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.

Workforce shortages, rising costs and high product demands are propelling area businesses to boost efficiency through Lean efforts. To that end, 11 area business professionals explored ways to eliminate waste, improve production quality and work more efficiently through Moraine Park’s Six Sigma Green Belt certification training.

Class members presented their final projects Monday, November 14, 2022, and received their certifications upon successfully completing the program. Program participants included Joel Arend, Whisker LLC; Jacinda Buss, Richelieu Foods Inc.; Kenneth Beckrow III, Tenneco; Andrew Ford, Alliance Laundry Systems; Cody Genthe, Keiding Inc.; Laura Libera, Grande Cheese Company; Bethany Newsome, Tenneco; Jinal Patel, Centro Inc.; Brian Rosik, Plastic Components Inc., a division of Rosti; Jon Vogt, Alliance Laundry Systems; and Travis Wuesthoff, Amsted Automotive. Presentations took place on the Moraine Park Technical College Fond du Lac campus with business representatives, sponsors and project champions attending.

The participants completed independent class projects, which included how variability in quality measures affect the final product; efforts in reducing scrap, defective components and production change-over time; ways to optimize the packing process; and how to increase throughput on a profitable production line. Participants that calculated a cost savings as part of their project averaged a $168,800 return on investment for such things as reduced scrap, the cost of escape due to shipping defective components and missed production opportunities.

Six Sigma training provides participants with techniques and tools needed to improve processes that results in better business performance. MPTC will be offering its next Six Sigma Green Belt Certification training on Mondays February 20-May 22, 2023. The deadline to register is January 31, 2023. For those who have completed Green Belt Certification, MPTC will offer a Black Belt Program from January 30-March 6, 2023. The deadline to register is January 6, 2023.

To register for either training, email training@morainepark.edu or call 920-924-3449.