Black Belt Lean course
An in-depth Black Belt in Lean for strategic improvement leaders
The Black Belt in Lean is designed for professionals who want to use Lean as a transformation system. You move beyond isolated tools and learn to design, lead and embed improvement programs in strategy, flow, cost, behavior and leadership.
In-depth certification program for Lean/TPS transformation.
Focus on value streams, systems thinking and change leadership.
Relevant for improvement leaders, managers, engineers and operations professionals.
Designed for people who want to deepen Green Belt capability or lead larger programs.
Description
This Black Belt in Lean program is our most in-depth, certified Lean training in Belgium and the Netherlands. Over 22 days, you will learn how Lean works as a structured, principle-based business strategy to organize activities smarter and achieve business objectives more effectively.
The ultimate goal is clear: deliver maximum customer value—with the highest quality, at the lowest cost, and with the shortest lead time. You will learn what Black Belt in Lean can mean in daily operations and improvement work, across manufacturing, office environments, healthcare, and service organizations. The foundational Lean principles are universal and transferable across sectors.
Experience & Teaching Approach
Since 1993, we have been teaching Lean as a business strategy applicable in every domain (manufacturing, office, service, healthcare). Topics that are covered in depth include Value Stream Mapping, Mixed Model VSM, Supply Chain, Lean Office/Service tools, Six Sigma, Hoshin Kanri, and Change Management, enabling you to design, coach, and support successful Lean implementations in your organization.
Our trainers combine extensive Lean practice with a strong academic background and work with in-depth, real-life cases and examples throughout the program.
Certification & Recognition
Van Goubergen P&M – Lean Academy is a registered service provider within the KMO-portefeuille (Belgium). Our training activities are ISO 9001:2015 certified by the British Standards Institute (BSI).
Prerequisites
This training can be followed without any specific prerequisite.
Basic knowledge of statistics will be beneficial for Module 3 (Six Sigma tools)
Participants who already have a certificate of Black Belt in Six Sigma can request to be exempt from Module 3 (Six Sigma).
Benefits
With a deep mastery of Lean strategy and advanced improvement techniques, participants are equipped
to lead and sustain impactful Lean transformations across their organization.
- Follow the complete Lean journey, from foundational tools to strategic organizational design
- Apply Lean principles across multiple environments, including manufacturing, office, service,
and healthcare settings - Work with real-life case studies, simulation exercises, and expert coaching grounded in practice
- Improve customer satisfaction by reducing lead times, stabilizing processes,
and lowering operational cost - Exchange insights and experiences with peers from diverse industries and functional backgrounds
- Benefit from a certified training program (ISO 9001:2015), eligible for subsidies in Flanders (Belgium)
Contents
Program Structure: 4 Modules
Module 1 — Lean Foundations
(Green Belt in Lean equivalent)
We start with Module 1, which corresponds to our Green Belt in Lean training.
In this 8-day module, we deepen your understanding of Lean as a strategy and thoroughly study a core set of Lean tools.
The focus is always on value streams—how organizations create and deliver value to customers.
Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is central, both for production and for office/service environments,
as a practical method to map, analyze, and improve value streams.
You will learn to identify waste in business processes and how to reduce or eliminate it to design better flow.
Core techniques include:
- Problem analysis and solution building using Toyota’s 8-step approach
- Pull / Kanban systems
- Standard Work
- Visual Management
- Jidoka
- TPM
- SMED (setup time reduction)
Module 2 — Advanced Value Stream Improvement
In Module 2, the concepts from Module 1 are expanded into more complex situations: value streams with many product variants,
different work contents, crossing flows, and more. The goal is to create breakthrough results using advanced
techniques in manufacturing, supply chain, and office/service environments.
Module 3 — Six Sigma Techniques Supporting Lean
Module 3 focuses on relevant Six Sigma techniques that strengthen Lean implementations.
The objective is to identify and reduce variation, so waste decreases and value streams function more reliably and efficiently.
