Lean Certification: Lean FOCUS™ for Transactional / Services Environment                         View Cart

Acuity Institute’s Lean training online course is designed for project managers and team members to enable the application of the best practices and top tools and techniques of Lean to their service processes.

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Lean FOCUS™ Online Certification Packages

	Lean FOCUS™ Certification Program	Lean FOCUS™ Certification Program with Printed Course Book*
Lean Certification - Exam
Lean Certification - Simulated Project
Lean Course Lessons (3 Months Access)
Instructor Support (3 Months Access)
Lean Course eBook
Lean Toolkit
Lean Printed Course Book (Optional)
IACET Continuing Education Units	TBD	TBD
Price	$499	$649
Price Good Through September 30, 2010	$399	$549

*Shipping to a location within the United States is included.  All other destinations will be charged a delivery fee.        

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Lean FOCUS™ Certification Course Details

Course Description
Certification
Course Lessons
Instructor Support
Course eBOOK and OPTIONAL Printed Course Book
Lean Six Sigma Toolkit
IACET Continuing Education Units (Accreditation)
Blended Learning and Traditional Classroom Training

LEAN COURSE DESCRIPTION

Many Lean initiatives fail because people don’t know where to start or how to sustain the improvements.  Acuity Institute has developed the FOCUS™ Methodology which gives participants a structured approach to initiating and managing Lean projects in a transactional environment.  Where Six Sigma focuses on reducing defects, Lean looks at reducing waste and improving flow in an organization.  A Lean business produces just what is needed, when it is needed with no additional labor, costs or time, resulting in bottom line savings.  Many manufacturing organizations have embraced this Lean process philosophy while their transactional processes remain inefficient.

Acuity Institute’s Lean FOCUS™ for the Transactional / Services Environment is designed for project managers and team members to enable them to apply the best practices and top tools and techniques of Lean to their service processes.  The course utilizes a combination of a Lead-time reduction simulation, case studies, and application of tools to facilitate learning of principles.  The Lean course follows Acuity’s unique Lean training methodology Focus, Operate, Create, Utilize and Sustain.  The FOCUS™ roadmap will assist users to identify problems, improve and implement a Lean solution.

The Lean training is conducted online and uses a multi-media format that includes audio by Lean experts, examples of Lean efforts, interactive simulations and quizzes, and the most current and robust tools and techniques available.  The course is “self-paced” and can be accessed at anytime – anywhere, which provides the most flexibility in completing the course.  On average students complete the Lean course in 40 hours.

Acuity Institute’s Lean course is one of the most practical in the world.  We recommend this course to Project Leaders, Department Leaders, Business Leaders, Team Members, Black Belts and Green Belts.  This course is an excellent opportunity for Black Belts and Green Belts who are training in Six Sigma or Lean Six Sigma to take a comprehensive dive into additional robust Lean tools and techniques.

LEAN CERTIFICATION       back to top

1. Acuity Institute’s Lean Exam is the standard for Transactional Lean.  Upon completing Lean training, students will be required to achieve a passing mark of 80% or higher on the exam.  The exam is intended to validate student proficiency with the Lean tools and techniques.  The following highlights the Lean Exam.
• Students will have 1 attempt to successfully pass the exam (80% or higher).  If a student does not pass the exam they will be charged a fee of $25 if they choose to retake the exam.  Upon submitting the retake fee, Acuity Institute will provide areas in the course for the student to review prior to the next exam attempt.
• The exam is administered online.  Students will need to have an active internet connection to complete the exam.
• The exam is open book.  Students may use any reference materials to complete the exam (training manuals, project materials, etc.).
• Students have a maximum of 120 minutes to complete the exam.
• Once the entire exam is complete, the student will be notified immediately if they passed the exam.  Students will not have access to their answers; this information is keep confidential to Acuity Institute.
  
  
2. Acuity Institute’s Lean Certification requires the completion of the Simco International Lean project.  At Acuity we recognize that not every individual has the opportunity to complete an actual project while completing training.  For each of our courses, we have created a real world simulated project that takes learners from the beginning to end of the problem and solution. This helps to build the student's understanding of the concepts taught in training and the practical application of the tools.  Student's complete the course better prepared to apply what they have learned in the real world.  No other Lean training service provider on the market offers a comprehensive simulation such as ours.

