Six Sigma Public Training Courses

The Catalyst Six Sigma open training programme has been carefully designed to meet the needs of European based organisations building on Catalyst's extensive Six Sigma training experience working inside organisations across Europe. Clients who have attended this programme include: Bayer Diagnostics, Research Machines, UBS, BSI, Arizona Chemical, Barclays Capital, Yell, BT, Pindar, Exel Logistics, Travelex, Centrica, and HJ Heinz.

The modular nature of the programme has been designed to provide maximum flexibility and a variety of options to meet different individual and organisational requirements.

• Six Sigma Awareness Workshop (1 day)


• Accelerated Green Belt Foundation (4 days)


• Advanced Green Belt (10 days)


• Six Sigma Statistical Tools (6 days)


• Six Sigma Black Belt (16 days)


• Six Sigma Black Belt Technical Tools (3 days)


• Six Sigma Black Belt Leadership Tools (3 days)


• Advanced Green Belt to Black Belt upgrade (6 days)


• Foundation Green Belt to Black Belt upgrade (12 days)

Six Sigma Awareness Workshop (1 day)

This workshop will provide delegates with a comprehensive understanding of the background, principles and fundamentals of six sigma. Delegates will learn about the roles and responsibilities of organisations and individuals in six sigma projects as well as the project structure and methodology of six sigma through presentation, discussion and exercises. In addition, delegates will discuss issues involved in planning for and implementing a six sigma deployment in their organisations.

This course is designed for executives or those who need to learn the basics about six sigma. In addition to the workshop activities, each delegate will receive a copy of the training materials.

Catalyst's four-day Accelerated Green Belt Foundation Course - (Module 1 of the Advanced Green Belt programme)

This course will suit anyone who needs a thorough understanding of what Six Sigma is and how it works in practice without yet requiring the more advanced statistical tools. It is ideal for members of Six Sigma project teams, project sponsors or those who need to learn about the tools of six sigma. The course includes practical training on the most commonly used Six Sigma tools and on completion of this course delegates will be able to work effectively as members of Six Sigma DMAIC projects. This course has proved to be equally relevant to manufacturing and service/ transactional environments. Each participant receives a comprehensive delegate pack including a copy of Catalyst's Six Sigma Improvement Journey toolbook.

Curriculum Outline:

This course is an accelerated foundation course concentrating on the Six Sigma methodology. It begins with a 1-day Six Sigma Awareness Workshop described above. Subsequently, delegates then explore the Six Sigma Project Structure to include: change management; project definition, charters, stakeholder analysis; process mapping; voice of the customer, Critical-To-Quality (CTQ), input/output measures, data collection; control charts, root cause analysis and basic non-statistical tools. A number of individual and team exercises are used to reinforce the concepts and encourage use of the tools. This course provides sufficient background for delegates to begin refining, in detail, their own projects and start the 'Define' and Measure phases of a Six Sigma (DMAIC) approach.

If you would like to talk over the course details, Jim's direct line is 01926-492671.

Catalyst's ten-day Advanced Green Belt programme - modules 1-3

This course includes the Accelerated Green Belt Foundation programme described above as its first module and goes on to cover the majority of statistical tools needed for DMAIC projects (Modules 2 and 3) as described below. The course is very 'hands on' with practical activities throughout the programme. This course includes comprehensive training and use of the statistical software package Minitab Release 14.

This 10-day 3-module programme is ideal for Six Sigma project team leaders and team members who need to be able to apply a wide range of Six Sigma tools on real life projects. The course has proved to be equally relevant to manufacturing and service/ transactional environments. The mix of delegates on the training is one of the attractions of attending this open programme.

Each participant receives a comprehensive delegate pack including Catalyst's Six Sigma Improvement Toolbook, Statistical Tool guides, Worksheets, Project examples and support materials for use in Minitab.

Catalyst's six-day Six Sigma Statistical Tools programme.
Modules: 2-3 (included as part of the Advanced Green Belt programme)

Delegates who already have a basic knowledge of Six Sigma but who now need to learn the more advanced statistical tools and gain practical hands-on training in Minitab can opt to attend Modules 2 and 3 of the 10-day course as a self-contained 6 day Six Sigma Statistical Tools programme, in two 3 day modules.

