Founded by Motorola and General Electric in the 1980s, Six Sigma is a set of tools, processes, and techniques for business process improvements. It accomplishes this by identifying, correcting, and removing the causes of process defects and then decreasing the negative variables within the manufacturing and business processes.
Six Sigma term is coined from the terminology related to the manufacturing industry. Specifically, the terminology related with the statistical modeling of the processes in manufacturing. The maturity of a manufacturing process can be defined by a sigma rating, which indicates the percentage of the defect-free products that are created by the manufacturer. A six sigma process simply means a process where 99.99966% of the manufactured products are expected to be free from all defects (0.00034% defect rate).
About Lean Six Sigma Black Belt
Black Belts all of their time to Six Sigma process. Black Belts work under the leadership of Master Black Belts on projects using the methods and techniques described in Six Sigma. Their main focus is on performing projects using Six Sigma process, whereas Champions and Master Black Belts place an emphasis on finding projects and defining the functions and requirements.
The roles and responsibilities of the Black Belt include:
- Be a leader with regard to Six Sigma technical expertise within an organization.
- Black Belt exhibits team leadership.
- Create and perform training sessions for individuals within your organization.
- Transfer to others the knowledge you learned.
- Educate and mentor other individuals in the organization that are involved in Six Sigma.
- Understanding team forces at work and allocates team members to roles and duties
- Raise the level aptitude with regard to Six Sigma within an organization.
- Black Belts exhibit a complete understanding in every single facet of the DMAIC model in line with the principles of Six Sigma.
- Foster a culture of constant advancement within the organization
- They exhibit mid to expert level knowledge of the various Lean enterprise theories
- Assist the upper management teams as a driver for improvements.
- Are able to identify value added features and undertakings and are able to use all of Six Sigma techniques.
- Be the lead for large and complicated assignments.
Six Sigma Black Belt certification information
The curriculum for Six Sigma Black Belt program was created so that the advanced statistical skills of certified Black Belts would progress to an even deeper level of expertise. The Lean Six Sigma Black Belt program varies from institution to institution. Most programs use a combination of classroom instruction, online courses, and practical application studies, with quizzes and exams used throughout the course of the program. See your higher learning institution program of choice for more details.
A Black Belt is a specialized expert who works full time as a team leader on various functional projects. Normally, a Black Belt has 4-6 weeks of in house training at a higher learning institution. He or she deals in Six Sigma methodology, statistical tools, and team-building skills. Generally speaking, upon completion of the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification program, students should be able to:
- Make use of statistical analysis software programs to improve the cost reductions within the organization.
- Lead quality improvement operations and be distinctively ready to serve as a mentor for other Six Sigma professionals (Green Belts, Yellow Belts, etc.)
- Be well versed in the basics of Six Sigma methodology.
- Understand the importance of their role in a successful Six Sigma deployment
- Effectively act as the lead on Lean Six Sigma projects
- Apply procedures learned in the DMAIC process to business processes
- Measure the competences of an enhanced product design
- Exhibit implementation planning practices
- Understand when to use Lean Six Sigma Black Belt as opposed to other process improvement methods.
- Apply various techniques to properly scope out projects
- Understand the key roles for projects
Expert review
I am a proud member of Six Sigma Black Belt community. I have been able to progress from Yellow Belt to Green Belt to Black Belt throughout my career. I now enjoy being regarded as an expert at my organization, and have been able to accomplish a great deal due to the skills I learned from Six Sigma. I am now the team lead in a project that is estimated to cut production costs by as much as 18%, allowing our organization to be more productive and competitive in the Industry. All in all, the extra effort and costs associated with this certification program as more than paid for itself.
Janet Thompson, Senior Project Analyst, Total Systems Manufacturing.
