Six Sigma


One of Quality Associates' primary objectives is providing expertise, training, and education to aid organizations in their never-ending quest for continuous improvement. We are here to help you and your organization increase both your efficiency and effectiveness.

To that end, we have developed a series of courses, based on the dramatic successes of the Lean Six Sigma approach to quality and continuous improvement which has been employed with outstanding results by American industry over the last fifteen or more years. These courses are taught by subject matter experts with both the academic and professional backgrounds that insure a practical, applications-oriented, face-paced and exciting learning experience. If desired, one can receive either Black Belt or Green Belt certification by selection of the appropriate courses.


The Pathway to Continuous Improvement:


Understanding and Implementing Lean Six Sigma* (5-day)

This is one of a series of four courses that is taught over an 8 - 10 month period that ultimately leads to Black Belt certification. Issues addressed will include:

 • What is Six Sigma?  • What is lean manufacturing?  • How are they combined to make a more effective Lean Six Sigma approach to continuous improvement?  • What are the keys to a successful implementation?  •  What are the experiences of companies that have had successful implementations and companies that have not been successful?  • Where does a company start?  • How do you organize for Six Sigma?  • What are the critical roles? • What is the Six Sigma methodology, DMAIC?  • How does it work and why is it so critical?  • What training/education is necessary for successful implementation?  • How should Six Sigma projects be selected and defined (project charters)? • What are the necessary non statistical tools critical to Six Sigma (e.g. Process mapping, Pareto Analysis, FMEA, QFD, etc.)

Executive Overview of Six Sigma (2-days)

For management team(s) in companies considering implementing Lean Six Sigma in their companies. It is an abbreviated version of the course described above with emphasis on the logic, philosophy and methodology of Six Sigma. It is open to anyone who wants to know: •  What Six Sigma is, •  Why should we care, •  What is in it for our particular company and •  How can we assure it is implemented successfully.

It emphasizes the absolutely necessary and critical roles management has to play for successful implementation. Note: No one should attempt to implement Six Sigma without understanding the material presented in this course.

Statistics: The Foundation for Process Understanding, Improvement, and Control* (5 days)

This practical, applications-oriented course is designed for those who want to understand what it means to think statistically and to make decisions based on facts and data instead of opinion. The material presented lays the foundation for all statistical applications in industry and business organizations, both manufacturing and non-manufacturing. The course is full of real-world examples gathered from the instructor's more than 30 years experience.

During the program you will discuss many real-world examples which are based on hypothesis testing and estimation. Six statistical distributions (Normal, Student t, Chi Squared, F, Binomial, and Poisson) are most often used in these real-world applications.

You will come away from this course knowing when and how to use each distribution, the logic behind each, and how to properly interpret the results to achieve optimum decision making.

This course is also the second one necessary for those wishing to obtain Black Belt certification. It specifically addresses the M, A, I and C from the Six Sigma methodology.

Do not let the terminology intimidate you. Statistics only sounds difficult. It is not!

Quality Management and the Measurement System (4 days)

Understanding your measurement system is a prerequisite to all quality efforts. Actually "quality management begins with the measurement system."

To fully understand any measurement system, its accuracy, precision, and capability must be understood. It is also necessary to control the measurement system to meet its capability.

This course is designed to provide those attending with the tools, knowledge and skills necessary to understand, improve and control their measurement systems. It is a practical, applications-oriented and -based on the more than thirty years of consulting experience of the instructor; and course covers all that is necessary for the Measure stage of the Six Sigma DMAIC methodology. Note: It is not a requirement for the Black Belt certification, but would certainly be helpful to all Black Belts.

The Design and Analysis of Industrial Experiments* (5-days)

Quality and continuous improvement are not possible without understanding and reducing variability, and reducing variability is improbable without carefully designed experiments.

During this seminar, you will learn practical skills while designing several experiments, running them, and analyzing their results. Single factor experiments and factorial experiments are covered thoroughly as well as completely randomized, randomized block and Latin square designs. Additionally, screening designs including 2n factorials, other fractional replicates and Plackett-Burman designs are explored. Both ANOVA and regression analysis are presented as alternative methods of analysis. The material in this course is directed towards the Design in the Six Sigma DMAIC methodology.

This seminar also contains the basic set of tools for much of the Analyze and Improvement stages of the Six Sigma DMAIC methodology.

Process Control and Its Critical Role in Assuring Sustainability* (5 days)

In this course, different approaches to assuring the benefits attained in your continuous improvement efforts are sustained and are thoroughly explored. Particular emphasis is placed on SPC and the use of control charts including: Xbar, R, individuals, p, np, and c charts. Advanced methods such as Exponentially Weighted Moving Average Charts (EWMA) and Cumulative Sum Charts (CuSum) are also investigated. Emphasis is placed on logic and understanding when and why to use each technique discussed.

The material in this course is directed towards the Control in the Six Sigma DMAIC methodology.