Advance Lean Practitioner

The Advance Lean Practitioner certification is a professional credential that validates an individual’s expertise in designing and leading high-impact process improvement programs in an organisation. It demonstrates individual skills in change management, project management, and team leadership utilising the principles, methodologies, and tools of Lean Thinking.

The British Quality Foundation ‘BQF’ Academy offers a range of certificated pathways for those wanting to recognise the talents and achievements of both individuals and teams involved in improvement, transformation or simply a journey towards excellence.

The training and certification assessments are carried out by using only the best training providers and the BQF stamp of approval is a guarantee of quality.

Certification Process

Training: Complete the training programme.
Examination: Pass an online ‘open book’ test – 50 questions and an 80% pass mark.
CI/Lean project: Demonstrate participation and leading in CI/Lean thinking activity.

Principles and Concepts

The importance of Customers (and Suppliers):
- Developing Critical to Quality Customer Requirements (CTQs)
- Determining the relevant process measures
- Identifying Customer Value
- Use of the Kano model
How the work gets done and how well:
- Understanding how the processes flow
- Creating Process and Value Stream maps
- Identifying Value-Add and Non-Value-Add activity
- Understanding variation and the use of Control Charts
- Standard Work
- Creating Spaghetti diagrams
- Data collection and display
- Developing Visual Management
Optimising process flow:
- Stabilising the process
- Reducing/removing Non-Value Add activity
- Addressing bottle-necks
- Levelling and sequencing production (Heijunka)
- Enhanced workplace layout
- Just in Time and Kanban (Pull production)
Understanding the importance of team working:
- The team roles required to deliver a Lean environment
- Communication
- Team briefings
- The importance of Visual Management
Participating in and leading improvement activity, using a systematic method:
- Identifying, prioritising and scoping improvement projects
- Planning and facilitating Kaizen Rapid Improvement Events
- Understanding E = Q x A, ensuring effective ‘buy-in’
- Assessing and managing risk
- Ensuring effective Control Plans
Project scoping and strategic awareness
- Communication and Change management techniques
- Use of a diagnostic scoping tool to define current status, readiness and opportunity
- Process stability assessment
- Team selection

Lean Project / Storyboard

Candidates need 2 projects demonstrating their practical application of Lean Thinking concepts, tools and techniques.

Planning and facilitating a kaizen event
Identifying, prioritising and scoping appropriate improvement projects
Leading a PDCA improvement project
Demonstrate the successful introduction/implementation of lean transformation

Lean Thinking Tools and Techniques

5S
5 Whys
7 Waste Analysis
Brainstorming
Cellular Manufacturing
Change Management
Control Charts
CTQs
Daily Stat Sheet
Daily Huddle / Team Huddle
Data Capture and Analysis
Data Visualisation
Error Proofing – Poka Yoke
FIFO
Fishbone, Cause and Effect
Flow Process Analysis
FMEA
Heijunka
Improvement Charter
Jidoka
Just in Time
Kanban
Kano Model
Lead Time Analysis
Leading Effective Teams
Line Balancing (Yamazumi)
OEE
Pareto
Problem Solving
Process Mapping
Pull vs Push
Quick Change Over (SMED)
Red tag
Risk Assessment
Root Cause Analysis
Solution Prioritisation Techniques
Spaghetti Diagrams
Standard Work
Supermarket
Takt Time
Theory of Constraints
Total Productive Maintenance
Value Stream Mapping
Visual Management
Waste Walks