ETLS 640 Lean Six Sigma

Instructor:

Sara Braziller

Time:

Section 17,  Monday and  Wednesday Evenings, 5:30 – 9:30 p.m.

NOTE:    An additional 8 hours of class work will be required apart from these hours.  This will be discussed during the first night of class.

Location:

Binz LL02

Telephone:

Work Phone:   (651) 454-7802
             Cell: (612) 751-0621
Email: s.braziller@worldnet.att.net

Required

Text:

• The Six Sigma Way, Team Fieldbook, An Implementation Guide for Process Improvement Teams. Peter S. Pande, Robert P. Neuman and Roland R. Cavanaugh.
• Leaning into Six Sigma. Co-authored by Barbara Wheat, Chuck Mills and Mike Carnell

Additional Reading / Resources

• Class Handouts
• Additional resources and readings will be provided the first evening of class. 

Course Description:

Lean Six Sigma is an overview course designed to promote an understanding of Six Sigma quality and Lean speed.  There will be no detailed use of statistical analysis tools.  Instead, through lecture, group discussions, team exercises, and guest speakers, students will develop knowledge of the inter-relationship of these two concepts and how to develop plans for product and process improvements in all areas of an organization. Each student will create specific plans for their organizations using these concepts.  This course will provide a framework for students who plan to pursue Lean or Six Sigma certification.

Course Objectives:

To provide insights into the key elements of Lean and Six Sigma Quality and the relationship / interaction with each other.

To develop an understanding of the methodology and steps necessary to successfully implement Lean and Six Sigma within an organization and beyond.  Included in this understanding would be key performance tools for measuring and tracking results.

Learning Outcomes:

Students will demonstrate:

• An ability to function in multi-disciplinary teams and communicate effectively (SE9, MS2) (A, E, F, G, H)
• Knowledge of a contemporary issue (SE16) (A, E, F, G, H)
• The ability to analyze and present information and formulate a plan of action that recognizes key milestones, performance measurements, and potential challenges (MS4) (E, F, G)
• Demonstrate the understanding of functional strategies supporting the business strategy and competitive advantage being sought (MS7) (A, E, F, G)
• Demonstrate the knowledge to make decisions and the judgment to prioritize and make choices (TM4, MS2) (E, F, G)
• Demonstrate the ability to communicate effective in terms understandable to audiences. (TM6) (A, F, G)

Note:  The designators in parenthesis refer to the learning outcomes of the master degrees (SE=MMSE, MS=MSMS) and the assignments that will help students achieve these outcomes. 

Course Methodology:

The instructor will serve as a facilitator and lecturer.  Extensive group participation is expected as well as participation in small inter-disciplinary ad-hoc teams for class exercises.  Guest speakers will be included to highlight industry/methodology expertise as well as implementation experiences.  A final presentation prepared by each student will bring together all of the course and learning objectives

Major
Assignments:

Grading Policy:

Tests and papers must be completed on time.  Effective class participation is essential.

        100 – 95 A
           94 – 92 A-
         91 – 89 B+
         88 – 86 B
         85 – 83 B-
         82 – 80 C

Related Course:

It is recommended that this course be taken later in the program after an understanding of the key principles of Lean, Six Sigma Quality, Performance Measurement Systems, and Organizational Team Building and Change have been learned.

Academic Integrity:

All students are expected to understand and follow the University of St Thomas policies on Academic Integrity. These are described at: www.stthomas.edu/engineering/graduate/policies

Exams:

Exams are one of the instruments used to evaluate the knowledge gained by an individual student of the class subject matter, and the progress towards meeting the outcomes of the class and the degree.  To this end all exams (in class or take home) are intended to represent the effort of the individual and not a group effort unless specifically stated otherwise.

Attendance
Policy:

Students are expected to attend all class sessions. Circumstances which prevent attendance will be honored up to two instances. Absences in excess of two times may result in a lower grade for the course. Contact the instructor when a special situation arises. All absences require that the instructor be informed in advance.

Students with Disabilities

Qualified students with documented disabilities who may need classroom accommodations should make an appointment with the Enhancement Program – Disability Services office during the first two weeks of the semester.  Appointments can be made by calling 651-962-6315 or in person in O’Shaughnessy Educational Center, room 119.

Instructor Background:

Ms. Braziller has over 20 years of demonstrated experience in successfully leading and managing projects, establishing high performing organizations and problem solving in over 75 product and service companies. Sara is currently an independent consultant, specifically working with companies to improve utilization of people and assets (i.e., business processes and systems).

