Lean Workshops

The Office of Continuous Improvement offers the following Lean courses to Michigan Tech employees (workshop descriptions can be found below). These tools can assist you in your efforts to create the best possible experience for students, faculty, staff and other customers. These are the five stand-alone workshops in the Lean Basics series. They can be taken independently, or, if you attend in all five workshops in the series, a Lean Yellow Belt certification is awarded to those who satisfactorily complete all requirements!

  • Processes, Flow, and Waste: Lean Fundamentals
         - Lean White Belt certification is awarded to those who satisfactorily complete
           all requirements for the Lean Fundamentals workshop
  • Finding the Source of the Problem: Root Cause Analysis and Decision-Making Tools
  • Countermeasures: Solving Common Problems using Lean Methods and Tools
  • Understanding the Impact: Collecting and Visualizing Metrics to Support Improvement
  • Practical Problem Solving: Leveraging the Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle

Workshops can also be scheduled for additional department training or a department retreat. If your department would be interested in a workshop we can work with you to schedule it at a time convenient to your group. Please contact improvement@mtu.edu or 906-487-3180 if you have any questions or concerns.

Processes, Flow, and Waste: Lean Fundamentals

3 Hours

In this fun and interactive workshop, you'll practice visualizing the fundamental Lean concepts of flow and waste and see how you can apply them to your job right away. You'll also learn about Lean culture and the principles of Lean thinking, and participate in problem-solving using the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) model. You'll learn about the 5 Whys to help you discover root causes, identify waste and unsafe acts and conditions, use meeting management tools to keep your improvement discussions on track, and recommend process improvements. After the workshop, you'll be ready to actively participate in a kaizen (improvement) event.

Lean White Belt certification is awarded to those who satisfactorily complete all requirements for the Lean Fundamentals workshop.

Sign up for Lean training with the online registration form

Finding the Source of the Problem: Root Cause Analysis and Decision-Making Tools

3 Hours

When solving a problem, we must first gain a deep understanding of the current situation and set a goal condition. Then we perform a root cause analysis on the gap between how things are and how we want them to be. In this course, we’ll use several fun tools for exploring the how, what, and why of the gap, brainstorming possible causes and using decision-making tools to select the most likely root cause to pursue. After this class, you’ll have a better understanding of: Brainstorming Techniques (Reversal, Metaphorical, Fantasy Chaining), Affinity Diagrams, Cause and Effect Diagrams, ICE, PACE, and Multi Voting. Sign up for Lean training with the online registration form

Countermeasures: Solving Common Problems using Lean Methods and Tools

3 Hours

Countermeasures are the actions we take during experiments to close the gap between what is currently happening and what we want to happen. We develop countermeasures to address root causes during The Plan phase of the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle, then implement them in the Do phase. In this course, we’ll explore several Lean methods and tools that are used as countermeasures for common workplace problems, and explain the principles behind them. After this class, you’ll have a better understanding of: 5S, Kanban, Standard Work, Andon, and Poka Yoke (error proofing). Sign up for Lean training with the online registration form

Understanding the Impact: Collecting and Visualizing Metrics to Support Improvement

3 Hours

Metrics help us describe what we know about the current situation, confirm whether an identified potential cause is contributing to the problem, and verify that our countermeasures are working the way we want them to. They also help us visually tell the story of the impact our improvements have on our mission. In this course, we’ll learn some simple methods for collecting and visualizing data to support improvements. In most cases, any employee can collect and interpret the data they need to improve their work. After this class, you’ll have a better understanding of: Data plans, Tally Charts, Pareto Charts, Histograms, Scatter Diagrams, and Run and Control Charts. Sign up for Lean training with the online registration form

Practical Problem Solving: Leveraging the Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle

3 Hours

Problem solving in a continuous improvement culture is highly participative, focusing on the problem, not the person, and involves the people who actually do the work. In this course, you’ll explore the problem-solving cycle (Plan-Do-Check-Act) to test and learn your way toward your goals. You’ll also practice the related methods of Kata and A3s for problem solving and the development of Lean thinking. After this class, you’ll have a better understanding of: PDCA, Kata, and A3s. Sign up for Lean training with the online registration form