SMDC/ARSTRAT employees receive Lean Six Sigma green belt

By USASMDC/ARSTRAT Future Warfare CenterMarch 3, 2009

SMDC/ARSTRAT employees receive Lean Six Sigma green belt
Larry Burger, Future Warfare Center director, right, presents Bob Hill, deputy director, Decision Support Directorate, a certificate indicating Hill's recently attained green belt in Lean Six Sigma. Kara Pleasant, Program Analyst co-op, far left, and... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Mr. Larry Burger, Future Warfare Center (FWC) director, presented US Army Lean Six Sigma (LSS) Program green belt certificates to the latest trained and certified FWC LSS internal resources at the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command (USASMDC/ARSTRAT), on March 2. Burger commented on how pleased he was of the progress being made by his LSS Team, headed by Ms. Angela Jones, and the new green belt recipients present, Robert Hill, Kara Pleasant and Tara Regan Ward.

Candace Holcomb, LSS deployment director, Business Initiatives Office (BIO) for USASMDC/ARSTRAT also presented Ms. Jones with a letter of appreciation, recognizing her leadership and support of the Continuous Process Improvement Program (CPI).

Lean Six Sigma is a CPI methodology which is utilized by the Army to reduce costs and improve process effectiveness and efficiency by reviewing and improving existing processes. These green belts have achieved a significant milestone in the Lean Six Sigma process. To be declared a green belt, candidates receive rigorous academic instruction and must complete a project that provides tangible improvement to an existing process. As a result of the experience gained, they are considered Project Team leads for future projects. The other levels of Lean Six Sigma certification are: yellow belts, team members; black belts, program managers; and master black belts, who assist deployment directors command-wide. Other new green belt members of Dr. TomkovichAca,!a,,cs Team in FWC who were unable to attend the ceremony are Jeremy Collins and Lisa Vann.

At the start of the ceremony, Dr. Tomkovich presented Mr. Burger with an Alabama Business Award, also achieved by his LSS Team, for CPI efforts.

Upon conclusion of the ceremony, Mr. Burger handed each team member his personal commanderAca,!a,,cs coin as a token of his appreciation for a job well done. Ms. Jones stated that she was glad to receive the support of Ms. Holcomb, Dr. Tomkovich and Mr. Burger.

Aca,!A"I know that we have only begun to improve our efforts in FWC, and I look forward to completing the projects we have initiated for the coming year,Aca,!A? Ms. Jones informed those gathered at the event.

FWCAca,!a,,cs master black belt, Bob Brandofino, concurred with Ms. Jones, saying, Aca,!A"FWC is now leading the next phase of the ArmyAca,!a,,cs CPI Program within SMDC."