Module 4 — Designing a Lean Organization
We conclude with Module 4, which addresses the design of a Lean organization.
This module covers supporting management practices and the cultural and change aspects that determine whether Lean sustains.
Topics include:
- Communication and change management
- (Daily) standard work for leaders based on visual management
- Human Resources Development (HRD) strategy to support Lean
- Lean cost calculation and accounting, including:
- Financially quantifying flow improvements
- Building a value stream-driven cost model to support engineering and product development decisions
This module blends theory with practical experience and real-life testimonies from guest lecturers,
including professionals from Toyota, Johnson & Johnson, and Mars Food Europe.
Agenda
This training is a 22-day course, followed by a certification exam.
Module 1Green Belt (8 days)
Day 1 — Introduction to Lean Thinking
- What is Lean and where does it come from
- Core Lean principles explained through a hands-on LEGO simulation
- Lean as a business strategy for smarter organization of activities
- the hard side (processes, flow, tools)
- the soft side (people, leadership, culture)
- Lean explained through four core themes
- Value versus Waste
- Flow in Value Streams
- Visual Management
- Striving for perfection: Kaizen culture and Lean leadership
- Overview of the main Lean pillars and foundational tools based on the Toyota Production System (TPS)
Days 2–3 — Value Stream Mapping (Production)
- Fundamentals of Value Stream Mapping (VSM) in production environments
- Mapping the value stream from raw material to finished product
- Designing an improved future state and defining a focused action plan with relevant Kaizen initiatives
- How to achieve breakthrough improvement through value stream design based on eight Lean design principles, instead of traditional brainstorming
Day 4 — Structured Problem Solving (Toyota Business Practice)
- Effective problem analysis and problem solving using Toyota Business Practice (TBP)
- The 8-step problem-solving approach based on PDCA, A3 thinking, and 5 Whys
- Taught in the way Toyota trains its own employees, by a Toyota Master Trainer
- Practical case study with explicit attention to common pitfalls in problem solving
Day 5 — Kanban/Pull Systems; Operational Stability with TPM
- Pull and Kanban systems
- What are pull systems
- Different implementation forms
- Pull/Kanban as a strategy to control inventory and lead time by managing material and information flow
- Operational stability as a prerequisite for flow
- Improving equipment reliability through Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)
- OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) as a performance indicator
Day 6 — 5S & Standard Work; Jidoka Built in Quality
- Operational stability through Standard Work and 5S
- Designing effective visual standards for workplaces and processes
- Reducing waste (searching, quality defects, rework) while improving safety and consistency
- Standards as the starting point for continuous improvement (Kaizen)
- The Jidoka pillar and quality from a Lean perspective
- Poka-Yoke: designing processes that prevent or detect human error
- Andon: visual signaling systems to detect abnormalities early
- Autonomation: separating man and machine so processes stop automatically when problems occur
- Visual management to make disturbances and waste visible in the flow
Day 7 — Lean in Office, Service & Healthcare
- Translating the Lean/TPS approach to non-production environments
- Differences and challenges in administrative, service, healthcare, and support processes
- Business Process Value Stream Mapping (BPVSM)
- Mapping service and transactional processes
- Developing an implementation roadmap for breakthrough improvements in office and service environments, based on an 8-step approach
Day 8 — BPVSM Part 2; SMED
- Business Process Value Stream Mapping — Part 2
- SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Dies) for setup time reduction
- Why flexibility is critical in Lean
- How shorter changeover times lead directly to:
- cost reduction
- lower inventory
- increased flexibility
- SMED as a structured improvement process rather than a technical trick
- A proven approach, based on experience from 150+ SMED improvement initiatives
Module 2Advanced Lean Techniques
Days 9–11 — Advanced Value Stream Design
- Mixed Model Value Stream Design: product families typically consist of a wide range of products with different work content, setup times, and processing requirements
- How to improve flow in complex value streams with high product variety
- Managing shared resources (people, workstations, lines) that are used across multiple value streams
- Designing improved flow despite complexity, resulting in:
- shorter lead times
- lower operational cost
- more predictable performance
Day 12 — Internal Logistics & Lean Material Handling
- Why well-designed value streams fail when internal logistics are not aligned
