Irfan Khan Interview - Lean Six Sigma Green Belt | CSUF

Five Questions for a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Instructor

Irfan Khan, MS, PMP, CHPS

Administrative Manager, Electronic Health Record monitoring and reporting at County of Orange, Health Care Agency

Irfan Khan is an instructor in the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certificate Program at California State University, Fullerton. We asked Irfan about the real-world applications of this program, and some career paths for graduates.

What are some of the benefits of a remote live classroom setting for learning?

The most value-added feature of learning via the remote live classroom setting is that you can join the class from the comfort of your home or office. The curriculum is designed to offer an interactive experience which allows students to perform hands on exercises with real life examples for the application of lean six sigma.

What is one of your favorite case studies in this program?

My favorite case study is the application of Control Charts, Pareto Chart, process capability and Process Maps (current and future) to reduce sorter stops at a retail fulfillment center.

Is there anything else that students should know in order to be successful in this program?

To be successful in the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certificate Program, students should have a good understanding of business processes and relate the concepts of lean six sigma to workflows of their industry sectors in order to reduce waste and improve productivity and achieve higher performance. Projects selected are recommended to resolve real life case studies and maximize waste reduction.

How can the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt concepts be applied to real-world situations for working professionals?

One of the best pieces of advice I can provide is to have a clear and in depth understanding of your business processes and target goals at the organization level. The goals could be number of inventory turns, on-time delivery or improving the profit margin. Once the target goals are defined, as professionals, we need to make sure that there is alignment between the voice of the customer and the voice of the process. Six sigma concepts can be applied in aerospace, manufacturing, healthcare, retail, pharmaceuticals, cyber security, and construction.

What are some common career paths for graduates? For example, what is a job title that someone might have once they finish the program?

The common career paths for graduates are to enhance their problem-solving skills and process management skills in their existing position and/or for future upper-level positions.

The typical job titles are mid-to upper-level Operations manager, Process improvement manager, consultant, and manufacturing engineer. The salary ranges can be between $90K to $130K.