The Society of Manufacturing Engineers, the Association for Manufacturing Excellence, and the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing are collaborating with industry and academia in the development of a new industry standard for Lean Certification. This initiative is being driven by constituents of the participating organizations who encouraged a collaboration to set an industry standard for lean certification.
The new certification is designed for manufacturing professionals who have chosen to pursue lean in their career path, and who want recognition and credentials to illustrate both their knowledge and application of lean principles. Three unique aspects of the certification include "mentoring" by and of certification candidates, a "portfolio" to illustrate how lean principles were applied within an organization and an "examination" that assesses knowledge of lean principles.