Prospectus

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Lean Six Sigma

Course
2024-2025

Admission requirements

Not applicable

Description

What is Lean Six Sigma?

Lean Six Sigma is a globally proven and applied methodology that provides a demonstrable and sustainable improvement of the operating result. Here the focus is on what the customer really thinks is important. This approach leads to the simultaneous reduction of costs, increasing customer satisfaction and shortening the lead time. This involves investing in your own people and using their knowledge and expertise.

Lean Six Sigma offers a framework with which an organization can continuously improve in a structured way. Implementing Lean Six Sigma gives an organization a targeted approach to turn the strategy into concrete results and be more successful than its competitors.

Lean Six Sigma projects ensure a sustainable improvement of the operating result. Business problems are solved better and permanently. The return on investment of a Lean Six Sigma process varies, but is always a multiple of the investment. A Return on Investment of four for a Green Belt training, based on the total investment in time and money, is more normal than exceptional. Successful Lean Six Sigma implementation programs achieve ROIs of 40 to 80.

Course objectives

This course provides students insights in measurements: to compute the impact of measurements on the final decision-making process to gain from Data-Information-Knowledge-Insights- Actions
At the end of the course students will be able to:
1. use the basic techniques for measurements applying Lean and Six Sigma techniques, focusing on generating flow and reducing variation, by taking out Wastes applying techniques on 5S (sort, set, shine, standardized, sustain) and DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Control)
2. link the major debates in Lean Six Sigma to real life cases;
3. have a real understanding of the major debates in Lean Six Sigma;
4. utilize the time measurements, like Takt Time, Cycle Time, Throughput Time, application of Little’s Law decision making to match the Voice of the Customer with the Voice of the Process and the Voice of the Business.
5. discuss the impact of input and process on the output, based on efficient and effective business operations;
6. estimate the impact of excellence, quality and consistency on the Customer Expectations
7. discuss the benefits of using the SCV framework, Situation, Challenges, Value propositions using fact-based, data evidence substantiation of the recommendations.

Timetable

In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable.

Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in.

Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.

Note: Joint Degree students from Leiden/Delft need to combine information from both the Leiden and Delft MyTimetables to see a complete schedule. This video explains how to do it.

Mode of instruction

2 hours interactive lectures, presentations and discussions every week, 6 weeks long.

You will get acquainted with the method and will be introduced in an interactive way with the methodology, the tools and the applicability of Lean and Six Sigma for managers and employees who have a leading role in achieving Operational Excellence.

Assessment method

Assessment method
Active Participation + Presentations/Cases Studies (50%)
Exam = Final Assignment (individual) (50%)
In order to pass students must have a total grade of at least a 6 (six).

A week after the grades are released students can reach out to the TA for a date, time & location to view their exams. Should there be any questions about this, the teacher will clarify.

Reading list

Required:

Lean Six Sigma for Service- Michael L. George
English, 400 pages – 3 – June 2003
ISBN-10: 0071418210
ISBN-13:9780071418218

Registration

As a student, you are responsible for enrolling on time through MyStudyMap.

In this short video, you can see step-by-step how to enrol for courses in MyStudyMap.
Extensive information about the operation of MyStudyMap can be found here.

There are two enrolment periods per year:

  • Enrolment for the fall opens in July

  • Enrolment for the spring opens in December

See this page for more information about deadlines and enrolling for courses and exams.

Note:

  • It is mandatory to enrol for all activities of a course that you are going to follow.

  • Your enrolment is only complete when you submit your course planning in the ‘Ready for enrolment’ tab by clicking ‘Send’.

  • Not being enrolled for an exam/resit means that you are not allowed to participate in the exam/resit.

Contact

For all your questions you can contact info@sbb.leidenuniv.nl

Note: If you are an ICTiBPS student, you can contact the programme coordinator of ICTiBPS for any questions about your program.

Remarks

  • There is only limited capacity for external students. Please contact the programme Co-ordinato.

  • Students are responsible for enrolling/unenrolling themselves for (partial) exams/retakes.

  • Students who do not enroll themselves for an exam/retake by the deadline are not allowed to take the exam/retake.

  • Students fail the course if any of the partial components (except the exam) that make up the final mark of the course is assessed below 4.0.

  • Students fail the course if the grade for the (final) exam is assessed below 5.0.

  • The final grade is expressed as a whole or half number between 1.0 and 10.0, including both limits. The result is not to be expressed as a number between 5.0 and 6.0.

  • If one of the components of the final mark constitutes a component that assesses attendance or class participation, students cannot take a retake for this component. Therefore, students fail the course if their mark for this component is less than 4.0.

  • Partial grades, inclusive the exam grade will not be rounded. If partial grades will be communicated, it is possible partial grades are rounded, but unrounded partial grades will be used in the calculation of the final grade. The final grade will be rounded at 0.5 (5.49 will rounded down to a 5 and a 5.5 will be rounded up to a 6.0).

  • Students pass the course if the final grade is 6.0 or higher (5.49 will rounded down to a 5 and a 5.5 will be rounded up to a 6.0).

  • It is not possible to do retakes for group assignments. Therefore, if students fail the group assignment component, they fail the course.

  • For courses, for which class participation is an assessment component, students may not be penalised for an absence if the student has a legitimate justification for this absence. The student must notify the program coordinator via email (info@sbb.leidenuniv.nl) of such an absence BEFORE the lecture, describing the reason for missing the lecture. If the student does not notify the program coordinator before the lecture, the student will be penalised. Students may be required to provide further documentation to substantiate their case, and class attendance requirements are only waived under exceptional circumstances such as illness.

  • Students who are entitled to more exam/retake time must report to info@sbb.leidenuniv.nl 10 days before the exam/retake takes place.

Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.