Course Overview
TOPLean Foundations Workshop equips you to eliminate waste, improve flow, and accelerate value delivery across operations, manufacturing, healthcare, and office workflows. Across two immersive days, you'll go beyond theory through a realistic Kaizen simulation and hands-on exercises to identify root causes, streamline processes, and reduce bottlenecks, rework, and delays.
Scheduled Classes
TOP| 09/08/26 - EVT - Virtual Classroom - Virtual Instructor-Led | (click to enroll)
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| 10/19/26 - EVT - Virtual Classroom - Virtual Instructor-Led | (click to enroll)
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| 11/30/26 - EVT - Virtual Classroom - Virtual Instructor-Led | (click to enroll)
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What You'll Learn
TOPGuided by expert instructors, you'll learn essential Lean tools and behaviors including 5S, value stream mapping, visual management, standard work, and root cause analysis. You'll leave with a practical toolkit and a customized action plan to apply immediately in your organization, and earn 19.5 PDUs to support professional credential maintenance.
Outline
TOP- Lean Principles & Mindset
- Origins of Lean and the Toyota Production System
- Customer value vs. non-value-add work
- The eight wastes (muda) and waste-walk techniques
- Lean, Six Sigma, and Agile,where each fits
- Mapping the Value Stream & Core Metrics
- Process mapping vs. value stream mapping (VSM)
- Current-state vs. future-state design
- Takt time, cycle time, lead time, WIP, and bottlenecks
- Introduction to Little's Law and flow efficiency
- Finding & Eliminating Waste
- Gemba walks and structured observation
- Root cause analysis (5 Whys, fishbone)
- Quick wins, prioritization, and impact-effort grids
- Changeover basics (SMED-lite concepts)
- Flow, Pull, and Work Design
- Batch size, flow, and line balancing
- Kanban signals and setting WIP limits
- Standard work and visual work instructions
- Level loading (heijunka) fundamentals
- Quality at the Source & Visual Management
- Error-proofing (poka-yoke) and andon
- 5S and workplace organization
- Daily huddles and tiered escalation
- Visual controls and performance boards
- Kaizen & Sustainment
- PDCA and A3 problem solving
- Planning and running a Kaizen event
- Control plans and sustaining gains
- Coaching behaviors and change adoption
- Measuring Results & Roadmap
- Selecting KPIs (lead time, throughput, FTQ, OEE overview)
- Baselines, dashboards, and review cadence
- Before/after storytelling and benefits tracking
- 30/60/90-day improvement roadmap
Prerequisites
TOPNo formal prerequisites. Familiarity with your organization's processes and metrics is helpful.
Who Should Attend
TOPDesigned for operations managers, team leads, supervisors, process and continuous improvement specialists, manufacturing and production personnel, service delivery leaders, business analysts, and project managers. It's ideal for professionals who need a practical foundation in Lean methods to drive measurable gains in throughput, lead time, quality, and customer value across diverse workflows.
