Develop your quality management and project leadership talents

Initially implemented in manufacturing firms, Lean Six Sigma techniques are now being used by hospitals, educational institutions, banks, retail operations, insurance companies, and other service-related industries to reduce waste, improve customer service, and reduce costs.

The University of Georgia’s Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Online Certificate Course is designed for working professionals with busy schedules and little or no experience with Lean Six Sigma. This eight-week, online course explains Lean Six Sigma methodologies and helps you become certified as a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.

Snapshot

Format: Online

Hours: 40

Credits: 4.0 CEUs

When: Jan. 14 - Mar. 11

Cost: $1,799

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In this course, you will learn how Six Sigma and Lean methodologies are applied to process improvement projects. The following is covered during the class:

  • Six Sigma: An enterprise-wide, project-driven quality improvement approach that emphasizes a systematic approach to problem-solving and making decisions based on data. Six Sigma results in increased customer satisfaction, improved quality, and reduced costs.
  • DMAIC: A five-step methodology used for projects aimed at improving an existing business process.
  • Lean: A method that concentrates on reducing waste by improving workflow and eliminating mistakes

At the end of this course, you will be able to:

  • Define Six Sigma and its tenets
  • Identify the phases of the DMAIC cycle and activities and tools used in each
  • Identify appropriate Six Sigma project opportunities
  • Prioritize candidate Six Sigma projects
  • Create a Six Sigma project charter
  • Identify the features of the Kano model
  • Identify the four costs of quality
  • Identify stakeholders and perform a stakeholder analysis
  • Use toll gate review check lists
  • Create a process map
  • Given data, construct and interpret Pareto charts, run charts, histograms, and scatter diagrams
  • Use fishbone diagrams to find root causes
  • Identify the Eight Wastes
  • Understand the specific uses of Lean techniques such as mistake proofing, 5S and quick change over, value stream map and kaizen events
  • Calculate process capability metrics
  • Identify appropriate variables and attribute control charts
  • Develop control plans

Note: The curriculum is accredited by the Council for Lean Six Sigma Certification.

Council for Six Sigma Certification C.S.S.C. logo

Who Should Attend?

This program is designed for key team members responsible for process improvement in any industry, including:

  • Financial services
  • Information security
  • Insurance
  • Hotel
  • Manufacturing

Course Information

Course Number: 

0615-017

Course Date: 
Tuesday, January 14, 2025 to Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Course Date Info: 

The live-online Zoom meetings with the instructor will be held on Tuesdays, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. ET, starting the first Tuesday of the course. These sessions will be archived for later viewing if the student is unable to participate in the meetings.

Course format: 

Online, cohort-based, with asynchronous activities and weekly meetings.

Course Fee(s): 

$1,799

Dr. Mary McShane-Vaughn earned her PhD in Industrial Engineering and an MS in Statistics from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a BS in Industrial Engineering from General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) in Flint, Michigan. She is currently Principal at University Training Partners, a company that develops and delivers Lean Six Sigma training for corporations and universities.

Dr. McShane-Vaughn has created and delivered Yellow, Green and Black Belt training courses to hundreds of students, both in-person and online. Over the past six years she has enthusiastically delivered more than 50 Yellow, Green and Black Belt courses for her university and corporate clients.

Previously, Dr. McShane-Vaughn was a tenured faculty member at Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta, Georgia, now Kennesaw State University. For eight years she directed and grew the Master of Science in Quality Assurance program and taught statistics, statistical quality control, linear regression and design of experiments online in the graduate program. Her research interests include industrial statistics, robust experimental design and distance learning course delivery methods.

Before her career in academics, Dr. McShane-Vaughn worked for 15 years as a quality engineer and statistician in the automotive, medical device manufacturing, consumer products testing and revenue management industries.

Dr. McShane-Vaughn served as the Six Sigma Black Belt Exam Chair for the American Society for Quality (ASQ) from 2010-2012, and was an examiner for the Georgia Oglethorpe Award, Georgia’s equivalent of the National Malcolm Baldrige Award. She currently serves on the editorial review board for ASQ’s Six Sigma Forum. She is co-author of The Certified Quality Inspector Handbook, and author of The Probability Handbook, and The Probability Workbook, all published by ASQ Quality Press. Dr. McShane-Vaughn is a senior member of the American Society for Quality and a member of the American Statistical Association. She holds ASQ certifications as a Six Sigma Black Belt, Quality Engineer and Reliability Engineer.