Online Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Course

16-Week Course

16 Continuing Education Units

160 Military Clock Hours

10 Military Clock Hours / Week

About the Course

Join process improvement practitioners who are saving billions by improving productivity, and reducing waste, variation and defects. One of the most useful business credentials today, the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certificate helps you ask the right questions and get the right answers. As a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, your mastery of Six Sigma techniques and strategies can help you lead top-quality improvement projects and mentor Green Belts in your organization.

This course includes a required, simulated project that integrates critical topics into every phase of Six Sigma. Having completed the Lean Six Sigma and Six Sigma Green Belt courses, students will be prepared to delve into expanded alternatives on the use of Six Sigma tools.

Prerequisites for this course:

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Curriculum

16 Week Course

Week 1

Lean Six Sigma - A Process Improvement Methodology

Compare and contrast effectiveness and efficiency
Define key terms, such as defects, value, waste and quality
Discuss the importance of the standards of quality in any Lean Six Sigma project

Week 2

The DMAIC Approach and Building Strong Teams

Explain the project selection process
Define key terms, such as tollgate review, effort impact matrix, force field analysis and affinity diagrams
Discuss the importance of building strong teams and managing them effectively
Compare and contrast methods of team decision making

Week 3

The Define Phase - Part 1

Create a well-defined project charter
Explain various Critical to Quality (CTQ) elements, such as critical to cost, critical to process and critical to delivery
Explain the House of Quality decision-making process as it relates to customer needs
Define key terms such as voice of the customer (VOC) and voice of the process (VOP)
Discuss the application of various types of process maps, including value stream maps

Week 4

The Define Phase - Part 2

Identify the key measurements in a value stream map
Discuss the indicators of nonefficiency
Explain the different techniques used to construct value stream maps for products and for services
Discuss the suppliers, inputs, process, outputs, customers SIPOC process map and describe the steps in the SIPOC process

Week 5

The Measure Phase - Part 1

Explain how to determine the appropriate measurement system
Define and explain key terms, such as statistics, parameters, population, sample and variation
Discuss expected and unexpected variation, normal distribution and the central limit theorem
Explain the significance of the shape of the variation and what it reveals about your process

Week 6

The Measure Phase - Part 2

Explain confidence intervals and the margin of error
Define key terms such as histogram, stem and leaf plot, Pareto chart and scatter plot
Discuss the concept of correlation and the strength and direction of relationships
Explain how run charts are used to illustrate process performance over time

Week 7

The Measure Phase - Part 3

Explain how customer requirements impact the data collection plan
Discuss the three types of process measurement, four types of measurement scales and two types of data
Define key terms such as process performance (Pp) and process performance index (Ppk)
Explain the purpose of the 1.5 sigma shift

Week 8

The Analyze Phase - Part 1

Discuss gemba, waste walks and the critical few root causes
Describe how fishbone diagrams and fault tree diagrams are used in root cause analysis
Define key terms such as FMEA and OEE, including availability, quality and performance
Explain how to conduct a root cause analysis using six key categories of factors

Week 9

The Analyze Phase - Part 2

Discuss the importance of narrowing root causes and predicting probability
Identify the various types of probability distributions and discuss when and why to employ each one

Week 10

The Analyze Phase - Part 3

Discuss the Z-distribution, the t-distribution, and the paired t-test
Describe the function of null and alternative hypotheses
Define key terms, such as null and alternative hypothesis, type I error, type II error, alpha, beta and power
Explain the relationship between alpha, beta, and power and how it affects statistical analyses

Week 11

The Analyze Phase - Part 4

Discuss issues related to utilizing control charts
Describe how attribute charts are used for noncontinuous data and to monitor yield
Define key terms, such as measurement system analysis (MSA), measurement system evaluation (MSE) and evaluating the measurement process (EMP)
Explain how an X-bar R chart is used in MSE and what it reveals about part-to-part and observer-to-observer variation

Week 12

The Improve Phase - Part 1

Compare and contrast pull systems and push systems
Define key terms, such as Kanban, single minute exchange of dies (SMED), TRIZ and Theory of Constraints
Describe the eight steps used in the quick changeover process
Explain takt time and cellular design

Week 13

The Improve Phase - Part 2

Define key terms such as cost-benefit analysis, standard order, inference space and piloting solutions
Describe the chi-square distribution and explain when you would use it
Compare and contrast piloting solutions in a Lean environment as opposed to a Six Sigma environment
Explain how to construct one-way and two-way ANOVA tables

