The Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training is conducted at the U.S, Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Theodore Roosevelt Building (TRB) – 1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415. 

Overview

OPM’s Process & Performance Improvement Program supports the President’s Management Agenda and Cross-Agency Priority Goals by reskilling staff and federal organizations' capacity to design and execute process improvement initiatives.

Individuals will learn to increase efficiency and effectiveness of federal processes by understanding and practicing tools and techniques in qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, data-driven decision-making, and the increased ability to address root causes rather than symptoms of organizational challenges.

Some critical skills applicable to many federal services include facilitation; project management; qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis; root cause analysis; and working on teams to make data-driven decisions.

All course materials will be provided to students electronically through our learning management system, CLD Central. This eliminates thousands of pages of printing per student and serves as a more effective reference for students in the future. As such, all students are required to bring their own laptop and/or tablet to class to reference slides, templates, and take notes.

To become Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certified, in addition to the four weeks of LSS in-person training, each student will complete an LSS project in their home agency. Students will apply their new LSS skills to their project with support from LSS instructors and coaches. Upon completion of all training requirements, project approval by PPIP's instructors or coaches at each tollgate phase, and completion of their Lean Six Sigma project, participants will be eligible for certification as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.

How You Will Benefit

Students completing training, a successful project in their home agency, and becoming Black Belt certified will have demonstrated ability to design, implement and evaluate business process improvement projects that improve work processes, gain efficiencies, and enhance the agency's effectiveness. In addition to gaining valuable knowledge and experience in project management and facilitation, qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, data-driven decision-making, and the increased ability to address root causes rather than symptoms will be emphasized throughout the training and project work.

Who Should Attend

Individuals with an interest in improving work processes, gaining efficiencies, and enhancing their agency's effectiveness should attend this 4 week LSS Black Belt training. After verification of successful completion of training and a project in their home agency, students will be eligible to become LSS BB certified.

Prerequisites

Although there are no prerequisites for this course, participants enrolling in the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training and Certification Program are strongly encouraged to have the following skills/background:

• At least two years of formal education in a technical/scientific subject (e.g. engineering, industrial/organizational psych., business)
• At least two years of professional experience leading process improvement teams
• Quantitative reasoning and statistical analysis skills
• Prior experience supervising and managing others
• Project management, communications, and team leadership expertise
• Awareness of other key agency functions that provide critical inputs (e.g. HR, financial management, procurement, supply, operations)

Additional Information

Please contact Megan Huss and the Process & Performance Improvement Program Office at leansixsigma@opm.gov with any questions about our open-enrollment trainings, customized solutions, and project-based learning opportunities for your individual staff or intact teams.