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Do IT this week: Layering
By Paula Schleis
Beacon Journal business writer
POSTED: 06:16 p.m. EST, Nov 30, 2009
For a decade, area businesses have been paying for employees to attend the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt management training program at Kent State University, which ends after the student applies new skills in completing a major project for a company.
But the sour economy has led to a new twist in the program this year.
For the first time, federal grants picked up the $8,400 tab for several unemployed workers to take the course.
And, with no employer to bestow their newfound skills upon, the eight students will repay the financial assistance by helping area nonprofits.
Mature Services of Akron, the Stark County District Library and two Goodwill operations have identified processes that might benefit from the data-driven management technique that the KSU students learned, said Amy Lane, who oversees the KSU program.
The eight students involved have already completed 140 hours of classroom training and are now embarking on their final projects, required for certification.
''Graduates become experts in problem solving,'' Lane said, ''and they're trained to be focused on continuous improvement in an organization.''
Those who take the class are usually company executives, quality control managers, engineers and plant managers.
''Anyone involved in improving processes and the quality of a product within the organization would benefit from this,'' Lane said.
While the traditional program requires employees to spend a 40-hour workweek in school each month, the class of unemployed students was put on an accelerated course to help them graduate quicker, she said.
KSU's program marries two movements: Lean manufacturing, and the Six Sigma style of problem solving.
Lean manufacturing was created for Toyota's production system, which focused on the purposeful elimination of wasted action.
Six Sigma, which originated at Motorola, theorizes that if a business process can be measured, it can be reduced to a statistical picture, making it easier to identify problems and implement solutions.
Six Sigma trainees are identified through a martial arts-style of belt levels and since 2000, KSU has trained about 400 black belts, Lane said. The program is offered through the Corporate and Community Services department and the Corporate University at Kent State Stark.
Lane said surveys from former classes have found their final projects brought $100,000 to more than $1 million in value to the benefiting employers.
Because this special class is made up of unemployed people, KSU asked United Way of Summit County to ''work with us to identify social service agencies with a forward-looking approach to what they do, and large and complex enough to have continuous improvement projects,'' Lane said.
Goodwill project
Phil Stauffer, vice president of retail for Goodwill Industries of Akron, said it's too early to know the value of the project just getting under way at his organization.
Two Six Sigma students are taking a look at standardizing how donations are processed at its stores, which would also make training of employees easier.
''My hope is that they'll be able to identify potential improvements in the system,'' Stauffer said. ''This is an outsider's perspective, and that's good.''
Brian Peshek, who is undertaking the Goodwill project with classmate Tim Burrows, said he's looking forward to putting his classroom lessons into action.
''We are deeply indebted to everyone at Goodwill for allowing us to enter their space and spread our wings for the first time,'' he said.
In May, Peshek lost his job as a die maker at the Chrysler stamping plant in Twinsburg, where he had been employed for 12 years.
As he looked for a new job, ''I noticed 'Six Sigma' kept popping up in job postings,'' he said. ''I was vaguely familiar with it as part of a continuous improvement and quality movement in manufacturing, so I looked into it a little more.''
Peshek, 39, knew that because his job was affected by foreign trade, he might qualify for help through the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance act, and was thrilled that a grant came through.
The KSU program ''was really quite excellent,'' he said. ''Rigorous and well put together. . . . I've already added it to my resume and I'm confident it will help'' in the job search.
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/paulaschleis.
For a decade, area businesses have been paying for employees to attend the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt management training program at Kent State University, which ends after the student applies new skills in completing a major project for a company.
But the sour economy has led to a new twist in the program this year.
For the first time, federal grants picked up the $8,400 tab for several unemployed workers to take the course.
And, with no employer to bestow their newfound skills upon, the eight students will repay the financial assistance by helping area nonprofits.
Mature Services of Akron, the Stark County District Library and two Goodwill operations have identified processes that might benefit from the data-driven management technique that the KSU students learned, said Amy Lane, who oversees the KSU program.
The eight students involved have already completed 140 hours of classroom training and are now embarking on their final projects, required for certification.
''Graduates become experts in problem solving,'' Lane said, ''and they're trained to be focused on continuous improvement in an organization.''
Those who take the class are usually company executives, quality control managers, engineers and plant managers.
''Anyone involved in improving processes and the quality of a product within the organization would benefit from this,'' Lane said.
While the traditional program requires employees to spend a 40-hour workweek in school each month, the class of unemployed students was put on an accelerated course to help them graduate quicker, she said.
KSU's program marries two movements: Lean manufacturing, and the Six Sigma style of problem solving.
Lean manufacturing was created for Toyota's production system, which focused on the purposeful elimination of wasted action.
Six Sigma, which originated at Motorola, theorizes that if a business process can be measured, it can be reduced to a statistical picture, making it easier to identify problems and implement solutions.
Six Sigma trainees are identified through a martial arts-style of belt levels and since 2000, KSU has trained about 400 black belts, Lane said. The program is offered through the Corporate and Community Services department and the Corporate University at Kent State Stark.
Lane said surveys from former classes have found their final projects brought $100,000 to more than $1 million in value to the benefiting employers.
Because this special class is made up of unemployed people, KSU asked United Way of Summit County to ''work with us to identify social service agencies with a forward-looking approach to what they do, and large and complex enough to have continuous improvement projects,'' Lane said.
Goodwill project
Phil Stauffer, vice president of retail for Goodwill Industries of Akron, said it's too early to know the value of the project just getting under way at his organization.
Two Six Sigma students are taking a look at standardizing how donations are processed at its stores, which would also make training of employees easier.
''My hope is that they'll be able to identify potential improvements in the system,'' Stauffer said. ''This is an outsider's perspective, and that's good.''
Brian Peshek, who is undertaking the Goodwill project with classmate Tim Burrows, said he's looking forward to putting his classroom lessons into action.
''We are deeply indebted to everyone at Goodwill for allowing us to enter their space and spread our wings for the first time,'' he said.
In May, Peshek lost his job as a die maker at the Chrysler stamping plant in Twinsburg, where he had been employed for 12 years.
As he looked for a new job, ''I noticed 'Six Sigma' kept popping up in job postings,'' he said. ''I was vaguely familiar with it as part of a continuous improvement and quality movement in manufacturing, so I looked into it a little more.''
Peshek, 39, knew that because his job was affected by foreign trade, he might qualify for help through the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance act, and was thrilled that a grant came through.
The KSU program ''was really quite excellent,'' he said. ''Rigorous and well put together. . . . I've already added it to my resume and I'm confident it will help'' in the job search.
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/paulaschleis.
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