Previous positions include:

• Vice President and CIO for Jenny Craig International in San Diego, California. Major accomplishments included national implementation of the first company intranet and ADP's time and attendance system, establishing a data warehouse for marketing and customer relationship management, relocation of the Company's headquarters including main data center, and implementation of JDEdwards in Australia.
• Director of Consulting for the local office of Virchow Krause, a regional accounting and consulting firm, where she led the start-up and development of a management consulting practice for this 150-person office
• Director of Business Transformation and Information Systems for MVE, a $200M international manufacturing company, where she built and maintained an effective information systems infrastructure and established an organization-wide framework for business change
• She has also held three other consulting leadership positions in both Big 5 consulting organizations as well as a national information technology firm.

Sara holds a BA in Production Operations Management with a minor in Information Systems from North Texas State University, where she graduated magna cum laude. Sara is currently on the Hearing and Service Dog Board.  Most recently, she was also the Director of Volunteer Resources for WAMSO - the Minnesota Orchestra Volunteer Association in support of music education programs. She has also held board positions at APICS. Through APICS, she is certified in Resource Management (CIRM) and is also a Certified Practitioner in Inventory Management (CPIM).

In January 2004, Sara was honored by ComputerWorld as one of the 100 premier IT leaders in the world.

ETLS 640 – January 2008

Note: Outline WILL change frequently as speakers/tours are confirmed.

Class

Topics / Agenda

1:

Jan 2

·         Course Introduction - Objectives, themes

o       Review of 11+ weeks specifically final paper/requirements

o       Break down of the grading

o       Get acquainted exercise

·         Group Discussion / Lecture:  What is Lean Six Sigma?

o       What is Lean and Why?

o       Differences between methodologies – Lean, Six Sigma, ISO, Theory of Constraints, Organizational Development, etc.

o       Video – Building a House

o       Key concepts and principles of Lean

o       Lean Simulation – Round 1 including Value Stream Mapping

o       Toyota – House of Quality, History of Lean, Handout of Articles

·         Group Activity:  Review of Lean Six Sigma Articles

·         Homework:  Read:  Leaning into Six Sigma

2: 

Jan 7

·         Lean Simulation � Round 2 and Round 3

Tools of Lean

·         Pull Systems/Kanbans/Takt time

·         5S

·         Visual Management

·         Standard Work

·         Mistake Proofing

·         Kaizens

·         Other tools

  Homework:  Read Chapters 1 , 2 and 3

·    Homework:  Group Work:  Leaning into Six Sigma assignment

3:

Jan 9

·         Discussion / Lecture Chapters 1, 2 and 3

o        Business Strategies, Goals and Outcomes

o        The ways to organize:  Soft Skills related to Lean Six Sigma (The Right People, The Right Teams)

o        Selecting Projects � Problem Opportunity Statement, Operational Definitions (including entitlement)

o        Exercise

·         Voice of the Customer / Customer Requirements (with video)

o        VOC / Customer to Quality Tree

o        Quality Function Deployment

o        Group Exercise:  Customer Requirements

Homework:  Read chapters 4-8

4: 

Jan 14

·         Discussion / Lecture Chapters 4-8

o        DMAIC Process  - key components

o        Define Stage

o        Exercise � Key tools

o        Use of SIPOC, Cause and Effect diagram, cause and effect mapping, causes and effect matrix

·         Homework:  Read chapters 9-11

5: 

Jan 16

·         Measure Phase, Why collect data?

·         Measurement System Analysis

·         Articles and group exercises

·         Homework:  Read chapters 12-14

6:

Jan 21

·        Analyze Phase

·        Data analysis

·        Process analysis

·        Root cause analysis

·         Articles and group exercises

·        Improve Phase

·        Use of a pick chart / PDCA

·        Evaluating improvements

·        Conducting Pilots

·        FMEA/DOE

·        Tentative Guest Speaker:  DOE

·         Homework:  Read chapters 15-20

7: 

Jan 23

·        Control phase

·        Tools for control � audits, assessments, and challenges

·        Communications and Change Management

·        Deep Dive, Video

·        Implementing Lean beyond the 4 walls

·        Institutionalizing Lean Six Sigma

·        Group exercise:  Tying it all together

·        Homework:  Read chapter 21

8:

Jan 28

·        DFSS

·        Lean New Product Development

·        Guest Speaker:  Lean NPD