Certificate in Manufacturing Excellence

The Certificate in Manufacturing / Service Excellence is Forward Vision's most frequently run programme of learning and development programmes aimed at operations managers, team leaders and support professionals. It is designed to accommodate the needs of client businesses seeking high-calibre training, but having to deal with operational constraints governing the release of key staff.

The Certificate programme delivers many of the fundamentals of the more comprehensive Diploma in Manufacturing Service Excellence. Typically of 12 - 17 days' duration, the Certificate programme offers considerable scope for customisation to suit clients' strategic and tactical goals. The programme is also frequently run as an open programme, often in partnership with MAS and or other support agencies enabling SMEs to acquire the kind of training that is too often only attainable by larger blue chip organisations. The open programme Forward Vision / MAS model is the version depicted below.

The Certificate programme is unique to Forward Vision and owes its ancestry to the production management and supervisory programmes developed and improved by Forward Vision's over almost two decades, and a unique ability to combine leadership skills with the tools and techniques of operational excellence.

Our goal remains to equip operations managers at first and second line level with the skills they needed to perform: to do the job they are paid to do and become the principal drivers of improvement in their organisations. Though far from the top of our agenda, successful participants in the programme are awarded the Certificate of Leadership from the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM).

Structure and Format

The programme comprises typically 6 one to three-day modules delivered over 4 - 6 months. In-house programmes are usually bespoke to organisational needs.

It totals some 100 - 160 hours of structured learning and coaching and a minimum of 20 hours of workplace assignments designed to transfer and consolidate new skills and knowledge as well as to bring real, sustainable improvements to participants' own workplaces.
Training media comprises tutorials, case studies, group discussion, practical simulations and the opportunity to assess operations, diagnose problems and improvement opportunities and make practical changes in the real factory.
The assignments are practically based: most involve instituting real changes and improvements in the workplace and providing evidence of the same.
Support coaching is given to individual participants between modules and participants encouraged to give each other support and exchange ideas and experience. Emphasis is on giving participants the support they need to achieve the desired standard.

Benefits

Participants are given leading edge operational knowledge and skills as practiced in some of the world's most competitive and productive organisations.
Participants enhance their capable and confidence in leading others.
The nature of the assignments brings about measurable improvements during the programme and client companies invariably find that these more than match its costs.
Participants develop a common language and terminology as well as a levelled-up understanding of disciplines and techniques.
The programme enables participants from different functions and or different locations or shifts within business to share ideas and develop mutually appreciative relationships.
All successful participants are awarded a prestigious, nationally recognised qualification: Certificate in Leadership from the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) Credits for this programme can contribute considerably to an 'upgrade' programme to enable an award to Diploma in Manufacturing / Service Excellence (qv).
The programme is aimed at NVQ levels 2 - 3 and is frequently supported by funding organisations.

Click here to download a pdf showing a typical Certificate programme's structure and content.