Course Overview

Acuity Institute’s Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification Online Program is the most dynamic certification package available. Where many other Lean Six Sigma Black Belt training programs are intended for only manufacturing operations, Acuity’s program takes the learner beyond manufacturing, such as healthcare, financial services, and insurance, making this course diverse enough to be applied in a wide variety of industries.

Our comprehensive program includes 12 months of online course access along with unlimited instructor and customer service support because Acuity is committed to being your team throughout the program. Also included at no extra cost is the comprehensive Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Simulated Project, a fully licensed SigmaXL statistical analysis software, Certification Exam, an entire set of Lean Six Sigma tools and templates, and the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Course eBook – essentially everything you need to become certified and lead projects in the workplace. Acuity Institute sets the standard for online training and certification for individuals looking to achieve Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification.

The course has been designed to teach Lean Six Sigma fundamentals and its application and is intended for full time improvement team project leaders. Students are trained and tested on their understanding and ability to apply the tools and techniques of all elements of the Lean Six Sigma DMAIC methodology. As part of the DMAIC methodology, students are taught how to integrate Lean Six Sigma into an overall approach to process improvement and project management.

Training is conducted online and uses a multi-media format that includes audio by Lean Six Sigma experts, examples of successful performance improvement, interactive simulations and quizzes, and the most current and robust tools and techniques available. The course is “self-paced” and can be accessed at any time—and—anywhere, which provides the most flexibility in completing the course. On average, students complete the course in 150 hours (average completion time, actual time may vary).

Acuity Institute’s Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification course is one the most comprehensive in the world. Upon completion, students will be able to move seamlessly from the training environment into the workplace and begin leading Lean Six Sigma projects. We recommend this course to Project Leaders, Department Leaders, Business Leaders, Business Improvement Team Leaders, and Emerging Leaders.

No prerequisites are required for this course.

Key Outcomes

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification Requirements

Acuity Institute’s Certification has 3 parts:

Upon completing these requirements you will be awarded Acuity Institute’s prestigious Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification. Certification from Acuity Institute includes a Digital Badge. Acuity Institute has partnered with Credly’s Acclaim platform to provide this digital version of your certificate.

What is a Digital Badge?

A digital badge is a verified graphic representation of your Acuity certificate. It is embedded with data that provides context, meaning, and details of the certification you earned. The digital badge is provided at no cost to you.

Benefits to claiming your digital badge include:

• Easily share your digital badge on social and professional media, link to it from any email or document, add it to an email signature, and embed it in a blog or website
• Your certification can be verified online in real time with just one click
• Access labor market insights that relate your skills to jobs

Certification Exam

Acuity Institute’s Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification Exam is the standard for Black Belt Certification. Upon completing training, students will be required to achieve a passing mark of 80% or higher on the exam. The exam is intended to validate student proficiency with Lean Six Sigma tools and techniques. The following highlights the exam.

• The exam is included in the program. Students will have 2 attempts to successfully pass the exam (80% or higher). 
• The exam is administered online. Students will need to have an active internet connection to complete the exam.
• The exam is open book. Students may use any reference materials to complete the exam (training manuals, project materials, statistics books, etc.).
• Students have a maximum of 5 hours (300 minutes) to complete the exam.
• Once the entire exam is complete, the student will be notified immediately if they passed the exam. Students will not have access to their answers; this information is keep confidential to Acuity Institute.

Technical Requirements for accessing Acuity Institute’s Content

Viewing Online Content on a Desktop or Laptop

• Internet Browser – Most recent version of Google Chrome is recommended (while our content is accessible from many other browsers, we find that other browsers may provide an inconsistent viewing experience)
• A high speed internet connection
• Sound capability on your computer (speakers or headphones)

Viewing Online Content on Tablets and Smartphones – Please note, since tablets and smartphones typically have smaller screens, certain content may be difficult to view

• iPads using Safari in Apple iOS 6 or later (iPad generation 3 or later is required)
• iPhones using Safari in Apple iOS 6 or later (iPhone generation 5 or later is required)

Accessing Downloadable Content

• Course eBooks – Adobe Reader (free software), or equivalent PDF viewing software
• Course Toolkit Templates – Microsoft Office 2010 or later
• Using SigmaXL Statistical Analysis Software – Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and and Excel 2016 (Excel 365) with latest service packs installed, this includes Microsoft Vista with Service Pack (SP) 3, or later operating system (Windows 10 compatible). 1 GB of RAM or greater memory and 100 MB of available hard-disk space on your computer.

