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Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)

Six Sigma Green and Black Belt Training Continues to Drive Improvement

With the help of: University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services (UT CIS)

About

Mohawk Industries, Inc., is a leading North American flooring manufacturer headquartered in Calhoun, Georgia. The company operates facilities in over 18 countries with locations in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The company's manufacturing and distribution processes provide carpet, rugs, ceramic tile, laminate, wood, stone, luxury vinyl tile (LVT) and vinyl flooring. Some popular brands in Mohawk's portfolio include Daltile, Marazzi, American Olean, Mohawk Carpet, Aladdin, Godfrey Hirst, and Pergo.

The Challenge

A long-term TMEP customer, Mohawk Industries started their continuous improvement journey over ten years ago. As the company continued to grow, they recognized that optimizing production for new products would take time while also requiring flexibility and agility and were committed to providing employees the tools necessary to identify quality issues and implement process improvements. The company expanded its Six Sigma training program to include lean manufacturing with development of "The Mohawk Way" strategy to drive improvement in key processes. Over 500 green belts and 100 black belts have been trained with a focus on developing future leadership in process performance and problem solving. To continue the development process, local management desired to train and develop additional Black Belts to internalize the training of green and black belts, improve coaching of managers in the selection of green and black belts, improve project execution, and provide Six Sigma resources across the organization. The company requested assistance from TMEP, part of the MEP National Network™, to provide further training.

Very pleased with the Six Sigma training support we have received from TMEP for the Black and Green Belt classes he has conducted for us.  The consultants industry experience and knowledge of the Six Sigma tools & methodology were well received by our employees and have resulted in significant improvements in our business leading to improved profitability.

— Rand Meyer, Senior Director of Continuous Improvement

MEP's Role

A TMEP Six Sigma consultant provided Green Belt training for 20 employees. The GB training consisted of 80 hours of training for each participant. The training was conducted on site at Mohawk facilitates and included a mix of traditional instructor led lecture and hands on practice with the statistical software required to properly implement a Six Sigma program. The training covered the DMAIC process, basic statistical functions, root cause analysis, problem solving, and the principles of lean manufacturing. In order to receive certification, each Green Belt candidate was required to complete a project identifying a pre determined amount of cost savings. Candidates were coached throughout the project implementation process by the TMEP consultant and the Mohawk champion. After completing Green Belt certification, the candidates completed an additional ninety six hours of in-depth training and project implementation to achieve Black Belt certification.

Created May 1, 2021, Updated July 12, 2021