Improvement Technician Level 3 - Standard

Typical activities include:

• Engaging team members in the identification of improvement opportunities and relevant countermeasures and controls
• Initiating and facilitating improvement activities through to confirmed resolution
• Providing local expertise in business improvement methods and basic tools to team

There are a variety of job titles associated with the occupation, these include, but are not limited to: Business Improvement Co-ordinator, Continuous Improvement Executive, Process Technician, Operational Excellence/Lean Engineer, Lean Six Sigma Yellow belt and Quality Control Analyst.

All learners will complete both on and off the job training elements for this standard and at the end of their learning journey will complete a Level 3 Apprenticeship as an Improvement Technician.  Dependent upon prior qualifications learners may also need to complete functional skills in English and Maths at Level 2.

For the off the job training element, during the first four month’s of their programme the learner is required to attend our training academy to undertake a twelve day intensive course covering training on the following subjects in order to ensure they gain knowledge, understanding and competence to further enhance their Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours working within management:

• Compliance & Risk Analysis
• Team Management, Leadership
• Lean Principles & Methods
• Six Sigma Principles & Methods
• Root Cause Analysis & Action Planning
• Change Management
• Project Management
• Project Definition & Scope
• Basic Statistics & Measures
• Process Mapping
• Process Capability & Performance
• Sustainability & Control

Throughout their programme further enhancement to Knowledge, Skills and Behaviour will be delivered from individuals requiring to undertake a work place improvement project putting into practise the theory delivered across Business Improvement Techniques along with building a portfolio of evidence to demonstrate competence the learner is required to undertake a work based project which culminates as part of their End Point Assessment in a presentation to give an overview of what they have achieved. 

• Compliance: Legislative and customer compliance requirements including health and safety.
• Team formation & leadership: Improvement team roles and responsibilities in a change environment.
• Self-development: Different sources for knowledge development
• Project management: Project charter, Gantt chart, reporting documentation, Red Amber Green (RAG) status, communication (verbal and non-verbal channels) and implementation plans
• Change management: Roles of the manager and leader within change. Influencing, reinforcement and coaching principles
• Principles & methods: Six Sigma principles per ISO13053 (International Organisation for Standardisation), interim containment actions, Lean principles
• Project selection & scope: Selection matrix, scoping tree
• Problem definition: Exploratory data analysis, data collection planning, problem and goal statements
• Process mapping & analysis: Supplier Input Process Output Customer (SIPOC), process mapping, value and waste analysis, performance metrics - discrete data
• Data acquisition for analysis: Data stratification, sampling theory, data types, variation types and sources, data collection tools, operational definition and principles of measurement error
• Basic statistics & measures: Control charts - discrete data
• Process capability & performance: Capability analysis - continuous data
• Root cause analysis: Histograms
• Experimentation: Active analysis versus one factor at a time, Plan Do Check Act
• Identification & prioritisation: Brainstorming, selection criteria
• Sustainability & control: Process

• Compliance: Work in accordance with organisational controls and statutory regulations
• Communication: Share improvement progress through appropriate reporting
• Project management: Plan, manage and implement improvement activities. Identify and support management of risks. Develop the business case for improvement activity and implementation
• Change management: Engage through communications. Reinforce – positively and negatively. Effectively coach peers
• Principles and methods: Use a structured method and appropriate improvement tools engaging with subject matter experts to deliver business benefits
• Project selection and Scoping: Identify and scope improvement projects and establish clear measurable objectives
• Problem definition: Develop a problem/opportunity statement supported by validated data
• Voice of the customer: Apply techniques to identify customers, their requirements and translate these to metrics
• Process mapping & analysis: Apply process mapping tools to visualise processes, analyse process performance establishing key insights for performance improvement
• Lean tools: Apply techniques such as identification and removal of 8 wastes, 5S (Sort, Shine, Set, Standardise, Sustain), standard work, kaizen, visual displays and controls, error proofing, preventative maintenance
• Data acquisition for analysis: Develop data collection plan and validated measurement processes to understand performance
• Basic statistics & measures: Establish patterns and trends in data over time using tally, pie, run/trend and pareto charts
• Data analysis-statistical methods: Identify common and special cause variation
• Root cause analysis: Use cause and effect diagrams, technique of 5 whys and graphical analysis to understand and verify root causes
• Identification & prioritisation: Identify and prioritise improvement solutions
• Benchmarking: Recognise the value of sharing best practice
• Sustainability & control: Create control and reaction plans with detection measures, identify opportunities to embed changes to leverage benefit to the business.

• Drive for results: Clear commitment for identifying opportunities and delivering improvements, pays attention to detail
• Team-working: Helps when asked, works effectively in a diverse team, considers impact of own actions on others, motivates peers
• Professionalism: Acts in a moral, legal and socially appropriate manner, aligns behaviours to the organisations values, trusted to working on own when appropriate
• Continuous development: Acts upon feedback, reflects on performance and has a desire for learning
• Safe working: Ensures safety of self and others, challenges safety
• Benchmarking: Recognise the value of sharing best practice
• Sustainability & control: Create control and reaction plans with detection measures, identify opportunities to embed changes to leverage benefit to the business.