Testimonials

Lessons and Quizzes (12 Months Access)

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification Course Lessons (27 lessons, 200+ quiz questions and multiple exercises)

*Please note, the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification Program follows the same curriculum and flow as the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification Program. The main difference between the two is the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification Program contains approximately 30% more content than the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification Program.

Global Campus Tour

Take a tour of our online global campus and learn more about the benefits of our online training.

Instructor Support

Acuity Institute wants the learning experience to be as supportive and engaging as possible, we are here to help you succeed. We understand the importance of having a place to ask questions to the experts about tools and techniques, exercises, project work or general technical support. During training, students can submit questions to instructors through Acuity Institute’s Help Desk and the Student Forum. Responses are provided to student questions in one business day or less. If questions and/or answers are complex, an Acuity Institute instructor will schedule a one-on-one phone meeting with the student to review the question/answer.

Simulated Project

At Acuity Institute, we recognize that not every individual has the opportunity to complete an actual Lean Six Sigma project while completing training; therefore, we have created a real world simulated project that takes students from the beginning to the end of a problem and solution. The simulated project helps to build the student’s understanding of the concepts taught in training and provides practical application of the tools.  Students complete the course better prepared to apply what they have learned in the real world.

The simulation is based on a hypothetical company that faces many of the same problems companies are dealing with today.  The simulation is designed to illustrate the entire business improvement effort through every phase of the Lean Six Sigma DMAIC methodology.  Students complete 52 challenging exercises and 5 Tollgate Reviews which build on previously learned tools and concepts taught in training.  When complete, students have a significant perspective on what true business improvement means and a tangible “project story” that they can utilize throughout their process improvement journey.

There is no comparison of this simulation in the marketplace today.  No other Lean Six Sigma service provider offers a comprehensive project simulation such as ours which includes numerous project deliverables, challenging analysis, and project tollgate reviews.

Optional Workplace Project – We recognize that completing a Lean Six Sigma project in your workplace enhances your overall experience as a Black Belt.  As an added benefit, you have the opportunity to demonstrate your Lean Six Sigma expertise by completing a Black Belt project at your workplace.  Upon project completion, you will submit the required documentation to Acuity Institute to certify your project.  The submitted project will be reviewed by our panel of Lean Six Sigma Experts and must meet our requirements for certifying Lean Six Sigma workplace projects.  In addition, the project must be completed during your Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Program enrollment period. 

Please note, completing a workplace Lean Six Sigma project is optional and is not required for Acuity Institute’s Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification (Acuity Institute’s comprehensive Simulated Black Belt Project is a requirement).  Upon successfully completing the workplace project requirements, you will receive a “Workplace Project Certificate” from Acuity Institute which acknowledges your ability to demonstrate the application of Lean Six Sigma Tools and Concepts towards the successful completion of a Black Belt project at your workplace.

Lean Six Sigma Toolkit

Through our experiences we have assembled the Lean Six Sigma Toolkit, which is one of the most complete and user friendly set of templates available. The toolkit assists Lean Six Sigma practitioners in keeping focused on their project work and not creating “templates”. The toolkit includes 31 templates from the Lean Six Sigma DMAIC methodology. For ease of use, the templates can be downloaded directly to your computer and are yours to keep and utilize in future projects. The templates have been developed in common formats (MS Word, MS Excel or MS PowerPoint).

Included templates: 5 Whys, Communication Plan, CTQ Chart, Dashboard Measurement Plan, Data Collection Plan, DMAIC Project Plan, DMAIC Tollgate Presentation, FMEA, Force Field Diagram, Implementation Plan – Detailed, Implementation Plan – High Level, Pilot Plan, Process Monitoring Plan, Process Value Analysis, Project Charter, Project Storyboard, Quick Win Identification, Response Plan, Sigma Calculator, SIPOC, Solutions Benefits and Implications, Solutions Prioritization Matrix, Solutions Selection Matrix, Stakeholder Identification, Stakeholder Management Plan, Stakeholder Map, Standardized Procedures, Team Meeting Agenda, Team Profile, VOC Research Plan, and XY Matrix.

