In an effort to help their companies reduce costs, improve product quality and run more efficiently, three area leaders took their Lean skills to the next level by completing Moraine Park’s Six Sigma Black Belt training.

Jeremy Lehman, Alliance Laundry Systems, and Emily Chadwick and Orlando Soza, both of Grande Cheese Company, completed the training. In addition to preparing for the American Society for Quality (ASQ) exam to become a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, participants made significant progress on a business project during the training. Participants presented their project’s progress to business representatives, sponsors and project champions during a completion ceremony March 6, 2023.

Participant’s projects sought to determine:

• Whether the benefit of a product’s component outweighs the added cost and assembly
• How to provide more flexibility and increase quality in a specific product line’s production process
• How to reduce product failure and waste

Once completed, all of the projects are expected to improve companies’ bottom line through cost savings and waste reduction. Compared to Six Sigma Green Belt projects, Black Belt projects are expected to have a broader significance to the participants’ companies. According to Jeremy Lehman, “the skills acquired from this course will allow me to better mentor Green Belts within my organization”. Black Belts like Lehman will have a significant impact on Green Belts within the organization as they work to improve the company’s overall product quality and profitability.

If you are interested in Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt training, contact MPTC’s Economic & Workforce Development division at training@morainepark.edu or 920-924-3449.