- Typical internal logistics “flow stoppers” and how to eliminate them
- Designing internal logistics to support and protect the main value stream
- Guest lecture by a practitioner from TE Connectivity, where these principles are deeply implemented in practice
Day 13 — Lean Supply Chain Design
- Understanding the value stream beyond a single organization: from suppliers to end customers
- Connecting suppliers, producers, customers, and consumers into one integrated value stream
- Applying Lean principles at supply chain level to achieve flow breakthroughs
- Using Macro / Extended Value Stream Mapping to design improved material and information flows across the supply chain
Day 14 — Lean Tools for Office & Service Environments
- Expanding the Lean toolbox for more effective implementation in office and service environments
- Techniques covered include:
- Overhead Value Analysis
- Contactograms
- Written communication analysis
- Meeting structure analysis
- Variable Factor Programming (VFP) for value streams with high variability
- Multi Moment Observations (MMO / Work Sampling)
- Quantifying waste and improvement potential in environments with variable tasks and work content
Day 15 — Service & Office Lean Simulation
- Hands-on simulation game illustrating Lean principles in a service and office environment
- Multiple value streams and shared resources within one system
- Applying Business Process Value Stream Mapping and Lean Design for Flow principles
- Achieving breakthrough improvement in an office/service context based on previously learned techniques
Day 16 (Part 1) — Lean Design for Flow
- Lean traditionally focuses on improving existing processes by eliminating waste
- Critical reflection: how much waste is actually created during poor initial process design?
- Designing processes right the first time using Lean principles
- The role of Engineering and process design in sustainable Lean implementations
Module 3Six Sigma tools to support Lean
Module 4Building a Lean Organisation
Day 19 — Lean and Change, HRD
- Human Resources Development (HRD) at Toyota:
- how HR actively steers and supports Lean implementation
- Role of leadership development, capability building, and coaching in sustaining Lean
- Guest lecture by a former Toyota Motor Europe master trainer and Kaizen manager
- Lean and Change Management:
- how to design, launch, and guide change in complex organizations
- Practical insights
Days 20–21 — Accounting for Lean & Value Stream Costing
- Why traditional cost accounting and financial reporting fail to show improvements in flow
- How conventional accounting systems can unintentionally stimulate overproduction
— the worst form of waste - Understanding why short-term financial results may appear negative after Lean improvements
- Introduction to Value Stream Costing and Throughput Accounting as alternative management accounting approaches
- Making the financial impact of flow improvements visible and measurable
- Using value stream–driven cost models to support:
- investment decisions
- portfolio management
- engineering and product development choices
- Case Study 1:
Value stream cost model at plant level, including:- comparison of current vs. future state
- financial impact of an investment decision
- introduction of a new product
- Case Study 2:
End-to-end supply chain cost model, analyzing different future-state scenarios related to:- transport modes
- supplier locations
- conversion costs and value stream compression
Day 22 — Lean Operating Systems & Culture
- Lean Culture at Johnson & Johnson:
- How to achieve a sustainable cultural shift through a structured and thoughtful approach
- Practical insights into communication, leadership behavior, and consistency as drivers of cultural change
- Guest lecture by the former GM Manufacturing of Johnson & Johnson Pharma (Janssen) in Belgium
- Lean Operating Systems & Daily Management,
- illustrated with a real-life case at Mars Food Europe
- Guest lecture by the Lean Manager of Mars Olen (Belgium)
Target audience
Manufacturing & Industrial Environments
- Managers and operational managers
- Functional managers
- Quality managers
- Supply chain and logistics managers
- Production directors
- Industrial engineers
- Lean specialists and Lean coaches
- Professionals focused on improving production and supporting value streams
Office & Service Environments
- Department heads and office managers
- Middle and senior management
- Entrepreneurs and self-employed professionals
- Professionals in liberal professions
- Lean specialists and Lean coaches
- Professionals aiming to improve administrative and service flows
Healthcare Sector
- Chief physicians and senior medical staff
- Functional and quality managers
- Department heads
- Middle and senior management
- Lean specialists and Lean coaches
- Professionals aiming to improve processes for the benefit of the patient
The Black Belt in Lean program is designed for professionals who want to lead complex improvement initiatives
by applying Lean as a structured, principle-based business strategy, regardless of sector.
