Faculty Spotlight: Tina Agustiady

The Six Sigma Practitioner Explains How Lean Six Sigma Education and Certification Can Help Improve Career Potential

A passion for process improvement started the moment Six Sigma expert and Villanova University professor Tina Agustiady took an online course in Lean Six Sigma shortly after graduating from Ohio University with a degree in industrial and manufacturing systems engineering.

“I got involved in Lean Six Sigma right out of college after taking an online certification course that I now teach!” Agustiady said in an interview. “I thought the methodology made a great deal of sense and I couldn’t get enough of it.”

She’s taken her passion into teaching. Now a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt, Agustiady said despite her expertise she still learns something new every day by teaching.

“My students are my everything! They teach me and I teach them. The viral circle of learning and engagement keeps us all going and wanting to always be able to learn more,” Agustiady said.

Agustiady said she had “always heard that Villanova was a leading institution for Lean Six Sigma certifications,” which is one of the reasons she wanted to teach for the University. Another reason was the faculty.

“Once I started viewing the classes and working with people like Angela Heinbach, MS, HRD, [Assistant Director, Faculty Services] and Marv Meissner, MBA, [Professor of Practice], I was sold. Their engagement, intelligence and passion for the program made me want to learn more.”

“Once I discovered firsthand that Villanova was truly the best in Six Sigma education programs, I was honored to be part of the team.”

Author and Award Winner

Agustiady has put her passion for and knowledge of process improvement to use. She’s a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt (the pinnacle of Six Sigma expertise) and she teaches and helps design curriculum for Villanova’s online Lean Six Sigma courses. She’s also an award-winning author.

Agustiady co-authored “Design for Six Sigma: A Practical Approach through Innovation,” which won a Crosby medal. The medal is awarded by the American Society for Quality (ASQ) to authors who write books “contributing significantly to the extension of the philosophy and application of the principles, methods or techniques of quality management.”

She’s also authored or co-authored numerous books designed to be used by practicing Six Sigma professionals, including “Communication for Continuous Improvement Projects,” “Statistical Techniques for Project Control,” “Sustainability: Utilizing Lean Six Sigma Techniques” and “Total Productive Maintenance: Strategies and Implementation Guide.”

Agustiady also received the Feigenbaum medal from ASQ in 2016, given to individuals 35 or younger who display outstanding characteristics of leadership, professionalism and potential in the field of quality.

In her interview, Agustiady talks about her courses, how Lean Six Sigma certification impacts careers and why industries are implementing the methodology.

How do you keep students engaged in a 100% online classroom?

We ask a lot of questions and then discuss topics that appeal to everyone. Topics such as paradigm shifts and change management capture people’s attention. Also, teaching the students concepts on how to teach others Lean and Six Sigma makes them more engaged. We also discuss actual case studies applicable to our lives which engages the students as well.

How do you incorporate your professional experience into your teaching?

I give plenty of examples of the good, the bad and the ugly that I have been through. We then discuss how the good initiatives can be benchmarked, what we learned from them and how we can move forward.

In addition to the Lean Six Sigma certificate program, Villanova is a certifying body for Lean Six Sigma certification. What are the benefits of earning a Lean Six Sigma certification as a complement to the certificate program?

The credibility that the certification offers is something that is sought after from all industries. I get inquiries daily from companies asking me if I know a good Lean Six Sigma candidate.

How can a project manager apply knowledge of Lean Six Sigma into his or her role?

Once you become an expert in Lean and Six Sigma, you will automatically be sought after as a project manager. This is mainly because the process flows so well, and it is easy to use the skills from Lean Six Sigma and teach them to anyone. These experts can then begin managing projects which makes them natural project managers going forward.

In the last decade, the concepts of Lean, Six Sigma, Lean Six Sigma and other process improvement methodologies have been applied in a wide variety of industries. Why do you think we’ve seen such an expansion?

I think healthcare really jumped on board knowing that we cannot have any patient’s health at stake in any way, and these methodologies save defects from occurring no matter the industry. Government has also been on board giving many people grants to get certified in Lean and Six Sigma.

I recently started in insurance and even we are using the concepts. I do not see any industries that Six Sigma hasn’t touched, which is a great milestone.

Any examples you can share of successful Lean Six Sigma application?

Lean Six Sigma eliminates defects and waste and makes processes much more predictable. I recently went to a healthcare conference where Northern Westchester Hospital prioritized inpatient room turnarounds. There was a 30% improvement in cleaning rooms in the process and the utilization of Lean Six Sigma will help them reduce wait times.

Talk about how Six Sigma complements Agile, BPM, project management and other process improvement hybrid approaches.

The main focus here is to use actual data to make processes better. We need to eliminate waste and then focus on data-driven results. This very easy and common practice marries well with Business Process Management and Agile along with project management.

Do you have a favorite process improvement-related quote?

“Zero plus 100 equals 100. But so does 50 plus 50, only with more balance.” – Jarod Kintz
“The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.” – Warren Bennis