Lean Six Sigma Training in Ajax, Ontario: A 12-Week Plan for Your Own Team
Ajax is my home base, so I know how its operations run: distribution centres by the 401, manufacturers in the industrial parks, and service companies growing faster than their processes.
The question I hear most is not "what is Lean Six Sigma?" but "how would training actually fit into our week?" This page answers that with a plan.
Direct answer: Lean Six Sigma Ajax employers get from Gurley Leadership Solutions is training that runs on your own site over about 12 weeks: one short session a week for a small group of supervisors and leads, with each tool applied to a real process between sessions. The group finishes with a measured improvement, a documented method they can repeat, and the habits to keep it going, backed by a proven program from Leadership Management International, customized to your organization.
What Does a 12-Week Lean Six Sigma Ajax Training Plan Cover?
The plan below is the shape of most programs I run in Ajax. The tools are standard; the process we apply them to is yours, chosen in week one.
| Weeks | Focus | What the team does between sessions |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | Choose the process; record a baseline | Collect two weeks of times, counts and defects |
| 3 to 4 | Value stream map; the 8 wastes | Walk the process and draw the map on paper |
| 5 to 6 | 5S and visual management | Sort and set in order one work area |
| 7 to 8 | Root cause: 5 Whys, fishbone, simple data | Test the top two causes with real numbers |
| 9 to 10 | Improve: trial the fix on one shift or cell | Run the trial and measure it |
| 11 to 12 | Control: standard work and the daily check | Compare with baseline; present results to the owner |
By week 12 the group has done one full improvement cycle, not just heard about one. That is the difference between training that changes a floor and training that fills a binder.
The order matters. Lean Six Sigma tools only make sense once the team has seen its own process on paper, which is why mapping comes before 5S and root cause work comes before any fix. Skipping ahead is the most common reason Lean Six Sigma training Ajax companies buy fails to stick in small and mid-sized operations, and the 12-week plan is built to prevent it.
Who Should Attend Lean Six Sigma Training in Ajax?
Four to eight people is the right size. The group should include the supervisor who owns the process, one or two experienced operators, and someone from quality or planning who sees the data. If the owner or plant manager can sit in for weeks one and twelve, the results land faster.
Belts are not required to start Lean Six Sigma training. The people who benefit most are the ones who were promoted for technical skill and have never been shown a structured way to fix a process. For the leadership side of that same group, see working with a leadership trainer in Ajax.
How Much Time Does the Training Take From the Floor?
About two hours a week for the Lean Six Sigma session, plus one to two hours of work between sessions, mostly done inside the normal shift. Sessions are scheduled around production, and for shift operations I run them at changeover so both crews can attend. Nobody leaves the site, and nobody loses a full day.
That is a small cost against what the eight wastes already take. The Lean Enterprise Institute defines lean as "a way of thinking about creating needed value with fewer resources and less waste", and the waste in most Ajax operations is measured in hours a day, not hours a week.
Why Run the Training On Site in Ajax?
Because the process you want to fix is here, not in a classroom. Invest Durham lists advanced manufacturing, logistics and warehousing, energy and engineering, healthcare, and food and beverage processing among Ajax's priority clusters. Every one of those runs on repeatable processes that can be mapped, measured and improved by the people who work them.
Being based in Ajax also means the trainer can be on your floor for a short session without a day of travel on either side. I run the same trainer-led approach in Oshawa and Whitby, and across the region through Lean Six Sigma Durham training.
How Is the Return on Lean Six Sigma Training Measured?
Against the baseline recorded in weeks one and two of the Lean Six Sigma training, using the same definitions. Typical measures are lead time for the chosen process, defects or rework per week, overtime hours, and inventory in the area. Week twelve ends with those numbers side by side.
In my own senior operations roles at Honeywell, the operation I led saw a 20% productivity improvement in the first year and a 64% increase in throughput over four years, using these same tools with the people on the floor. I tell Ajax owners to expect a return of 10:1 or better on a well-chosen first project, measured that way.
The supervisor decides whether the gain lasts. Gallup found that managers account for at least 70 per cent of the variance in employee engagement across business units, which is why the plan pairs the Lean Six Sigma tools with leadership habits from Leadership Management International: goal setting, delegation and the short daily check.
Before week one: pick one process that hurts, name the supervisor who owns it, and start collecting two weeks of times and defect counts. Everything else can wait for the first session.
How Does On-Site Training Compare With Public Lean Six Sigma Courses?
Public and online courses are the right choice for an individual who wants a certificate. Kaizen Institute describes KAIZEN as "continuing improvement involving everyone, managers and workers alike", and Quality Gurus reports more than 300,000 professionals in its online quality management courses. Both teach the theory well, one learner at a time.
For Ajax, Durham Region and Greater Toronto Area employers who need a whole crew to improve one real process together, on-site Lean Six Sigma training is the better fit: same room, same process, same numbers. You can read about my background, why employers choose Gurley Leadership Solutions, and the leadership programs on the LMI Canada page.
Which Process Would Your Team Fix in 12 Weeks?
A 15-minute call with Malcolm Gurley is enough to choose the process, the group and the start date.
416.669.7644 · Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM · Ask about government funding options when you book your call.
Book a 15-Minute CallWhat Do Ajax Employers Ask About Lean Six Sigma Training?
Is 12 weeks fixed, or can the training run faster or slower?
It flexes. Some Ajax teams finish in ten weeks; a shift operation with a complex process may take sixteen. What stays fixed is the sequence: baseline, map, 5S, root cause, improve, control.
Do participants get a certificate?
They finish with a completed, measured project and the documented method. If belt certification matters to your people, it can follow once they have that first project behind them.
Can we train more than one group?
Yes. Most companies start with one group on one process, then run a second group on the next process once the first results are in.
Does Lean Six Sigma training work for warehouses and offices in Ajax?
Yes. Order picking, receiving, quoting and invoicing all follow the same map-measure-improve cycle. Waiting and extra processing are usually the biggest wastes there.
What do we need to prepare before the first session?
One process to fix, the supervisor who owns it, and two weeks of simple data: times, counts and defects. No software and no new equipment.
Malcolm Gurley brings 35+ years of senior executive experience with Honeywell, Johnson Controls and Armstrong Fluid Technology. He is LMI Canada licensed, Lean Certified and a Six Sigma Black Belt, and delivers Leadership Management International programs in person for organizations across Durham Region and the Greater Toronto Area from Ajax, Ontario. Frequently asked questions
