Lean Six Sigma for Process Improvement Training Course

Course overview

Every organization runs on processes, and most of those processes carry hidden cost: rework, delays, handoffs that add nothing, and results that vary for reasons no one has pinned down. Lean Six Sigma gives teams a structured way to expose that cost and remove it, working from evidence rather than opinion. Its discipline is what makes improvement stick, turning a good idea into a change that holds.

This course, held at EuroQuest International Training, takes participants through Lean Six Sigma as a complete process-improvement method. It follows the DMAIC framework in depth, from mapping and measurement through statistical tools, implementation, and control. The course builds practical command of the method; it is educational and does not award a Lean Six Sigma belt certification.

Why evidence beats opinion in process work

Process problems attract confident opinions, and acting on the loudest one often makes things worse. Lean Six Sigma insists on measuring the process, finding the real causes in the data, and testing changes before rolling them out. That evidence-first habit is the heart of the method, and it is what allows teams to fix the right thing instead of the obvious thing.

Course objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Scope a finance process worth improving and justify the choice.
• Sequence improvement work from definition to control.
• Chart a process end to end and locate where work waits.
• Eliminate the queues where work waits between two teams.
• Prove a claimed gain with statistics rather than opinion.
• Reduce recurring errors by fixing causes rather than symptoms.
• Baseline a process with figures both sides agree to count.
• Pilot a change, confirm the effect, and then scale it.
• Standardize the improved way of working so the gain holds.
• Streamline reporting with tools that match the question.
• Retire steps and controls that add days without adding value.
• Sustain a change until the sponsor judges it worth keeping.

Course outline

Unit 1: Introduction to Lean Six Sigma

• The clash between speed and error reduction.
• Value, waste, and variation defined.
• How process improvement creates business value.
• Selection of the finance process to fix first.

Unit 2: The DMAIC framework overview

• The five DMAIC phases and their purpose.
• Deliverables and gates between phases.
• Agreeing the problem in numbers first.
• Keeping a project disciplined and on scope.

Unit 3: Process mapping and analysis

• SIPOC and detailed process maps.
• Every step an invoice passes on its way to payment.
• Spotting non-value-adding steps.
• Identifying bottlenecks and handoffs.

Unit 4: Lean principles and waste reduction

• The categories of waste in operations.
• 5S for the folders and queues a finance team uses.
• Flow, pull, and takt time.
• Quick changeover and cycle-time reduction.

Unit 5: Six Sigma tools and statistical analysis

• Descriptive statistics and data types.
• Process capability and sigma level.
• Control charts on reconciliation exceptions.
• Reading results against the size of the sample.

Unit 6: Root cause analysis

• Fishbone diagrams for a late reconciliation.
• Pareto ranking of ledger error types.
• Judging hypotheses by the size of the gain.
• Confirming true root causes.

Unit 7: Measurement and data collection

• Deciding what to count and who counts it.
• Two counts of the same file that disagree.
• Sampling and data integrity.
• Turning invoice timestamps into a baseline.

Unit 8: Improvement and implementation strategies

• Generating and prioritizing solutions.
• Error-proofing with poka-yoke.
• Piloting and scaling changes.
• Replacing the workaround someone relied on.

Unit 9: Control and sustainability

• Control plans that outlast the project team.
• Ongoing monitoring and response plans.
• Acceptance by the team that inherits the process.
• Preventing a return to old habits.

Unit 10: Digital tools for Lean Six Sigma

• Software for process mapping and statistics.
• Dashboards for tracking process performance.
• Process mining of the approval trail.
• Picking the simplest tool for the question.

Unit 11: Global best practices in Lean Six Sigma

• Common features of successful deployments.
• What a finished project leaves behind.
• Avoiding frequent implementation mistakes.
• Finding savings nobody asked for.

Unit 12: Capstone Lean Six Sigma project

• Working a chosen process through DMAIC.
• Asking the sponsor to keep, scale, or stop.
• Defending the analysis with data.
• Planning control and handover.

How the course is delivered

The course is delivered through facilitated discussion, worked examples, and documented case studies of process-improvement projects, with structured feedback. It builds methodological command and is educational; it does not award a Lean Six Sigma belt certification.

Who should attend

The course suits process, quality, and operations professionals, project leads, and anyone running improvement work. Those who want the quality-systems context will find ISO 9001: Implementing Quality Management Systems a helpful complement.

About EuroQuest International Training

EuroQuest International Training, founded in 2015 and headquartered in Bratislava, delivers professional courses to more than 15,000 participants across over 1,000 titles, in cities including Dubai, London, Barcelona, Istanbul, Vienna, Paris, and Geneva, led by experienced practitioners.

Frequently asked questions

How does this differ from the operational excellence course?

This course goes deeper into the DMAIC cycle and the process-improvement toolkit, while the operational excellence course focuses more on applying the method strategically across an organization. They complement each other.

Do I need to be good at mathematics?

No. The statistical tools are explained in plain language with a focus on correct use and interpretation, not on manual calculation.

Will I receive a belt certification?

No. The course develops real command of the method but does not award Green Belt or Black Belt certification, which certification bodies provide separately.

Related courses

• Lean Six Sigma for Operational Excellence
• Six Sigma and Continuous Improvement Strategies
• Root Cause Analysis and Problem-Solving Techniques
• Continuous Process Improvement Methodologies

Register for this course

To reserve a place or ask about dates and in-house delivery, contact EuroQuest International Training and our team will help you arrange the details.