Module 2 topics include an Introduction to Minitab software followed by Normality (Central Limit Theorem, P-values, Transforming Data), Sampling (Random and Process Sampling, Determining Sample Sizes, Selecting Samples), Measurement System Analysis (Data Types, Gauge R&R, Attribute Agreement Analysis) and Introduction to Hypothesis Tests (Z- and t-tests).

Module 3 topics include Hypothesis Tests (Analysis of Variance and Chi-Square Tests), Regression (Simple, Multiple, Binary Logistic), Control Charts (Continuous and Attribute Data Charts), Process Sigma (Short- and Long-Term Sigma, Determining Process Shift, Improvement Strategies) and an introduction to Designed Experiments (Full and Fractional Factorial Designs).

Delegates will need to have a good knowledge of Six Sigma basics, typically through attending a Green Belt Foundation Programme. This course can therefore compliment training already completed by delegates which may not have covered the statistical tools or Minitab in sufficient depth to meet their current needs.

No prior knowledge of Minitab is needed. A full practical introduction is included at the start of this programme. Delegates will need to bring a laptop computer.

Curriculum Outline: This programme provides training on the advanced (statistical) tools required to execute the full range of six sigma DMAIC projects. Practical exercises are incorporated to provide relevant scenarios for delegates. During these modules each delegate will be required to use statistical software. We use MINITAB Statistical Software in our training. [Delegates will need to bring a Laptop PC with Minitab 14 loaded to the training. We can provide temporary evaluation copies if required.   Delegates need to ensure they are complying with any organisational policies concerning the installation and use of software on company-provided laptops before starting Module 2.]

Six Sigma Black Belt programme (16 days) (Modules 1-5)

This 16-day programme will take a six sigma novice through to Black Belt skills. This programme includes Modules 1-3 described above, then completes the training by covering the remaining technical and leadership skills required of six sigma Black Belts. The final two modules are described below.

The course is equally relevant to manufacturing and service/ transactional environments. The mix of delegates on the training is one of the attractions of attending this open programme. No prior knowledge or experience is required.

Each participant receives a comprehensive delegate pack including Catalyst's Six Sigma Improvement Toolbook, Statistical Tool guides, Worksheets, Project examples and support materials for use in Minitab.

Six Sigma Black Belt Technical Tools (3 days) (Module 4)

This module is open to any delegates who are already proficient in Six Sigma and Minitab but now wish to gain more advanced statistical analysis tools. This 3-day module will begin with a challenging six sigma case study that will take the delegates from initial project charter development through a designed experiment. Subsequent advanced training in regression analysis (with indicator variables, curvilinear regression and logistic regression), hypothesis testing (non-parametric), control charts (non-Shewhart) and Design of Experiments (Taguchi) complete this module.

Six Sigma Black Belt Leadership Tools (3 days) (Module 5)

Open to any delegates who wish to learn more of the softer leadership tools required to lead six sigma projects. Topics included in this 3-day module include change management, team building, facilitation/conflict resolution, financial return on six sigma project (ROSS), storyboards, effective handover and project reviews (technical and management). This module will be delivered through a combination of presentation, case studies and hands-on exercises.

Six Sigma Upgrade from Advanced Green Belt to Black Belt programme (6 days) (Modules 4 and 5)

Delegates who have already attended Catalyst’s Advanced Green Belt programme but now wish to advance to Black Belt level. This 6-day upgrade programme requires the completion of Modules 4 and 5, described above.

Six Sigma Upgrade from Foundation Green Belt to Black Belt programme (12 days) (Modules 2 to 5)

This programme is ideal for delegates who have already been trained to Foundation Green Belt level and who now wish to advance as quickly as possible to Black Belt level. For example these delegates may have attended an in-company Six Sigma Green Belt programme or Catalyst’s Foundation Green Belt. This 12-day upgrade programme requires the completion of Modules 2 to 5, described above.

Refreshing your skills

Catalyst also offers a range of programmes for delegates who are already familiar with Lean Six Sigma and who are looking to upgrade or refresh their skills.

For more information on Catalyst's Public Six Sigma Training dates, please contact Catalyst General Enquiries: 0845 345 2282 email: info@catalystconsulting.co.uk