Norman receives her black belt certification

By Catherine Liedke, Army Contracting Command-WarrenOctober 6, 2014

Certified black belt
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

An Army Contracting Command-Warren, Michigan, employee joined an elite group in September earning her Lean Six Sigma black belt certification.

Kristie Norman, procurement analyst, was awarded her certification after successfully completing an intense five-week course followed by an 18-month black belt-level project. The project encompassed all five phases of Lean Six Sigma: define, measure, analyze, improve and control.

To complete her project, Norman gathered a group of ACC-WRN associates to assist her in identifying key problems, analyzing failure modes and brainstorming possible solutions.

"The most rewarding part of the black belt process was facilitating a team," said Norman. "I really believe in the power of teams."

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certifications represent part of an ACC-wide continuous process improvement initiative, said A.D. Barksdale, ACC CPI deployment director and a Department of Army certified master black belt.

"As we move into the next several years, our contracting professionals need to learn continuous process improvement tools to help them manage themselves as well as utilize Lean tools that apply to our command," Barksdale said. "Ms. Norman's black belt certification reflects not only her commitment toward ACC, but also toward her professional development. Standardizing our processes and eliminating waste in those processes will better equip us to meet existing and emerging requirements with reduced resources."

During the course of the project, Norman said her team faced many challenges. Their first pilot used an unconventional approach and while it succeeded in one area, it failed in another, creating a need for a major process adjustment.

"I learned the importance of testing a new process before fully implementing the solution," said Norman. "While the initial failure was painful, it was a great learning experience to discover that the information we gained from the first pilot could be used to conduct failure modes and effect analysis, FMEA, and design an even better process, turning our initial failure into an ultimate success."

Her entire project is documented in an Army Lean Six Sigma database called PowerSteering. She said the database enables others Army-wide to learn from the project and replicate its success.