Inside the General Electric warehouse in Suffolk, Virginia, a group of junior enlisted Sailors and senior officers attached to the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) attended Lean Six Sigma Green Belt training to learn ways to improve naval practices.

The training is a week long, and the students simulate how to run a small corporation. Throughout the class, students learn business tools and conduct simulations to see how those practices work. By the end of the class, students get to see what they have learned and how those lessons can be used to improve daily operations.

"Lean Six Sigma are tools used in the civilian sector that the Navy has adopted to go through and evaluate how processes work throughout the Navy, and systematically make them better," said Aviation Electronics Technician 1st Class Robert Rubano, leading petty officer of Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. "The Navy decided to use this training to improve workflow due to changes that have occurred over the years."

Now that George Washington is going through the refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) process, this new training can improve procedures.

"We've looked into a few processes and analyzed the data from prior ships that went into the shipyards on how they were doing it," said Rubano. "We took a lot of their lessons learned and implemented new processes on our ship to prevent us from going down some of those paths. We want to be a little more efficient going into the Shipboard Consolidated Offload and Outfitting Plan (SCOOP) phase, and more efficient off-loading equipment and inventorying it. Where other ships may have lost inventory or lost control of things, we want to head that off using Lean Six Sigma."

The class is set up to give Sailors of all ranks new skills to improve how they work. Junior Sailors work side-by-side with senior Sailors to learn skills needed to run a successful corporation.

"The junior Sailors are able to come in with a fresh mind and bring a new perspective to tasks," said Rubano. "Whereas senior Sailors have more of a black-and-white view and say 'If that's how we have to do it, then that's how we will do it.' Having both together allows both parties to learn how to think outside the box and get the process completed."

The Lean Six Sigma Green Belt program can be used to help Sailors with more than just improving Navy procedures.

"This class is important to help Sailors learn how to organize their office and give a new perspective on how to improve day-to-day operations," said Chief Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Handling) Terrell Jones. "This is something Sailors can use in their personal life and their Navy life. The tools you learn can stay with you forever. It's more than just a class, you learn life skills."

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