Statistical Analysis Software

Project leaders will find that data is an important part of Lean Six Sigma projects and statistical analysis software is an indispensable tool at the Black Belt level. Acuity Institute is one of the few Lean Six Sigma Training and Certification organizations who include both the licensed software and detailed instructions for using statistical analysis software in their Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification program.

Acuity Institute provides its Black Belts with a full version of SigmaXL statistical analysis software (a perpetual license, which means it is yours to keep), that is a $299 value on its own. SigmaXL is a leading provider of user friendly Microsoft Excel Add-ins for statistical and graphical analysis. It is powerful but easy to use software that will enable students the ability to apply statistical and data analysis techniques taught in the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Program.

If your organization currently uses Minitab statistical software, instructions for this software are also included for each exercise. If you require a Minitab license, please contact us to inquire about cost and details on obtaining a license for this software option.

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Course eBook 

The Lean Six Sigma Black Belt eBook (electronic copy) contains much of the same content as the online instructional materials. The eBook includes over 1,400 pages of Lean Six Sigma statistics, project management, process management, lean, change management tools and techniques and Acuity Institute’s world-class simulated project.

The eBook is fully searchable and contains many links to assist students in quickly navigating to key tools and concepts. The eBook allows students the ability to capture notes and comments within the eBook for future reference as this valuable tool does not expire and is yours to keep. Students can print directly from the eBook, however, to protect the electronic intellectual property of the course content, students will not be able to copy from the eBook.

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Printed Course Books (Optional)

As an option, students can purchase Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification printed course books. The printed course materials include 6 separate books containing over 1,400 pages of Lean Six Sigma basic statistics, project management, process management, lean, change management tools and techniques and Acuity Institute’s world-class simulated project.

Printed Course Materials are optional, they are not required. About 35% of our students prefer to have a printed copy of the course materials available as a resource while taking the course and for future reference.

IACET Continuing Education Units (Accreditation)

Acuity Institute has been approved as an Accredited Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET). In obtaining this approval, Acuity Institute has demonstrated that it complies with the ANSI/IACET Standards which are widely recognized as standards of good practice internationally. As a result of our Authorized Provider membership status, Acuity Institute is authorized to offer IACET CEUs for its programs that qualify under the ANSI/IACET Standards. The primary purpose of a CEU is to provide a permanent record of the educational accomplishments of an individual who has completed one or more significant non-credit educational experiences.

15 IACET Continuing Education Units are provided upon successful completion of this course.

Council for Six Sigma Certification

Acuity Institute is accredited as an Approved Registered Provider by the Council for Six Sigma Certification (SSC). SSC reviews each course to ensure the course curriculum, structure and certification requirements meet the standards set forth by the Council’s Body of Knowledge. This accreditation assures each certification includes Lean Six Sigma concepts, tools and techniques considered to be the standard for each belt level within the Council’s Body of Knowledge.

PMI® Professional Development Units

Acuity Institute is an Authorized Training Partner (ATP) of the Project Management Institute (PMI)®. Being an Authorized Training Partner allows Acuity Institute to grant Professional Development Units (PDUs) to customers who complete our qualified programs. As an Authorized Training Partner, Acuity Institute has agreed to abide by the PMI® established quality assurance criteria. PMI® is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

150 PMI® Professional Development Units are provided upon successful completion of this course.

Blended Learning Training

In addition to e-Learning courses, Acuity Institute offers customized Blended Learning training options for corporations.

Acuity’s Blended Learning training combines online training with live, facilitated workshops facilitated by one of Acuity Institute’s leading industry facilitators. This model provides two benefits for your team:

1. Reduces the time spent in the classroom, away from other responsibilities
2. Provides learner access to the training to learn at their own pace and review the content as often as they need

The live workshops are focused on the practical application of the methodology and tools in the workplace environment. The number of workshops and the schedule for workshops can be modified to meet your team’s needs. Contact our team to learn more about Blended Learning for your team.