Course Syllabus

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Instructor Brian deFonteny

Brian deFonteny

Brian deFonteny, a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, has been immersed in the business system of Lean process improvement and respectful leadership since 2000.  During his thirty-five years working for the federal government and then four in the natural gas industry, he was responsible for training and coaching thousands of employees before retiring in 2018.

Since retirement, he has been teaching the behavioral elements of Lean leadership transformation (Continuous Improvement + Respect for People), including System-thinking (developed by Dr. W. Edwards Deming), to open enrollment and private sector students, as well as coaching organizations interested in attaining cultural success. He believes every employee deserves to be valued, respected, and inspired to contribute to something larger than their assigned job tasks.

Brian has been an instructor for the OU Lean Institute since 2016 and teaches the Lean Leadership course as an adjunct professor at his alma mater, the University of Oklahoma. He published his first book, Leadership Reimagined in 2019

Phone: (405) 508-1465

Email: brian.p.defonteny-1@ou.edu 

 

 

Instructor Joyce Hinton

Joyce Hinton

Joyce Hinton is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and for several years has served as an OULI lean/six sigma coach, instructor and consultant for many of the Institute’s major clients. She is the primary instructor for the Institute’s Lean Six Sigma White and Green Belt training workshops; her recent activities include converting the LSS Green Belt instructor-led workshop to an e-learning course.

Previously, Joyce worked with employee-led production quality teams to apply structured problem solving using data to drive the analysis and corrective action.  Her passion is helping students learn to see processes differently - to prove to themselves that the lean and six sigma process improvement methodologies are effective. There are few things more rewarding than seeing a student grasp a new concept and apply it successfully.

Joyce holds a B.S. in Business Administration (Management concentration) from Meredith College, North Carolina. She has completed extensive training in lean/six sigma methodologies, as well as having broad experience in both management and procurement.

Email: joyce.m.hinton-1@ou.edu 

**If you would like to contact the Lean Institute, please call Lisa Angelotti at (405) 325-9135 or email at langelotti@ou.edu

Course Materials

Workbook and Handouts

  • Lean Six Sigma White Belt Workbook (PDF)
  • Lean Leadership Handouts

Required Books

  • Art Byrne. 2013 The Lean Turnaround. How Business Leaders Use Lean Principles to Create Value and Transform Their Company. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
  • Tracey Richardson. Ernie Richardson. 2017 The Toyota Engagement Equation. How To Understand And Implement Continuous Improvement Thinking In Any Organization.

Optional Reading

  • George, Michael L. 2005 The Lean Six Sigma Pocket Toolbook, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (if taking LSS Green Belt course)
  • George, Michael L. 2012 Lean Six Sigma: Combining Six Sigma Quality with Lean Production Speed. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.  (reference only)
  • W. Edwards Deming, 1982 Out of The Crisis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Advanced Educational Services
  • Paul L. Marciano, 2010 Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work, McGraw-Hill Companies
  • Timothy R. Clark, 2020, The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

Grades

Breakdown

Activity Description Points
Team Paper Incorporates concepts from Byrne and Richardson books, Deming’s 14 Points for the Transformation of Management and material presented in class by Brian deFonteny. (2 students) 200 

Lean Six Sigma White Belt Test

 Covers material presented by Joyce Hinton 100 
Total  300 

Scale

A= 270-300

B= 240-269

C= 210-239

D= 180-209

F= 0-179

Course Components

Team Paper

This student assessment is associated with required reading and in-class presentation by Brian deFonteny.

A paper is to be completed after the in-person classroom training (submission date agreed upon by consensus of students) and subsequent to students reading both assigned books and Deming’s 14 points for the Transformation of Management. In teams of two, students will write a speech transcript (minimum 3 page, maximum 5 page, plus the citation page) explaining the upcoming Lean transformation in their company. All references from books and Deming’s 14 points must be cited in the paper. Authors are co-owners of a private company with approximately 1000 employees in a single location. The speech is meant to inform and inspire employees to fully participate in the transformation. All elements for writing and scoring the speech are contained in the rubric. Clarification of any portion of this assignment should be discussed with the instructor prior to presenting it for evaluation. Students will include a populated copy of the rubric along with the paper as a form of self-evaluation. 

Lean Six Sigma White Belt Test

This student assessment is associated with in-class presentation by Joyce Hinton. The test will include questions from the following topics: Lean & Six Sigma philosophy and methodology, eight wastes, process mapping, metrics, and lean six sigma tools and techniques.

Course Policies

Late Policy

To earn full credit on the team paper, it must be submitted by the agreed upon date and include recommendations on improving the assignment. To earn full credit on the exam, it must be submitted before the due date.

University Academic Policies and Student Support

Access the University Academic Policies Document.

 

Course Summary:

Course Summary
Date Details Due