Those who participated learned
basic Lean and Six Sigma principles and received several tools
to support improvement work
within their day-to-day duties. This
course also served as a refresher
for those who already have their
Green Belts or related training.
In the two-hour course, attendees received an overview of
the five-phase approach to process
improvement, learned about a few
simple yet powerful tools used in
each phase and received hands-on
exposure to some of the tools and
techniques.
The training used Visio software
to keep participants engaged
and to show illustrative, detailed
examples of the CPI process and
the methods behind it. Instructors
used the software to walk through
the process with attendees in real
time and explain the nuances and
details of the methodology while
keeping attendees engaged with
tools that could be worked through
as a group.
By leading the group through
exercises, the instructors encourage attendees to think of the
process as another toolset that can
be applied to anything. The program used a real-world example to
highlight the process-improvement
methodology: the process of baking brownies.
It was a comparison that went
over well.
“I loved the example of baking
brownies,” said one anonymous
attendee in a post-training survey.
“Everyone can relate to that! It was
so easy to follow.”
“I really appreciated the brownies example,” said another. “It
really helped me to see the steps
of an actual process.”
This level of active engagement
and real-world examples keeps attendees focused and helps individual
employees to learn to use the tools
presented. It also helps them to
begin thinking critically of ways
to improve processes and
create better efficiencies in
their day-to-day tasks.
More than half of
WAPA’s reported $114
million in cost savings
and avoidance comes
from Just Do It projects.
These projects are primarily led by individual
employees who have
identified specific ways to
improve work processes
and increase efficiencies in
their daily work.
With the increasing number
of White Belts across WAPA, the
CPI Program hopes to see these
benefits grow significantly.
The White Belt course is also a
great resource for supervisors, program managers and even senior leaders. Sharing the Lean Six
Sigma language and leading or supporting Just Do
It projects can help remove inefficiencies and ultimately improve the productivity of team members.
This all supports the CPI Program’s goal of creating
a culture of continuous process improvement.
The CPI Program has two Lean Six Sigma Black
Belts – Lead Management and Program Analyst
Laura Dawson and Management and Program
Analyst Renata Slayton – who are available to
answer project questions, guide employees to
successful outcomes and provide process improvement training.
The CPI staff supports WAPA’s 24 certified Lean
Six Sigma Green Belts, 55 certified Yellow Belts
and now the 200 White Belts as they lead process
improvement projects and activities.
Employees at any Lean Six Sigma skill level are
encouraged to leverage these resources and skills
to define problems and identify quick wins that can
eliminate waste in a process. The CPI Black Belt
staff is available to consult on the more complex
process problems to help scope the work and identify the right tools and techniques
for the best outcomes.
“Our goal is to see that our
CPI Program’s mentality is
embedded into WAPA’s
culture, and that’s what
this White Belt training
did; we helped embed
the mentality and the
tools we use across
the organization,”
said Dawson. “The
purpose of this
program is to make
WAPA more efficient
and effective as an
organization, and we
do that not by owning
the entirety of the process improvement work
ourselves, but by building
the capability across our entire
workforce.”
Dawson noted that, after
conducting this training, WAPA saw a
significant increase in the community of practice
sessions. In each of these monthly sessions, the
CPI Program staff performs a deep dive into a
single tool from the process improvement toolkit
and discusses current improvement projects and
activities.
“We’re leveraging the momentum we’ve built by
training so many people,” Dawson said. “Not only
does the level of participation show success at embedding the improvement mindset across WAPA,
but we’re taking it a step further by including them
in our community of practice and hosting ongoing
training and support for those attendees.”
Note: Wiese is a secretary who works under the Miracorp
contract.
