The Nonprofit Institute has teamed up with the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering to develop the first-of-its-kind Lean Six Sigma for Social Impact program for Nonprofit Organizations in the San Diego region.
Our region's nonprofit sector employs thousands of highly talented, values-driven professionals who do noble work – and they do it well. This unique program is designed for organizations to extend their mission for even greater social impact. The program is taught by USD Industrial Engineering Professor Lenny Perry and seasoned local industry professionals with Engineering students serving as coaches to participating organizations.
About the program
This series of workshops utilizes Lean and Six Sigma methodologies to streamline operational processes and reduce current inefficiencies and redundancies. Participants will learn how to lead their organization through a structured improvement journey utilizing tools and techniques of Lean and Six Sigma. In addition, each participant will successfully develop, launch, and transition a project from your organization through each phase of improvement using the Six Sigma DMAIC framework. The Lean Six Sigma tools are introduced in the context of nonprofit management and operations, with the goal of applying this approach to a specific project within each participating organization
The goal is to help nonprofits pursue their mission better, faster and cheaper. If you can do that, you can bring your mission to that many more people.
The workshops made us stop and look at our processes differently. We came to understand what our problems were. We now have a standardized process for this part of our operations.
We teach them how to make a lot of small improvements, and making those small improvements has a big impact on an organization.
Lean Six Sigma Workshop Series - Green Belt Certification
14-week program
2 hour online workshops
THU
Thursdays from 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Aug 29 - Dec 12
$1,400
Participants in the Lean Six Sigma for Social Impact program will receive a Green Belt certification upon successful completion of project and workshop assignments. Each project will have up to two participants from one organization applying the concepts from workshops on a real problem at their organization. Project teams will also have an Industrial Engineering student join them on their team to provide engineering viewpoint and support on their projects.
Participants will receive preparation material through Lean Six Sigma topic lecture videos to watch at home on their own schedule prior to each workshop. Workshops will reinforce the video lectures with collaborative and engaging sessions that apply the Lean Six Sigma concepts in a deeper learning environment.
In addition, Dr. Perry will spend one-on-one time with each team on their projects during the sessions to apply the newly learned concepts learned in the workshop. Included in the series are workshops dedicated to project delivery and feedback.
Scholarships up to $300 are available for persons applying for the Lean Six Sigma Certificate program.
Workshop benefits
- Lean Six Sigma Project Consultation
- Green Belt Certification
- Projects typically reduce costs in organizations and create a more efficient and visible workflow
- USD Engineering student intern on each project team
To request a scholarship or if you have questions, please contact Lenny Perry at laperry@sandiego.edu or (619) 675-4444.
Workshop series
Thursdays @ 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Week 1
Overview of Lean Six Sigma and Critical Success Factors in a Nonprofit Organization
Is lean and six sigma really applicable in the nonprofit sector? This workshop demystifies lean and six sigma and explains critical success factors to transform your organization to a culture of operational excellence. In addition, learn how to select the appropriate project that's aligned with the organization's strategic and financial objectives and goals.
Week 2
Successfully Complete Projects utilizing a Project Charter and SIPOC
Completing projects on time while achieving initial goals is no trivial task. In this workshop, you will learn to develop and apply a project charter and SIPOC to assure effective communication throughout the project. Learn about key components of a project charter which include a succinct problem statement, objective, scope and performance metrics that truly reflect the current problem and not the flavor of the month.
Week 3
Green Belt Project Report Out Presentations for the Lean Six Sigma DEFINE Phase
Peer learning from another team's success and challenges are instrumental to learning and changing an organization's culture. Learn from local nonprofit organizations who will present their progress reports applying tools from the Six Sigma DEFINE Phase such as Project Charter, SIPOC and Voice of Customer. These project report outs provide the structure and due dates to ensure project success in a timely manner.
Week 4
Data Analytics: Collecting the Right Data
Data is everywhere, but the foundation of great analysis is having the appropriate data for your process and improvement projects which is typically not easy to attain. In this workshop, participants will learn to collect the right data and the right amount to solve the problem your project team has at hand. Learn to use tools such as data collection plans and stratification trees to guide your project teams to sift through systems of data.
Week 5
Understanding Value in Your Organization: Value Stream Mapping
Where do I start looking for answers to our problems in our organization? Value Stream Maps help you see the big picture and are a great starting point for improvements. In this workshop learn how Value Stream Maps allow you to see the constraints and wastes in the system as well as how all the individual processes work together (or fail to do so), and the impact that has on the overall response time to the customer.
Week 6
Green Belt Project Report Out Presentations for the Lean Six Sigma MEASURE Phase
Peer learning from another team's success and challenges are instrumental to learning and changing an organizations culture. Learn from local nonprofit organizations who will present their progress reports applying tools from the Six Sigma MEASURE Phase such as Value Stream Maps, Data Collection Plans and Sheets and Stratification Tree Diagrams. These project report outs provide the structure and due dates to ensure project success in a timely manner.
Week 7
Identifying Wastes in the process
Lean wastes are activities or resources that bring no value to the end customer. Identifying these wastes in a process are key to reducing the inefficiencies and overall operating costs. Learn how to perform a Gemba (observational) walk and identify wastes within your organization.
Week 8
Standardizing the workplace to eliminate wasted motion and delays using a lean method, 5S
Trying to find the right tool for the right job can delay processes and ultimately reduce customer satisfaction. This workshop introduces a powerful tool called 5S. Learn how to decrease waste while optimizing productivity through maintaining an orderly workplace.
Week 9
Data Analytics: Analyze Data from Processes and Systems
The heart of Six Sigma is focused on data and applied statistics to improve organizational processes. In this workshop, learn to analyze data using descriptive statistics and plots to determine trends, relationships and outliers. Participants will utilize Excel to create boxplots, scatterplots (X-Y), time series plots, histograms, bar charts and pareto charts.
Week 10
Getting to the Root Cause for your Problem Analysis (RCA)
A root cause is an underlying cause. Problems typically appear when outliers in the process are present. This stems from inconsistent processes. In this workshop learn to identify and quantify root causes utilizing Root Cause Analysis (RCA) which includes methods such as Cause & Effect (Fishbone) Diagrams and the "5 Whys".
Week 11
Green Belt Project Report Out Presentations for the Lean Six Sigma ANALYZE Phase
Peer learning from another team's success and challenges are instrumental to learning and changing an organizations culture. Learn from local nonprofit organizations who will present their progress reports applying tools from the Six Sigma ANALYZE Phase such as Value Stream Maps, Data Collection Plans and Sheets and Stratification Tree Diagrams. These project report outs provide the structure and due dates to ensure project success in a timely manner.
Week 12
Selecting and Implementing Appropriate Solutions
Selecting the appropriate solution objectively without leadership bias is a challenging endeavor without a disciplined approach. Learn to select appropriate solutions methodically using a solution selection matrix (Pugh Matrix), perform cost benefit analysis for selected solution, and develop an implementation plan to identify and track key milestones.
Week 13
Green Belt Project Final Presentations for the Lean Six Sigma
Peer learning from another team's success and challenges are instrumental to learning and changing an organizations culture. Learn from local nonprofit organizations who will present their final lean six sigma project presentations documenting their process improvement journey.