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1. What is Lean Thinking? 

Lean is mindset to make services ‘flow’ as smoothly as possible from source to destination by eliminating all waste in process.   

2. What will Lean Deliver to me? 

They are three areas of you organisation that will benefit:  
a. Maximising value to your customer while minimising waste. 
b. Create a culture of Continuous Improvement. 
c. Improve ‘end to end’ processes rather than ‘point’ change. 

3. Why Lean Methodology? 

Lean thinking is different and here’s why we recommend it: 
a. The methodology is based on long term sustainable improvement – Not a short term ‘financial fix’. 
b. The improvement of services and bottom line results often surpasses expectations. 
c. It is relatively low investment – Not reliant on an expensive technological fix. 
d. Straightforward principles and concepts – easy to understand by everyone in the organisation. 
e. Tried and tested – It works. The methodology has been used for over 40 years in a wide variety of sectors. 

4. What is the ISO 18404? 

The ISO have released a framework for Learn and Six Sigma Capability. The ‘ISO 18404(2015) for individuals, is a recognition of competency (skills and abilities).  

5. What levels of Competence are there? 

There are three roles for Lean: Practitioner, Leader and Expert. Kinetik provides support for Practitioner and Leader.  

6. What happens when the individual leaves the organisation? 

The certification is portable; it can be moved from organisation to organisation and so a long-term investment for the individual and for your sector as a whole.  

What is difference about this certificate compared to other certification bodies? The ISO is based on competence level, not ‘book knowledge’ or on passing an exam.  

“Candidates will be expected to demonstrate that they have an adequate level of competence, an amalgamation of education, training, skills and experience necessary to fulfil their roles”¹ 

7. Is there a renewal process? 

There is annual renewal: each person will need to “Prepare a portfolio of evidence of work experience” which will be required for confirmation.  

8. What commitment will an organisation need to make towards gaining this competency?

Your organisation will need to support Lean Project implementation including providing sponsors and champions. Staff who meet the competency will need to keep an ongoing record of their skills and experience. You will need a process to monitor and measure improvement from Lean.  

9. Can Kinetik deliver its support service virtually?  

Yes, we can. We have a virtual learning platform and make significant use of Zoom/Microsoft Teams, Miro and other cloud-based technologies to deliver a fully virtual service if required.  

10. How long does it take to get the ISO accreditation process/assessment take?    

Our coaching and training work mean that you maximise opportunity in terms of sufficient evidence to meet the standard and drastically reduce the time if you did this independently. We envisage around 4–6 months depending on Lean Projects you undertakeWe will refer you to an independent assessor to submit for the ISO 18404.  

11. What is the minimum number of people from my organisation to make it viable?  

To deliver a bespoke ‘in-house’ service to your organisation, we envisage at least 5 people to allow for collaboration and make efficient use of training and coaching. We can offer our service in a public format (with other clients) but this has less flexibility than our bespoke service. 

  1. “BS ISO 18404:2015 – Competencies for key personnel and their organizations in relation to Six Sigma and Lean implementation.” BSI. 2015.