KANAWHA VALLEY COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE OFFERS FREE LEAN & SIX SIGMA GREEN SEMINAR

Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College (formerly WV State Community & Technical College) invites the public to attend an open seminar regarding the Lean and Six Sigma Blended e-Learning System on July 28th. Seminar participants will have the opportunity to meet local college instructors, representatives from the online training partner, and satisfied clients who have completed this training.

This unique training program is a blend of Lean principles and Six Sigma methodologies. Lean training focuses on the ability to identify waste, reduce it, and aggressively pursue elimination of non-value added activities while Six Sigma is a management methodology that is driven by data and focuses on projects that will produce measurable business results. Combining these two approaches provides a training program that teaches the skills to successfully drive business results in both service and manufacturing industries.

The program offered at Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College takes advantage of e-Learning while providing significant classroom instruction. Classroom time is significantly reduced by the use of interactive online modules developed by The Quality Group. These modules cover the basic Lean and Six Sigma concepts to reinforce the classroom instruction. Online training provides flexibility so students can learn anywhere/anytime, accommodates different learning styles, and results in a significant reduction in time away from the job. Since this training accelerates learning, it results in faster deployment and a greater return on the training investment.

Approximately 50 percent of the instruction is provided in the classroom. Instructors Dr. Joseph Kusimo and Dr. Fernando Cervallos-Cando each have several years of firsthand experience as Black Belt project managers at Union Carbide and DOW Chemical. They bring their first hand understanding and application of Lean and Six Sigma principles into the classroom as they interface with students in teaching these methodologies and guiding the development of student projects. Dr. Kusimo states that Lean and Six Sigma principles are so basic in their nature that they can be applied across many disciplines and industries from production to sales departments and from government to health care industries.

Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College has trained over 40 Green Belt and 14 Black Belt students since instigating the program in 2007. Participants in the seminar will have the opportunity to meet former participants in the blended e-learning Lean and Six Sigma training program. Representatives from the Quality Group will also be present to answer individual questions about the blended e-learning training system.

The seminar will be held from 8:30 to noon on Tuesday, July 28th in Room 112 of the Cole Complex on campus in Institute. Individuals that register by July 24th will receive a free online training module. Interested individuals may register by calling 304-766-5113 or online at www.kvctc.edu/ContEd.htm, select: workshops and seminars.

Individuals interested in obtaining training may enroll in the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt program beginning on September 9th and ending on October 14th. This class will meet on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 5:30 to 9:30. This evening program prepares individuals to become Lean and Six Sigma project team leaders. It is organized following the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) methodology, covers Lean principles, and includes courses in Descriptive Statistics. Students will also complete a student project that directly focuses on applying the concepts to your work situation. There is no prerequisite.

A Lean Six Sigma Black Belt program is scheduled for October 26 to December 16. This class will also meet on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 5:30 to 9:30. This program is designed for individuals that will lead Lean and Black Belt divisions and supervise multiple Green Belt projects. Students will complete a student project that directly focuses on applying the concepts to their individual work situation. Participants in the Lean Black Belt program must have successfully completed the Lean Green Belt program. Although there are no academic requirements, students should be comfortable with basic math and statistics concepts and will learn to apply them in data analysis in this training program.

Register on-line at www.kvctc.edu/ContEd.htm. You may also call 304-766-5113 or
e-mail workshops@kvctc.edu to register. Members of Charleston Area Alliance, South Charleston Chamber of Commerce, or Putnam Chamber of Commerce receive a five percent discount. For information on other programs offered by the Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College, visit our web site at www.wvsctc.edu.