Week 14

The Control Phase - Part 1

Identify the five elements of a control plan
Explain how a XmR chart can help you decide whether to act or leave a process alone
Define key terms such as mean time between failures (MTBF), mean time to failure (MTTF), mean time to repair (MTTR), and failure reporting, analysis and corrective action system (FRACAS),
Explain how to control upstream x’s (input variables)

Week 15

The Control Phase - Part 2

Identify the methods involved in total productive maintenance
Explain how to respond to unexpected outcomes, e.g., an unresolved problem or a new problem
Define key terms such as response plan and continuous improvement plan
Explain the process of transferring the project to the owner

Week 16

Design for Six Sigma

Explain the importance of deploying Lean Six Sigma throughout an organization
Define DMADV, DMADOV and IDDOV
Compare and contrast the three approaches to implementing Lean Six Sigma
Discuss the process of selecting a Lean, Six Sigma or Lean Six Sigma strategy

Learning Objectives

Skills Learned

Leadership Team Management Project Management Process Improvement Six Sigma DMAIC Statistics Data Collection and Analysis Kaizen

What You’ll Study

Introduction to Lean Six Sigma

What is Lean Six Sigma
DMAIC and Kaizen Overview and Integration
Defects
Value and Waste
The Cost of Poor Quality
The History of Quality Improvement

Team and Facilitation Tools

Team Dynamics and Stages
Dealing With Difficult Team Members
Decision Making Approaches and Tools
Advanced Facilitation Techniques
7M (Management) Tools

Define Tools

The Project Charter
Project Management Tools
Stakeholder Analysis
Customer Needs vs. Requirements
Advanced House of Quality
Selection of Improvement Approaches
Flow Charting and Cross Functional Process Mapping
Value Stream Mapping in DMAIC
Benchmarking

Measure Tools

Criteria for Collecting Data
Types of Data
Histograms and Pareto Charts
Scales of Measurement
Scatter Plots and Check Sheets
Data Collection Plans
Determining Baseline Sigma
1.5 Sigma Shift
Gauge R&R (Repeatability and Reproducibility) Studies
Measurement System Evaluation studies (MSE/MSA)
Process Capability (Cp/Cpk)

Analyze Tools

Waste Walks
One Sample, Two Sample and Paired T-Tests
Theory of Constraints
One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
Two-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
Linear Regression

Improve

Poka-Yoke
Quick Changeover
Cellular Systems
FMEA (Failure Modes and Effects Analysis)
Determining Solutions
Kaizen (Individual, Point or Process) Events
Binomial and Poisson Distribution Applications
Exponential, Hypergeometric and Lognormal Distributions
Reliability
Planning and Organizing Designed Experiments
- Full Factorial Designs
- Analyzing Full Factorial Designs
- Fraction Factorial Designs
Taguchi Design
TRIZ
Theory of Constraints
Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE)

Control

Monitoring and Control Plans
Monitoring and Control Documentation
Visual Management Tools
Radar Charts
Statistical Process Control
XmR Charts
Moving Average Charts
Attribute Charts
5S applications
FMEA During Control
Continual Improvement Planning

Implementing Lean Six Sigma

Design for Six Sigma (DMADV, DMADOV)
Creating a Six Sigma Culture
Critical Success Factors
Pitfalls to Avoid in Implementing Six Sigma
Strategy of Six Sigma

Related Certificate Programs

Lean Six Sigma Certificate

24+ Weeks

3 Courses

$6,059+

Become a change champion at your company by learning how to identify and solve critical business process problems.

Certification Available

Who Should Register?

This course is part of the three-course Certificate in Lean Six Sigma program and designed for knowledgeable practitioners who have successfully passed Villanova’s Lean Six Sigma and Six Sigma Green Belt courses. In this course, you can identify and implement breakthrough improvements for enhanced bottom-line results. Upon successful completion of all three courses, you can take the next step to earn your Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification by registering for the certification exam. Learn more about Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification through Villanova University.

Tuition & Payment

Total Course Cost

$4,095

Course offerings and associated prices are subject to change without prior notice. Pricing for multi-course certificate programs varies depending on course selection. View the Professional Education Catalog for more information on the courses and programs.

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