection and chartering
• Conduct a value stream map of the process
• Generate root causation for current waste
• Generate and select a set of solutions to reduce/remove waste and
improve workflow
• Conduct solution buy in with selected stakeholders
Audience
Project sponsors for the first and fifth day with process
participants involved in days 2-5.
Speaking topics
In addition to his writing and consulting, George Eckes is a popular
keynote speaker for conferences and workshops.
Among the topics George has given speeches include:
• How to use Lean Six Sigma as a Business Enabler
• Managing and Leading Change
• Using a Quality Initiative in Troubled Times
• Critical Success Factors in Business Leadership
• Pitfalls to Avoid Business Mediocrity
• How to Sustain Your Initial Efforts at Improvement
• Process vs. Function, Why you Need Both
“I stand by my statement. You are the second best speaker I have ever heard”
C. Jackson Grayson Jr.
Chairman and CEO
APQC