Last modified Wed., February 07, 2007 - 07:22 PM
Originally created Thursday, February 8, 2007

CNRSE kicks off Lean Six Sigma with Green Belt training sessions

By Suzanne Speight, Commander, Navy Region Southeast Public Affairs

Commander, Navy Region Southeast (CNRSE) is kicking off its first Green Belt training classes this month. A group of 30 military and civilian personnel from commands throughout the region will attend the training at locations in Jacksonville and Norfolk, Va. Green Belt training is a major first step in a Navy-wide implementation of Lean Six Sigma (L6S), a problem solving process and mindset that has been proven to significantly improve customer satisfaction, by reducing variability and waste in every aspect of a business. Acclaimed by companies such as GE and Motorola for its ability to develop and deliver near-perfect products and services, L6S will be a critical tool in the mission of supporting the warfighter.

Students will learn the L6S basics and complete an actual process improvement project during the training, which consists of two separate week-long sessions. After attaining the Green Belt certification, responsibilities will include: helping to direct and conduct process improvement projects, collecting and analyzing data from experiments and business processes; working with process owners to ensure project gains are maintained; and disseminating best practices throughout the Navy.

Kordeen Kor, a civilian from NAS Kingsville, Texas, is looking forward to the training. "Rapid expansion in technology in today's market place, communications, shipping, internet capabilities, etc. dictate that we as government agencies review old methods of doing business and incorporate changes," she said. "It's exciting to be a part of a team to look at processes, work with people and help them to identify methods to improve on how they do business."

Commander, Navy Installations Command has mapped L6S as a permanent course for the Navy's future, and the CNRSE Green Belt candidates will be in a position to lead a successful implementation throughout the organization, military and civilian, at all levels.

"I am excited about the fact that higher ranking Navy personnel are receiving this training, and apparently will not only be using these skills, but will encourage others up and down the chain of command to do so as well," said Cmdr. Barry Murphy of Naval Weapons Station Charleston, S.C. "In the past, these kinds of things - new skills, new methods of doing business, better ways to communicate, etc. - have been taught and adopted at lower levels within the Navy; however, I think senior Navy leaders often were unaware of these new techniques, and thus all of us were not on the same page."

Murphy said he felt interactions between these two "camps" were often out of sync. "I really think L6S will be the remedy and will be the 'glue' that binds our entire Navy team into one very cohesive unit," he added. More information about L6S may be found at the following Web sites:

Free Six Sigma Lessons:

http://www.motorola.com/content.jsp?globalObjectId=3069

Six Sigma Dictionary:

http://www.motorola.com/content.jsp?globalObjectId=3074-5804

Further Articles:

http://www.motorola.com/content.jsp?globalObjectId=3070-5788

Frequently Asked Questions:

http://www.motorola.com/content.jsp?globalObjectId=3075-5805