Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Course Begins in August

Methodist employees have the opportunity to register for a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt course offered by Nebraska Methodist College in collaboration with Operational Innovation.

Course Information

Dates: Aug. 22-Oct. 12 on Tuesdays (7:30-8:30 a.m.) and Thursdays (3:30-4:30 pm.)
Location: Classes will be virtual except for final presentations.
Cost: $750. If 10 people sign up, tuition will be reduced to $500 for Methodist employees.

Course participants will bring a problem to be worked on utilizing the tools introduced in this course. The problem should have one of the following outcomes:

• Cost reduction
• Cost avoidance
• Time savings
• Risk mitigation
• Patient experience improvement

Students can expect to learn the following:

• An introduction to Lean behaviors, principles and tools
• An introduction to Six Sigma process improvement methodology and tools
• The ability to apply Lean Six Sigma principles within a health care environment
• The ability to analyze data to make decisions regarding improvement efforts
• Skills to lead a process improvement initiative
• Knowledge of Daily Visual Management and huddles

Upon successful completion of the course and demonstrated understanding of the Lean Six Sigma methodology and tools, students will be certified as Lean Six Sigma Green Belts. Nebraska Methodist College will offer three credits toward the MBA in Healthcare program for completing the certification.

What Is Lean?

"Lean is a never-ending cycle of the elimination of waste, coupled with a commitment to total customer satisfaction, a total commitment to quality and a total commitment to employee involvement," according to the Project Management Institute. "The Lean methodology was first developed in the 1950s by Taiichi Ohno at Toyota. One of the system’s major innovations is that workers were seen as problem solvers who are trained and empowered to improve their processes and eliminate waste."  

What Is Six Sigma?

According to the American Society for Quality: "Six Sigma is a method that provides organizations tools to improve the capability of their business processes. This increase in performance and decrease in process variation helps lead to defect reduction and improvement in profits, employee morale and quality of products or services. ... A Six Sigma expert uses qualitative and quantitative techniques or tools to drive process improvement."

More Information and Registration

If you're interested in this course, contact Maureen Holstein before July 15.

For more information about Operational Innovation, its available services or educational offerings, visit the OI intranet site (Intranet Home > Departments > Operational Innovation). You can also reach out to an OI team member directly either via phone or email.