LEAN COURSE LESSONS (3 Months Access)             back to top

Course Lessons (8 Lessons, 40+ Quiz Questions and Multiple Exercises)

 Key Outcomes (on completion of this course, students will be able to…)

• Understand the history of Lean
• Explain why Lean works for the Office and the Factory
• Identify the key Lean Principles
• Differentiate between a Lean deployment and a Lean project
• Describe the Lean Roadmap
• Identify the key steps and deliverables in FOCUS™
• Define customer needs
• Define value
• Select initial scope
• Develop the Lean Charter
• Develop the Current State Value Stream Map
• Diagnose Problem Type
• Implement Quick Wins
• Plan and Run a Kaizen Event
• Determine Capacity Requirements
• Reduce Lead Time on the Critical Path
• Balance a Line and Standardize Work
• Identify Flow Problems
• Explain pull vs. push systems
• Define Kanbans
• Create the Future Stream Value Stream Map
• Mitigate Risks
• Implement Solutions
• Manage Change
• Understand what Performance Measurement is
• Explain Error Proofing (Poke-Yoke)
• Describe the System Leverage Points and how to make Change Stick

Course Prerequisites

• Training: None
• Technical Requirements (Computer)
• A computer with Microsoft Windows operating system (98, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, or Windows 7) or Mac OS X (10.5 Leopard or higher)
• A computer with Microsoft Office 2000 or higher
• A high speed internet connection and a web browser (Internet Explorer or Firefox is highly recommended)
• Sound capability on the computer (speakers or headphones)
• Adobe Reader (free software)
• Macromedia Flash Player (free software)

INSTRUCTOR SUPPORT         back to top

At Acuity Institute we want the learning experience to be as supportive and engaging as possible.  We understand the importance of having a place to ask questions to the experts about tools and techniques, exercises, project work or general technical support.  During training students can submit questions to instructors through Acuity Institute’s Student Center.  Responses are provided to student questions in one business day or less.  If questions and/or answers are complex, an Acuity Institute instructor will schedule a one-on-one phone meeting with the student to review the question/answer.

COURSE eBOOK and OPTIONAL PRINTED COURSE BOOK      back to top

The Lean eBook (electronic copy) contains much of the same content as the online instructional materials.  The eBook is fully searchable and contains many links to assist students in quickly navigating to key tools and concepts. The eBook allows students the ability to capture notes and comments within the eBook for future reference.  Students can print directly from the eBook.  To protect the electronic intellectual property of the course content, students will not be able to copy from the eBook. 

As an option, students can purchase printed course materials.

LEAN TOOLKIT       back to top

Only Acuity provides participants with a Lean Toolkit to keep participants focused on their project work and not creating “templates”.  The toolkit comprises of a comprehensive set of templates, roadmaps and useful tools that can be immediately used in projects.  Templates include: Lean Assessment, Define Customer Value, Change Assessment, Project Charter, Spaghetti Diagram, 5S, 8 Wastes, Quick Win Identification, Product Service Family Matrix, Kaizen Event, Line Balancing, Lead Time Reduction, Lean Efficiency Metrics, Implementation Plan, FMEA, Training Needs Analysis,  Performance Measurement Plan, Error Proofing, Make Change Stick.

IACET CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS (ACCREDITATION)         back to top

Acuity Institute has been approved as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET).  In obtaining this approval, Acuity Institute has demonstrated that it complies with the ANSI/IACET Standards which are widely recognized as standards of good practice internationally.  As a result of our Authorized Provider membership status, Acuity Institute is authorized to offer IACET CEUs for its programs that qualify under the ANSI/IACET Standards.  The primary purpose of a CEU is to provide a permanent record of the educational accomplishments of an individual who has completed one or more significant non-credit educational experiences.

BLENDED LEARNING AND TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM TRAINING        back to top

In addition to online training, Acuity Institute offers customized Blended Learning and Traditional Classroom training options for corporations.  Acuity’s Blended Learning and Traditional Classroom training approaches are unique in they allow for flexibility while maintaining the integrity of the principles being taught.  Our model is based on utilizing expert Master Black Belts and/or Black Belts to facilitate training in a mixture of classroom, workshop, online (Blended Learning), and one-on-one settings.