Abidian Professional Certification Process

Professional Certification by Abidian recognizes the capability of an individual to move beyond talking a good story to the ability to fully deploy Lean, Six Sigma, and state-of-the-art Maintenance practices … and most importantly, the ability to create buy-in and to sustain these gains over the long term. 

Certification helps assure a company its Lean, Six Sigma, and Maintenance professionals possess the knowledge necessary to successfully serve as change agents.  This translates in to greater job effectiveness and the ability to differentiate between candidates in the promotion and hiring processes.  On a personal level, certification acknowledges the skills and level of professional proficiency achieved.  This recognition provides increased visibility within an organization further enhancing effectiveness, contribution, and subsequent opportunity.

Certification is also part of our strategy focusing on making your business more profitable and your team self-supporting as soon as possible.

Three Areas of Expertise

Expert and Master Certification by Abidian encompasses the three areas of expertise needed to lead productivity improvements in a typical organization: 

1. Technical knowledge

2. Practical hands-on experience

3. Ability to effectively transfer knowledge to others

The requirements will vary with the type of professional certification desired.  There are no formal education or experience prerequisites as Abidian recognizes the skills required to be successful come from a varying mix of education, work experience, and coaching backgrounds.

• Serve as an organization change leader

• Generate a graphic baseline that can be used for prioritization and decision making based on the dollar value of the available opportunities

• Create a detailed cross-functional implementation plan that helps ensure buy-in throughout the organization

• Facilitate teams in the deployment of the implementation plan

• As a productivity leader: coach, train, and mentor others in the application of the tools and methods

Certification Requirements

As individual needs vary, Abidian offers certification at three levels:  Specialist, Expert, and Master.  The requirements and costs for each type of certification can be found below.

Certified Specialist (CLS, CSSS, or CMS)

• Demonstrate your technical knowledge by successfully passing a written exam to  become a Certified Lean Specialist (CLS), Certified Six Sigma Specialist (CSSS) and/or Certified Maintenance Specialist (CMS)

• No workshops to attend ... use your work experience and knowledge to achieve a passing score of 70% or greater

• Cost of $300 includes a handsome certificate suitable for framing

Certified Lean Expert (CLE)

• Attend Abidian's Lean Expert Workshop (or equivalent)

• Successfully pass a written exam

• Participate in a kaizen event facilitated by Abidian

• Facilitate a second kaizen in which Abidian participates

Certified Lean Master (CLM)

• Successfully meet the requirements of an Abidian certified Lean Expert

• Pass a second written exam

• Facilitate a third kaizen in which Abidian participates and a key performance indicator is improved at least 30% and then sustained over a period of at least six months

• Co-facilitate at least five days of workshop training with Abidian

Certified Lean Maintenance Expert (CLME)

• Attend Abidian's Lean Maintenance Workshop (or equivalent)

• Successfully pass a written exam

• Participate in a maintenance-oriented kaizen event facilitated by Abidian

• Facilitate a second maintenance-oriented kaizen in which Abidian participates

Certified Lean Maintenance Master (CLMM)

• Successfully meet the requirements of an Abidian certified Lean Maintenance Expert

• Pass a second written exam

• Facilitate a third maintenance-oriented kaizen in which Abidian participates and a key maintenance or production performance indicator is improved by at least 30% and then sustained over a period of at least six months

• Co-facilitate at least five days of lean/maintenance workshop training with Abidian

Certified Six Sigma Green Belt (CSSGB)

• Attend Abidian's Six Sigma Green Belt for Manufacturing Workshop 

• Pass a written exam

• Facilitate a successful six sigma project in which a key performance indicator is improved by at least 30% and then sustained for a period of at least six months

Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB, Abidian and ASQ Certified)

• This is a unique certification in that successful completion will result in certification by both Abidian and the American Society for Quality, the most recognized authority for Six Sigma Black Belt certification

• Enroll in Abidian's mentoring program and ASQ's online Six Sigma Black Belt training

• Facilitate a successful six sigma project in which a key performance indicator is improved by at least 30% and then sustained for a period of at least six months

• Successfully pass the ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt exam

Join the Abidian Alumni Team

Limited Availability

Given the active interaction and hands-on involvement of Abidian in an individual Expert or Master level certification, enrollment is extremely restricted.  Enroll early as the few available openings fill quickly.  Candidates must successfully pass each requirement to gain certification.  Please call or write regarding in-house certification programs.

Costs

The cost for a certification exam is $300.  This includes a handsome certificate suitable for framing when you have passed.  Exam re-takes are $150.  The fee for the various workshops and kaizens are shown below.

• Kaizen facilitated by Abidian - $7000 to $10,000 including domestic 48 travel

• Kaizen facilitated by you - $7000 to $8000 including domestic 48 travel

• Onsite workshop facilitated by Abidian - $8000 to $11,000 including domestic 48 travel

• Onsite workshop facilitated by you - $7000 to $9000 including domestic 48 travel

The above are maximum costs that can be used for planning purposes.  In many cases, travel costs will be less.  Contact us here to request a quote for your specific certification.

ASQ Certification

In cooperation with the Pee Dee Section 1124 of the American Society for Quality, we're able to offer preparatory workshops for most of the 14 ASQ certifications.  Click here to learn more about ASQ Certifications, the globally recognized authority on professional certification in the quality and productivity fields.

Click below on the ASQ Certification that's right for you.