Kaisen, Lean Manufacturing Certification

[toofun]

Well not a pro touring question but hey its the outhouse! Anyways I have been in Manufacturing all of my life. I have read extensively and practiced many of the lean manufacturing principles and apply them religiously at past and my current job with excellent results. Kaisen, 5S, TMP, TQM,TAKTTIME,Six Sigma, Pull production. My problem is although I have much documented success in my current position with these principles I have never been officially CERTIFIED in any of them. So I am wondering how do I go about getting certified and which programs out there are the best known for certification recognition?

These principles seem to be the must know areas for Manufacturing and like I said I use them daily with excellent documented results. But on a resume, the Certification is what gets you in the door for the face to face, the proven track record is what gets you the job! Guess you can start to see my problem.. Thanks in advance!

Mark
TOOFUN

[wmhjr]

Just my 2 cents. I am 6-Sigma certified, FWIW.

Which are the most valuable to you really depends on what company and industry you're in. That being said, my advice at the moment is that 6-Sigma and LEAN are the 2 most valued in terms of certs. TQM is pretty dated at this point.

First thing you want to do is start asking at your company. Problem is that the certifications typically are run within a corporation, and they always require actual execution of projects with documented results for completion of the certification IIRC. So, going an external route outside your job is pretty tough to do.

Hats off to you for self-development interest.

[69LT1Nova]

So I am wondering how do I go about getting certified and which programs out there are the best known for certification recognition?

But on a resume, the Certification is what gets you in the door for the face to face, the proven track record is what gets you the job! Guess you can start to see my problem.. Thanks in advance!

LOL! All the buzz words you used almost looks like my resume.

I do all the Lean, Six Sigma, TQM, Kaizen etc. as well. Not one "accredited" certification though, they are all internal to my company... status type stuff. And as far as I know there is no "recognized" or accredited institutions for teaching these tools. Yes, some colleges offer courses in these principals, but not one dedicated program or cert.

I'm wondering - where are you applying to that requires this certification? I've never heard of such a thing.

[wmhjr]

LOL! All the buzz words you used almost looks like my resume.

I do all the Lean, Six Sigma, TQM, Kaizen etc. as well. Not one "accredited" certification though, they are all internal to my company... status type stuff. And as far as I know there is no "recognized" or accredited institutions for teaching these tools. Yes, some colleges offer courses in these principals, but not one dedicated program or cert.

I'm wondering - where are you applying to that requires this certification? I've never heard of such a thing.

I know of job opportunities that look specifically for Six-Sigma or LEAN in particular and have spelled it out in the job postings. We even have a Six-Sigma group in our corporation. Same thing at a previous corporation I worked. There are VERY few jobs that really require it, though. OTOH, every little bit counts if you're looking for a better position. There are definitely "industry recognized" training organizations that teach Six-Sigma and LEAN on a consultancy basis, but they are usually targeted at providing their services to corporations. Like I mentioned before however, I think to actually become certified you need to execute a sponsored project to completion including corporate evaluation. There are no methods to get a certification outside of that like at a college that I'm aware of.

[Damn True]

I googled "six sigma certification washington" and found a number of organizations in WA and available online. A place to start at least.

[nicks67camaro]

Ideally you would coordinate with the company you work for. Then you tie it into current/new projects. If you were to pay for the classes on you own I was under the impression they are costly. Having the "certification" is one thing but to show it applied within an organization (successfully) is more important.

[Damn True]

Absolutely. Find the means of gaining the certification, then present a case to your employer that shows them the benefit to the organization well enough to get them to pay for it.

[6'9"Witha69]

Hell, my PMP and eventual PgMP certs will all be paid for by the co. Been doing PM work for years but the cert from PMI is essential anymore in this job market.
A few found using the search phrase "manufacturing Process certification":

http://www.Asq.org
http://www.msscusa.org/
maybe even: http://manufacturingskills.org/