Testimonials
“Learning how to create a cultural shift doesn’t happen in just a few days. It requires the right training with the right content. Dirk is an inspirer who keeps you sharp throughout the extensive program. I’ve learned what Lean Management truly means because Dirk really dives into its essence. Thanks to that, I now understand what changes are needed to build a Lean organization — and with success! The tools we received during the sessions I now apply step by step at the production site where I work. I can ‘translate’ it much better to my team. I see the results — not only financially, but also in the calm that emerges in our departments, simply by creating time.”
Helga van de Voort Bedrijfsleider @Vion Boxtel
“Exactly what I needed: strong focus on Lean in office environments, change management and culture. Case studies and company visits added real impact.”
Edith De Prins, Quality Manager, Telenet
“Thorough and highly engaging. Real-world applications made it easy to link theory to practice. If you want to master Lean beyond tools, this is the program.”
Hanneke Tijl, Site Manager, Vion
“The program transferred the real Lean mindset. I launched a ‘best in class’ project that won our company’s Philips Excellence Award.”
Matt Peters, Operational Excellence Lead, Philips HealthSystems
” After 10 years I still look back with much enthusiasm to the Black Belt in Lean training that I followed at the Van Goubergen P&M Lean Academy. The principles we have learned are highly valued within Daikin and form the basis for many of our kaizen activities and projects
Jeroen Boury, Co-Department Manager Production Engineering, Daikin Europe
Trainers
Program director en eigenaar van Lean Academy
Dirk Van Goubergen
Prof. dr. ir Dirk van Goubergen has more than 30 years of practical and academic experience in the field of industrial engineering, operations management, lean/operational excellence and value stream design. He worked in all continents with leaders at all levels and employees for companies such as Toyota Motor Europe, Volvo, Mars, Philips, Amazon, Daikin, TE Connectivity, Johnson&Johnson, Delphi Technologies and many others.
Former HR Manager en Master Trainer Toyota Motor Europe
Jan Hermans
Jan is a master trainer for all Toyota Global Content training courses, including PDCA, Performance Management, A3 Consensus Building & Communication, and Problem Solving. Jan was a Management & Leadership Development specialist at Toyota Motor Europe. He currently serves on the board of directors of a Dutch company.
Sr. Trainer/Coach bij Van Goubergen P&M - Lean Academy
Herman De Rom
Herman worked at Volvo Cars as Head of Logistics Engineering, as Operations Director and as Group Senior Lean Director. At INEX, he worked as Operations Director. Herman provides, among other things, the training sessions on Total Productive Maintenance (TPM).
Sr. Trainer/Coach bij Van Goubergen P&M - Lean Academy
Raf Mues
Raf is a certified master trainer in Toyota Global Content and TPS courses, including TBP (Toyota Business Practices), Hoshin Kanri, A3/PDCA Thinking. Before joining the Lean Academy, he lived and breathed TPS and the Toyota Way for almost 30 years at Toyota Motor Europe where he held several operational management roles, including leading and supporting Kaizen initiatives across warehouse operations.
Vice President Manufacturing Engineering bij Volvo Cars
Luc Semeese
Luc has an extensive career at Volvo Cars, with a background in Logistics, Engineering, global Supplier Quality, and as Plant Manager in Chengdu (China). He speaks about improving flow in internal support processes and material delivery.
