Six Sigma Belt Level Rankings
Professionals who earn Six Sigma certification become key
stakeholders in improving the quality of operations within their organizations.
They strive to eliminate variation in manufacturing and business operations by
implementing standard processes and establishing metrics that minimize the
potential for defects.
Many of today’s leading organizations synthesize Six Sigma
standardization practices with Lean manufacturing methods that cut waste to
make their organizations as efficient as possible. Some of the companies that
have successfully put Lean Six Sigma (LSS) principles into action include 3M,
Xerox, and BAE Systems. For businesses to achieve optimal results with these
initiatives, experts trained in the applicable tools and techniques must guide
enterprise-wide changes.
But what do Six Sigma belt levels mean? These certifications
indicate the roles that individuals are qualified to play in completing
projects and promoting quality management practices. An online lean six sigma
certificate program equips professionals to be active participants in
optimizing their company culture and avoiding downtime.
Get to know each of the rankings so you can build skills that
will help your company function more smoothly and advance your career.
White Belt
Professionals are considered Six Sigma White Belts if they
have not undergone a formal certification program or extended training. A
single session with an overview of relevant methods and vocabulary for LSS
shows workers at all levels of an organization how they contribute to
efficient, reliable outcomes. With this basic grounding, White Belts
participate in projects and problem-solving tasks related to quality management
and waste reduction.
Yellow Belt
A Yellow Belt designation indicates an exposure to Six Sigma
concepts that goes beyond the fundamentals provided for a White Belt. Yellow
Belts may have attended training sessions over a day or two, developing the
knowledge they need be assigned to a project as fully contributing team
members. They may guide limited-scope projects and assist managers at higherbelt levels.
Green Belt
Earning a Green Belt certification requires professionals to
attend a full course that introduces them to Six Sigma methods for developing
and improving products, services and processes. They learn to apply
problem-solving frameworks such as DMAIC: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and
Control. This improvement cycle lays out a series of steps to understand the
problems in a business process, set useful metrics for measuring changes,
examine relevant data, implement solutions and then sustain the results over
time.
Green Belt training is valuable for individuals in roles like
project management, health care administration or financial management, giving
them an understanding of performance metrics and tools like control charts and
Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA). After certification, professionals
are ready to take charge of projects, making the connections between LSS
concepts and the goals of their organization. They can put leadership tools
into action, find chances to eliminate waste and glean useful insights from
data.
Black Belt
After completing their Green Belt courses, leaders may take
their skills to next level by pursuing Six Sigma Black Belt certification. This advanced
training requires previous knowledge of LSS strategies as professionals master
the skills they need to plan, lead and explain more complex and expansive
projects or organizational changes. Students in a Black Belt-level course
acquire a rigorous understanding of how to drive organization-wide changes,
analyze statistics, deploy Lean principles and supervise projects for a team of
Green Belts.
During a Black Belt-level course, professionals demonstrate
what they’ve learned and gain hands-on experience by conducting a project for
their employer or a nonprofit organization. By setting down a project charter,
collecting data and employing Six Sigma tools in a real-world context, students
develop the abilities they need to make their businesses more productive and
increase customer satisfaction.
Black Belts go on to execute LSS projects, monitor results
and manage team dynamics. They run quality improvement and Lean efforts with
the potential to make a significant impact on company-wide productivity.
Master Black Belt
A seasoned Black Belt with strong leadership and
problem-solving skills can go on to become a Master Black Belt in LSS. This
designation indicates that an expert takes a broad view of strategy throughout
a business, coordinating teams across
Champion
A Champion is an upper-level manager who leads LSS strategy
and deployment. Based on the objectives set by executive leadership, Champions
ensure that all initiatives to lower waste and remove defects come together in
alignment with a company’s needs for growth. Aided by Master Black Belts, these
managers mentor the leaders involved in LSS implementation and track their
progress.
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