Case Study Four
An individual within the Financial Services Industry completed Lean Six Sigma Green Belt training with an alternative supplier and required a coach in order to guide and support them throughout their project and toward BQF Accreditation. A coach was assigned and an introductory audio meeting arranged. The purpose of the initial meeting was to obtain an understanding of the training the individual had gone through, understand the trainee’s Lean Six Sigma knowledge and skills gained through the training, to obtain an overview of the allocated project and to agree how both parties would communicate and work together going forward.
Regular weekly 1 hour audio meetings were booked in the calendar with an agreement that face to face meetings would be held as and when required. In the initial meeting, the coach identified that the project was too large in scope and worked with the trainee to help re-scope the project and then agree this with the Sponsor. The scope of the project was then refocused around issues with financial drawdown requests which resulted in financial loss to the Business and customer complaints.
A high level DMAIC plan was created between the coach and trainee and weekly targets were agreed and set. It quickly became apparent that the trainee was not being allowed the time within the Business to work on their project and was getting behind with their project delivery. This continued to such a point that the coach arranged a meeting with both the sponsor and trainee to help mediate between them to find a resolution to the issue.
A direct result of getting behind in the project meant that the trainee forgot certain tools they had been trained in and how to use and apply them within their project. This meant that the coach regularly provided adhoc 1:1 training on how to complete the tools and what value they provided. As each tool was completed the coach would review it, provide feedback, receive any updates and ultimately sign off that the tool met BQF Accreditation standards.
One particular area the individual struggled in was with the use of Minitab and the statistical analysis required to complete control charts, process capability and root cause analysis. At this point the coach made a number of face to face visits to the trainee and re-trained them on how to complete Green Belt level statistical analysis. The coach also sat next to the individual and supported them when they did their actual analysis on the data collected in the Measure phase.
The coach supported the trainee when launching their pilot specifically coaching them on how to obtain sign off for the changes from senior stakeholders. Following on from the detailed training that had been completed by the Coach earlier in the project, the trainee felt confident to complete the pilot statistical analysis themselves. This was completed with minimal support required from the Coach.
The project lasted 11 months and the coach and trainee retained their working relationship for the whole of the project. The project was formally closed with a documented financial benefit of circa £33k per annum.
Post formal project closure the coach then worked with the trainee to create their accreditation storyboard, providing guidance on the structure and required tools. Numerous re-iterations, reviews and sign offs were provided for each section until the coach formally signed off the full storyboard. A number of mock accreditations were then arranged, some face to face, for the trainee to practice presenting their storyboard with the coach acting in the role of accreditor. The practices identified areas the individual needed to revise and resulted in significant improvements in the presentation of the storyboard ready for accreditation.
The trainee attended formal BQF Green Belt accreditation in April 2014 and passed outright with no amendments to Storyboard required. The feedback report from the accreditor stated that the presentation was excellent, the trainee had demonstrated excellent understanding of a wide range of tools, the application of the DMAIC methodology was assured and mature, the project was well organised, stakeholders were well engaged and interestingly that they believed the project financial benefits had been under calculated. The accreditor also recommended that the trainee continued their Lean Six Sigma journey by moving up to Black Belt level.
Post accreditation, the trainee provided excellent feedback on the coach stating that the coach understood the challenges of running a Green Belt project in the real world, had a wide variety of tools and methods to help learning and had an encouraging approach. The trainee stated that they would highly recommend eStudious.
The project has continued to deliver positive financial benefits in the Business as part of BAU. The individual has secured a new role utilising their new Lean Six Sigma skills and are also actively working toward BQF Black Belt accreditation.