Senior expert in sustainability en quality
Dirk Inghels
Dirk is a passionate leader and entrepreneur with a unique mix of scientific depth and practical business experience. With a strong background in engineering, quality, EHS, and sustainable operations, he helps companies turn complex challenges into concrete, long-term solutions. His expertise bridges academic research and real-world practice, combining strategic insight with hands-on impact.
Lean Manager bij Mars Food Europe
Patrick Wilms
Patrick has nearly thirty years of experience working on Lean at Mars, formerly Masterfoods. He brings practical expertise in improving standards and developing leadership through Daily Management.
Certification
Theory exam
✓ 50 multiple choice questions Green Belt in Lean – 90 minutes (physical presence) – Incl 1 re-examination
✓ 50 multiple choice questions Black Belt in Lean – 90 minutes (physical presence) – Incl 1 re-examination
Practical exam
✓ Successfully implement and document a Lean improvement initiative in your own organisation at value stream level. This case must be defended before a jury of Lean leaders and experts
✓ Incl. 1 re-examination
For additional exams there is an administrative fee of 250€ per exam.
Practical details and subsidies
Discounts
Organisations registering multiple participants for the same trainings sessions on the same dates benefit from the following reductions:
Second participant: 5%
Third participant: 10%
Fourth and subsequent participants: 15%
Subsidies
For participants from Flanders (Belgium):
This training is recognized by the Flemish government for KMO Portefeuille and VOV (Vlaams Opleidingsverlof)
KMO Portefeuille Registration Number Van Goubergen P&M : DV.O100454 (‘Personeelsmanagement’)
Number of Training Hours : 132 Hours – Maximum subsidy amount : 8.505 euro
Registration Number of this training for Vlaamse opleidingsincentives (VOV): ODB-0003205
Click here for more information
For participants from food industry (Belgium):
This training is also supported by Alimento/IPV for organisations in food industry in Belgium.
Drinks and Meal
Residential Kick-Off in Blankenberge
Cold and hot drinks during the day are included in the training fee, as well as lunch and dinner.
Roosenberg sessions:
Cold and hot drinks are included in the training fee.
A light meal is served around 16:45.
Sessions typically run from 13:30 to 20:30, unless otherwise stated.
Location
The residential 3 day kick-off takes place at Hotel Aazaert, Blankenberge. Hotel cost at a reduced group rate needs to be paid by the participant at the hotel.
The rest of the training takes place at Roosenberg, Patotterijstraat 1, 9250 Waasmunster, where free parking is available.
Optional
- COACHING Additionally to our open training we offer optional individual off-line coaching during or after the training. The cost is 960 euros excluding VAT for 4 sessions of 1 hour. Alternatively we can provide, on simple request, a time budget for the (on/offline) coaching and further follow-up.
Contact
Feel free to contact us for
questions related to our
training. You can also check out
our FAQ.
Are you looking for in-company
training? Drop us a message on
academy@vangoubergen.com
and we will get back to you.
Frequently asked questions about Black Belt in Lean
These answers help you compare Black Belt Lean courses and choose between Green Belt, upgrade and Black Belt.
What is a Black Belt in Lean?
A Black Belt in Lean is an improvement leader who can apply Lean/TPS strategically, with focus on value stream design, change, coaching, breakthrough improvement and embedding Lean in the management system.
Who is the Black Belt Lean course for?
It is designed for managers, improvement leaders, engineers, operations professionals and people who want to lead larger Lean initiatives or support transformation.
Do I need Green Belt first?
A strong Lean foundation is useful. Participants who completed Lean Academy's Green Belt can also progress through the Green to Black Belt upgrade program.
What do I learn beyond Green Belt?
Black Belt deepens strategy, value stream design, advanced improvement tools, value stream costing, change leadership and larger improvement program leadership.
