(MoreSteam.com: Columbus, OH) -- The Quality Council of Alberta (QCA), a member-based organization created to promote quality management throughout Alberta, Canada, announces that it now delivers cost-effective, online lean and lean Six Sigma training to business professionals throughout Alberta, regardless of location or company size. The QCA’s enhanced offering is made possible through an agreement with MoreSteam.com, the leading provider of lean Six Sigma e-Learning and technology. A significant aspect of the agreement allows the not-for-profit QCA to offer its members an additional member benefit: a full lean Six Sigma curriculum at discounted membership pricing.

Companies and provincial organizations across Canada are adopting lean and lean Six Sigma as process improvement methodologies. Many organizations, including larger oil and gas companies operating in Alberta, have not only standardized on these methodologies for internal performance improvement, but now also demand their suppliers adopt these waste-reduction techniques as a means of assuring high supplier quality and competitive pricing. The barriers for many medium- and smaller-sized suppliers based in western Canada have been the cost, availability, and location of training, especially from recognized and certified professionals. The new QCA courses remove those barriers through the use of proven online technology and a world-class body of content developed and refined by U.S.-based MoreSteam.

The QCA is a resource for businesses, public enterprises, and not for profit organizations in Alberta and western Canada, promoting and supporting the application of best practices in quality management and continuous improvement including lean and lean Six Sigma. “The primary considerations for us were the quality of program content and ease of delivery,” says QCA board chairman, Robert Gerst. “MoreSteam delivered both, and the reaction of QCA members has been extremely positive.”

Carewest, Alberta’s extended health care organization, was the first group to take advantage of lean Six Sigma training through the program. The City of Calgary Water Services Business Unit signed on shortly thereafter. Both are driven by the desire to continuously improve quality of service and provide greater value for money.

“Regional associations like the QCA excel at meeting the needs of their diverse members,” says MoreSteam.com CEO, Bill Hathaway. “We are proud to support the QCA’s efforts to bring improvement to Canadian businesses and organizations.”

MoreSteam will provide the e-Learning programs offered from the QCA; and MoreStream is the exclusive supplier of online lean Six Sigma training to other associations, such as the American Society for Quality (ASQ). MoreSteam courses are also used by such leading organizations as Accenture, Xerox, Rolls-Royce, and General Dynamics. The QCA has also reached agreement with Converge Consulting Group of Calgary to provide local support and blended learning to the online training classes. Carewest (a Division of Alberta Health Services), the first organization to adopt this blended learning approach, is recording its progress on a blog on the QCA web site.

Available courses include Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt with Minitab, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt, and Lean Methods Accelerator. QCA members will also be entitled to special discounted pricing. More information is available on the QCA web site, www.qualityalberta.ca.