Lean is a management and development system that improves the quality of operations and processes in a customer-oriented and economical way, by reducing waste and harmful variation. In our Lean trainings, we emphasize the importance cultural change, employee inclusion and change management instead of only applying tools and methods.
With a goal-oriented and systematic approach, by understanding the big picture and studying the processes and working methods and influencing the root causes of the problems, you can achieve permanent results and improvements in your organization’s operations.
The Lean programs of Aalto EE support the vital resources of the companies and organizations and their ability to renew and develop"
The Lean programs of Aalto PRO support the vital resources of the companies and organizations and their ability to renew and develop, as well as help the employees to increase their expertise and skills in the spirit of lifelong learning. For over 10 years, we have developed our Lean programs together with the leading experts and by listening to our customers’ experiences.
Our experts have several years of experience in developing Lean and/or Six Sigma methods and guiding hundreds, even thousands, of development projects of customers across various industries. We provide you with the same support in your Lean development projects. You will have a chance to discuss and share your experiences in detail with our experts and with the course colleagues who are in the same situation that you are – you may end up with an opportunity to be exposed to new ideas and sharing of the best practices.
Permanent results call for time and patience – and leadership
In our trainings, we emphasize the importance of taking the time to study the present conditions and unravel processes to see which elements are functional and which are not and what is going on, as well as to study the problem from various perspectives to bring out the root causes.
It is important to understand that obtaining permanent results instead of simply quick wins takes research, effort and time – the results do not come by themselves without putting in effort and working hard. It is important to go to the site and see what happens at the workplace or in a specific process, understand the big picture and collect evidence and data. The evidence and data make the problems visible and help to get rid of the guesswork. Permanent results often require frustration and a return to the starting point. However, it is part of the learning path and makes the development of solutions even more rewarding!
Only after that is it time to come up with solutions and improvements to how to approach the problem. There are specific Lean tools and methods, both for research and for coming up with solutions – depending on the nature of the problem. And that is not all: you also need to come up with ways to inculcate your people with the new working methods. Reaching this task is typically the point where people lose their interest in Lean.
Introducing the improvements into practice and maintaining them require standardization, daily management, monitoring and persistent application of the PDSA Cycle (Plan, Do, Study, Act) for continuous improvement. This means change management and remodeling your organization culture, which are usually the most challenging areas in Lean development. Therefore, we will not leave that aspect in our Lean programs.
Options for Lean learning paths – which one is yours?
From Aalto EE Lean programs, you can choose different kinds of learning paths depending on your organization’s needs and your personal interests. The programs focused on the Lean philosophy provide a wide perspective for developing, managing and applying the Lean methods, but they do not deal with Six Sigma. Lean Six Sigma programs, in turn, elaborate on the skills based on statistical problem-solving, data analytics and project-like development of processes. You will be familiarized with PDSA / PDCA and/or DMAIC development models and other terms and abbreviations.
From Aalto EE Lean programs, you can choose different kinds of learning paths depending on your organization’s needs and your personal interests."
You can start your Lean path with the Start Package to Lean (Starttipaketti Leaniin) program, which provides you with the basic understanding of the Lean principles and possibilities. You are also welcome to participate in our more extensive trainings without earlier Lean experience.
As a Lean Change Agent, you can function independently in the leadership and responsible roles of Lean projects. The program is suitable for those who are not especially comfortable with data processing and statistical thinking. You want to streamline dysfunctional processes, learn smarter and well-tried working methods, develop solutions and make changes either in daily operations or in management practices.
The Lean Six Sigma Certified Green Belt is suitable for you who want to be a team leader of development projects or your tasks include process improvement. You are attracted to systematic methods and a scientific development model, and data analysis and utilization fascinates you. You don’t have to be an engineer or statistician, though. In fact, almost half of our participants come from completely other than the industrial sector. Systematic development is equally efficient regardless of whether it is applied to services, health care or the public sector.
The Lean Six Sigma from a Green Belt to a Black Belt - GB2BB is for you who got the spark of inspiration from the Green Belt training and want to diversify their tool kit. You are perhaps aiming at more challenging tasks or a comprehensive Six Sigma developer’s role in your organization or you want to learn how to teach and guide experts on the Green Belt level.
Lean and digitalization in construction is a program aimed at professionals in the field for developing construction processes. It provides the latest knowledge and approved tools for streamlining the design and production processes in construction while reducing waste and mistakes and increasing quality and trustworthiness.
MQ - Mastering Quality is a traditional program that focuses on quality leadership and that, despite its long history, lives strongly in the digital era. The program emphasizes the role of quality and development work and Lean is one the leadership and development systems that it discusses. MQ offers an opportunity to update your views on leading and improving quality while achieving results. You can read more about the program in Finnish.
You are welcome to join us to learn new ideas and develop smarter working methods by taking a deep dive into Lean! In upcoming months, there will be many training opportunities for this at Aalto University Töölö.
For over 10 years, Aalto EE has been developing its Lean programs together with leading experts. Learn more about Aalto EE programs here
