Excellence in Training

System of Training

The aim of The QFD Institute's QFD Belt Program is to produce project team members, professionals in quality, design, and business, and facilitators and educators possessing a strong, up-to-date, solid QFD foundation and best QFD practice.

We emphasize on the Voice of Customer discovery of unspoken needs, sound QFD deployments, and use of the latest QFD tools and valid math. This is a holistic understanding of Comprehensive QFD and an innovative integration of QFD with emerging quality and design methods.

The intent is to produce practitioners who are capable of applying QFD thinking and tools correctly and effectively in their profession for successful development of new products, services, and business processes, and by doing so, to foster the next generation of QFD practitioners.

To this end, the QFD Belt Certificate system of training has been developed to encompass six levels of proficiency. It draws upon valuable traditions from Drs. Akao and Mizuno's Comprehensive QFD and new advancements incorporated in recent years, retaining the best that was created by the two co-founders while embracing the demands of today's business reality. This is the only QFD curriculum sanctioned and authorized by Dr. Akao outside Japan.

This system of training and QFD Belt Certificates emphasizes mastery proven through competent application. The training graduates are expected to apply what was learned in the classroom on real projects and are encouraged to keep up with future enhancements through QFD Belt Update continuing education courses.

Learning Path

The QFD Institute provides two distinct pathways of QFD learning: 1) In-house custom-tailored QFD programs and 2) Public QFD courses.

1) In-house QFD Training

In-house QFD programs are held at the request of a company at the location and venue of their choice.

Each in-house QFD program will have custom-tailored training materials and a custom-tailored QFD process that addresses the unique needs of each organization and project. Your associates will be trained on this custom-tailored QFD process.

The private setting allows candid discussions of internal issues and project needs that are essential to a successful project outcome and organizational culture change.

Students completing an in-house QFD Belt program earn a provisional QFD Belt certificate upon successful completion of the course. Some earn a full status QFD Belt immediately or shortly upon the completion of the in-house custom training as they typically progress to creating several QFD work objects during the course.

A custom-tailored QFD process has proven to be the most effective mode to prepare students for skillful utilization of the power and flexibility of an optimized QFD process.
To inquire or schedule an in-house training, please Contact Us, TEL +1 734-995-0847.

2) Public QFD Courses

The public QFD Green Belt® Certificate Course is often a good starting point for those who are new to QFD. It is also an advisable refresher course for those who learned QFD many years ago. Public QFD Belt Courses use a generic QFD process and curriculum.

Public courses also offers an excellent opportunity for corporate trainers and project planners to explore future in-house training possibilities before making a commitment.

All QFD Institute's public courses go through rigorous bi-annual reviews and reflect the most up-to-date, state-of-the-art QFD information and teaching method. Students earn a provisional QFD Belt upon completion of the public course.

Public QFD Courses are typically held in conjunction with The QFD Institute's Symposium on QFD. Additional public courses may be offered several times a year in cities around the U.S. and overseas. Please see Calendar.

If you have 5 or more employees to train, a public QFD Green Belt® Course using generic course materials may be also arranged at your company location. This may work if the company wants to train its employees on the general Modern QFD methods but does not yet have a specific project to work on. However, if you wish specific product or development issues addressed, the custom-tailored In-house QFD Training (above) is strongly recommended.

Comparison: In-house custom-tailored training and Public Courses

Integrity of Certificates

The QFD Institute's QFD Belt program aims to deliver the highest possible standards of QFD training in the world. At all times in developing the training curricula and materials, emphasis is placed on the current best QFD practice and efficient execution.

In teaching QFD courses, emphasis is placed on transmission of the best available QFD expertise and hands-on practice of QFD tools that students will be able to apply to an actual project during the course or immediately when returning to work.

In determining a student's eligibility for a change in their QFD Belt status, emphasis is placed on mastery demonstrated through sound application, in addition to completion of the course.

In both in-house and public QFD Belt courses, students initially receive a provisional QFD Belt Certificate upon successful completion of the course. Full status is earned upon successful review of the students' QFD project using their tailored QFD process, submitted within a specified timeframe.

Certificate holders are additionally required to attend the periodic QFD Green Belt® Update Course and QFD Black Belt® Update Course in order to keep their Certificate status current, as well as to keep their skills at the cutting edge.

This assures the integrity of The QFD Institute's QFD Belt Certificate and the highest possible standards in QFD education that The QFD Institutes strives to deliver.

Consistency in Training Quality

The rigorous process demanded of its QFD Belt Certificate program ensures that The QFD Institute's training graduates and facilitators teaching under its approval are in compliance with the principles of The QFD Institute.

The QFD Institute's instructors have trained nearly 1200 QFD Green Belts® and QFD Black Belts® spanning 18 countries since 2000.*

The QFD Institute permits only full status QFD Black Belts® who have successfully completed the "train-the-trainer course" or higher to teach the QFD Green Belt® Courses, and only full status QFD Master Black Belts® who have completed the same or higher to teach the QFD Black Belt® Courses.

Each Certificate holder and his/her QFD Belt® status (both Provisional and Full Status) is recorded in the official QFD Belt® database. Individuals' QFD Belt status may be verified through the QFD Institute office.

*Data as of Oct 2004.