“Lean at Home” Certification
One of the most common struggles I hear from those interested in learning more about Lean and Six Sigma is the ability to apply what they learn to a real-life project.
Certifications look good on your resume or CV, but they require some actual application, otherwise they aren’t valued as much. Most Green and Black Belt certifications require project work, showing improvement to a real-life process and problem.
Sadly, MOST people who I train do not complete their certification!
My best estimate is less than 20%! Can you believe that?
Some of these issues include:
- They can’t get time dedicated to work on a project
- They can’t figure out what project to work on
- They can’t get support from the management in the area you want to improve
I think I have an answer to this challenge, so I’m testing out my idea with a short 2-hour course…
As I developed my improvement skills, I found it very helpful to practice what I learned at home, in a safe space where I can make mistakes (instead of at my job).
For example, when I learned about Kanban, I decided to practice at my home first. I started with pet food (since I often ran out), and setup a min/max trigger system. When I got down to 6 cans, I had a card with the information about the dog food written on it. It said to purchase 6 more cans of a specific brand. I taped it to the refrigerator, and when I went to the store, I would write the dog food on my grocery list or take it with me.
After working out the kinks of my new system, I was much more confidence talking about kanbans at work, and better able to explain the concept in my training classes.
In addition, I’ve also observed co-workers who have process improvement skills and abilities already, but their personal life does not match what they teach at work. There is a big disconnect. Maybe you’re in that situation, where you turn off your brain when you get home, and you batch your home life, are disorganized, and have no routine or defined processes.
For the past few years, I’ve been working on developing and enhancing a class to show how Lean methods can apply to your personal life, originally called “Personal Lean.”
I’m now calling this condensed course “Lean at Home“
This course takes away the work-related excuses for why you can’t implement what you learn.
It is now completely under your control. You pick the home process you want to streamline, and I’ll walk you step-by-step through the process. You just need to commit to doing it, and spend some of your free time at night and on the weekends working on it. I would recommend involving your family so it doesn’t feel like it’s taking time away from them. They might actually like it, and will probably have better ideas that you could imagine!
Here are some home processes you might select (but you can pick anything you want):
- getting ready for work
- getting ready for bed
- commuting to work
- mowing the lawn
- doing laundry
- paying bills
- making food in your kitchen
- vacuuming the floors
Upon approval of your completed project, you will receive an electronic certificate (similar to above).
INTERESTED? Sign up now for the FREE course!
FAQ
What will be taught in the training?
The training will cover the following Lean topics:
- Basic data collection
- Process mapping
- Spaghetti Diagrams
- 8 wastes
- 5S workplace organization
- Error Proofing
- Checklists
- Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s)
How long will this certification take?
The course content will take between 90 mins and 3 hours. To implement improvements in your home, it could take as little as an hour, or as long as 2-3 days, depending on what project you select.
When will it start?
The course has been launched! Sign up here
What are the certification requirements?
We will provide an improvement template within the course (Powerpoint and Google Sheets) for you to fill out with the requirements for reducing time in your home processes (mowing lawn, making dinner, shaving, washing car, vacuuming, etc).
Someone from our team will review your documentation and photos, ask questions, then approve your work (if it achieves an actual metric improvement).
If you’ve already done a home improvement project, and meet the certification requirements for documentation, then you don’t need to go through the course, just submit your artifacts for review.
How much does it cost?
Right now, the course is 100% FREE! This might change, if I determine that people are taking the course, but not completing a project. I want to see action, not more people absorbing more knowledge.
Sometimes in behavior change, it needs to cost us money for us to take it seriously. I may add a charge in the future if the success rate on projects is low.
What value is this certification?
This is not equivalent to any certification out there. The closest would be between a White Belt and Yellow Belt. This certification will not get you a job as a Lean consultant, but it will make your home life simpler and more efficient.
But this can lead to bigger and better things.
It will show your management that you are learning new skills and applying what you learned.
It will also give you confidence to take what you learn back to work with you, to apply it to a work-related problem, which will get you some recognition.
When you start making improvements at work, then the opportunities are endless.
In summary, this certification program is good for both beginners in Lean, and those with lots of experience. If this sounds interesting, then sign up on the interest list (you can always change your mind. no obligation).