Certification (Lean or Six Sigma)

Lean Certifications (or Six Sigma Certifications) comes in several forms.

Are Lean Certifications Worth It?

• Company Internal Lean Certification. This type of certification has the drawback of being internally run, so there is little information outside of the company as to the quality of the training, the rigorousness of the training, or the resulting abilities of people coming out of the certification program. From an individual’s perspective, having this type of certification on a resume is great for internal promotions, but limited outside of the company.

The quality of the training materials is also likely not as polished as other types of certifications. Individual companies tend to devote fewer resources to developing content than other sources. A company’s internal program, though, has the benefit of having access to students over a long period of time.

Internal programs have no artificial, travel-induced barrier to how the training is conducted. It can be portioned out in weekly bites that make the training easier to retain. They can also assign real projects as homework and assess the results. There is also a huge advantage in that they don’t have to worry about completion rate. Private training companies have an incentive to pass people. Companies training their internal staff tend to be more willing to set a high standard and stick to it.

• Private Training Companies. The quality of instruction for training companies tends to be high. They get to refine their training as new groups of students provide feedback and give new ideas. They hire people to act exclusively as instructors. They invest in training infrastructure.

There is a big downside to private training companies, though. Unlike internal programs that can schedule instruction time pretty much whenever they want, private companies have nowhere near the same in-person access. They have to batch training into chunks of time to manage travel constraints. They also don’t have oversight over the individual, so can’t assess competence in actual application of the instruction.

Finally, and probably most challenging to overcome, is the need to make money on training. If a company holds the trainee to a high standard, there will be a rather large dropout rate. It makes for a hard sell if trainees are asked to invest thousands of dollars only to fail. The flip side is that if they make it too easy and the trainees don’t perform any better, the trainer’s reputation can suffer.

• University Programs. University programs are similar to private companies, but probably have a slightly lower aversion to failing a non-performer. Universities may have degree programs (with Lean as either a primary focus or a secondary focus) and certificate programs.

Universities generally have a big support infrastructure, so any Lean program would benefit from those resources. A university will also generally have a higher prestige associated with it than other sources of Lean certifications.

• Trade Organizations Programs. AME (Association for Manufacturing Excellence), SME (previously the Society of Manufacturing Engineers), and ASQ (American Society for Quality) all have programs. Generally, these types of Lean certifications are solid programs, but they are not the primary function of the organization. They still carry some prestige for individuals.

So, a big question I am often asked is, “do Lean certification programs work?”

Now, as of the date I am writing this, I have seen no actual studies to determine the effectiveness of any Lean certification program. As far as public opinion goes, the consensus varies widely. Some people believe that programs offer tremendous value, and others think that they are a waste of time.

My view is that they hold value for people who are motivated to learn and are not just doing it to get a credential for a promotion. I believe that the programs can give a person a framework around which to experiment with new ideas and new concepts.

If I was a hiring manager, I would give a few points extra to a candidate with a Lean certification but it would not vault a candidate into top contention automatically. During the interview, I would dive into any projects they did, what they got from the program, how they improved afterwards.

I also would use the certification as an indicator of commitment to one’s craft. If a person invested their own time and money to a program, I see value in that. It shows motivation to improve. If it was done on the company’s dime and they used working hours to earn it, there is less personal cost to them.