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Yellow Belt, Green Belt or Black Belt: How to Choose the Right Lean Six Sigma Level
Choosing between Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt, Green Belt and Black Belt depends on professional responsibilities, project autonomy and the level of methodological depth required. This article compares the three certification levels and helps professionals and companies identify the most appropriate Belt based on role, objectives and practical application.
Lean Office: When Lean Makes Sense Outside Manufacturing
Lean Office applies Lean principles to administrative, service, and other indirect processes where delays, handoffs, rework, queues, and information gaps affect performance. Rather than transferring factory tools mechanically into office environments, it focuses on understanding how work flows across functions and where measurable waste occurs. It is especially useful in approval processes, HR, purchasing, internal support, customer service, and other repeatable cross-functional workflows. Lean Office is most effective when the problem is process-related and can be measured through indicators such as lead time, waiting time, backlog, rework, and errors.
DMAIC Analyze to Improve: why projects get stuck and how to move from evidence to action
Many DMAIC projects do not fail during analysis itself, but in the transition from Analyze to Improve. The problem often arises when teams cannot distinguish between sufficient evidence and the need for further analysis, or when validated causes, improvement actions and decision ownership are not clearly connected. This article examines the main failure points in that transition and shows how to turn analysis into action through practical criteria, examples and phase-gate checklists.
Value Stream Mapping as a Management Tool: From Process Visualization to Improvement Decisions
Value Stream Mapping is most effective when used as a management tool rather than a static Lean template. By connecting material flow, information flow, lead time, waiting, inventory, and operational constraints, VSM helps managers identify improvement priorities, avoid local optimization, and translate process evidence into better decisions.
Lean or Six Sigma: how to choose the right approach for production problems
Lean and Six Sigma address different types of production problems. Lean is best suited to improving flow, reducing waste and eliminating non-value-adding activities, while Six Sigma focuses on reducing variation, defects and process instability. The article explains how Plant and Production Managers can choose the right approach by starting from the operational problem rather than from the methodology itself.
APICS CSCP Courses 2026: New Editions Starting in October and Early Bird Registration Available
New APICS CSCP courses are starting in Switzerland from October 2026, with classroom editions in Lausanne and Basel and online Live Webinar formats. Discover the upcoming dates, course options and Early Bird registration opportunities.
Supply chain skills assessment: what to measure before designing training
Supply chain skills assessment helps HR, L&D and Supply Chain leaders identify the capabilities teams actually need before selecting training. By mapping competencies to roles, defining expected proficiency levels and combining assessment methods, organisations can distinguish genuine skill gaps from process or organisational issues. This creates a clearer basis for prioritising development needs and designing targeted corporate training.
New APICS CPIM Course Editions Starting in October 2026 - First early registration 31 August!
Registrations are open for the new APICS CPIM – Certified in Planning and Inventory Management courses starting in October 2026, available in classroom, Live Webinar and Flipped Class formats. The program is based on the latest CPIM Version 9.0 syllabus and helps professionals strengthen their skills in planning, inventory management and Operations. Early Registration is available until August 31, 2026.
In-house training or open class: how companies can choose the right format
This article compares in-house training, open classes and live webinars to help companies choose the format that best fits their learning objectives, team size, budget, scheduling needs and required level of customisation. It also explains how in-house programmes can support post-training improvement projects focused on processes or KPIs, helping organisations translate learning into practical application and strengthen training ROI.
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