The U.S. Navy plans to expand training of its Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) sector in Six Sigma, kaizen, lean and theory of constraints. The training program will take place at Depot North Island, in California. NAVAIR has already trained 18 teams in more than two years and now plans to train its AIRSpeed sector as well. “Our goal is to have all 3,000 people in the Depot trained at the recruit level in two years,” says Cmdr. T.C. Dowden. “It’s a big goal and one that we will be working very hard to accomplish.

AIRSpeed incorporates four training levels: basic, advanced, leader and manager. “The first three are taught in progression, and the manager’s course is taught separately,” says Dowden. “[Students] will take their experience combined with what they have learned in the classroom setting and go to other places and see how the process is accomplished elsewhere and teach others.”

Military leaders culled coursework from past training provided by consultants. “Each time a group of consultants performed an instructional period for us, we took the best of what the consultants had and incorporated that into a training syllabus, and we combined lean with theory of constraints, and Six Sigma at a basic level,” Says team leader and teacher Jack Braun.

 …