## Six Sigma Training: Why You Need to Join?

All businesses have a common  goal of achieving the sustainable growth rate as per planning and available resources. But many of these fail to meet the expected growth rate, despite offering the premium quality at a competitive price. The emergence of new players in volatile and competitive global market makes the challenges more complex. Guided implementation of Lean and Six Sigma methodologies in the manufacturing and transactional  processes eliminates the causes of poor product quality, variations in processes and low profitability. The Lean Six Sigma certified experts help the businesses to move on the structured roadmap of sustainable success pattern.   What is Six Sigma?     “Six Sigma” refers to the effectiveness of the processes for the output, ensuring defined specifications and high degree precision. Six Sigma, data-driven process improvement methodology was introduced by Bill Smith & Mikel J Harry in 1986. The data-driven rather than guesswork approach for introducing improvement programs makes Six Sigma more reliable and effective. The statistical Six Sigma representation describes the process performance quantitatively. Six Sigma methodology has been effective in a myriad of different sized industries to improve the customers’ satisfaction in parallel to cost reduction. The growth of Six Sigma methodology is inspired by the preceding period of inventing and implementing quality improvement techniques such as TQM, Zero Defects etc. In general, the processes powered with six sigma methodology ensures the defect levels below 3.4 DPMO (defects per million opportunities); while the defect is considered as the non-conformity of product/service to the defined specifications. Six Sigma Powered With Lean: Lean  is the structured process management approach developed for maximizing flow and eliminating waste. The Lean organization understands and implements the Lean practices seamlessly across the functional and operational areas. The organizations striving for extreme perfection in the competitive global marketing environment have accepted Lean deployment as a tool to face the challenges pertaining to production cost reduction and faster delivery. Combining the time-tested powers of Lean and Six Sigma works wonders for the businesses by delivering exceptional financial gains.      Why Do Businesses Need Lean Six Sigma Experts? Businesses use Lean Six Sigma methodologies to reduce the variations in products & processes, but the commonly experienced benefits of Six Sigma introduction are – shorter cycle time, fewer defects, increased delivering capacity, lower costs because of reduced waste, improved revenues, reduced capital expenditure etc. In addition, the successful Lean Six Sigma deployment develops the culture among the employees and associated stakeholders to apply the innovative data-driven problem-solving approach. The systematic and pervasive deployment of Six Sigma helps organizations to reduce COPQ (Cost of Poor Quality) also. The increasing demand for Lean Six Sigma certified professionals confirms the benefits experienced by the businesses directly or indirectly. The more in common experienced unexpected benefits of Lean Six Sigma deployment include:    Better Time Management    Reduced Cycle Time    Waste Reduction    Smoother Operation    Improved Customers’ Loyalty    Strategic Planning For Long Term Benefits    Enhanced Employee Motivation    More Effective Supply Chain Management …. Lean Six Sigma Training at Different Levels:     Leading management consultancy institutes and companies provide instructor-led Six Sigma certification training through classroom and virtual modules. Six Sigma training is provided at different levels to facilitate even the beginners: Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification: It is an advanced level Lean Six Sigma certification course. Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification provide guidance on the application of Six Sigma principles to specific process improvement projects. Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification: Lean Six Sigma Green Belt professionals are supposed to help the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt professionals for successful implementation of lean and Six Sigma methodologies for quality improvement and better profitability. Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certification: It is the basic level certification designed for the management professionals willing to add new dimensions to their competence. The successful completion of Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt certification makes them eligible to work and learn in association with Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and Black Belt holders.

# Six Sigma Training: Why You Need to Join?

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All businesses have a common  goal of achieving the sustainable growth rate as per planning and available resources. But many of these fail to meet the expected growth rate, despite offering the premium quality at a competitive price. The emergence of new players in volatile and competitive global market makes the challenges more complex. Guided implementation of Lean and Six Sigma methodologies in the manufacturing and transactional  processes eliminates the causes of poor product quality, variations in processes and low profitability. The Lean Six Sigma certified experts help the businesses to move on the structured roadmap of sustainable success pattern.

What is Six Sigma?

“Six Sigma” refers to the effectiveness of the processes for the output, ensuring defined specifications and high degree precision. Six Sigma, data-driven process improvement methodology was introduced by Bill Smith & Mikel J Harry in 1986. The data-driven rather than guesswork approach for introducing improvement programs makes Six Sigma more reliable and effective. The statistical Six Sigma representation describes the process performance quantitatively. Six Sigma methodology has been effective in a myriad of different sized industries to improve the customers’ satisfaction in parallel to cost reduction.

The growth of Six Sigma methodology is inspired by the preceding period of inventing and implementing quality improvement techniques such as TQM, Zero Defects etc. In general, the processes powered with six sigma methodology ensures the defect levels below 3.4 DPMO (defects per million opportunities); while the defect is considered as the non-conformity of product/service to the defined specifications.

Six Sigma Powered With Lean:

Lean  is the structured process management approach developed for maximizing flow and eliminating waste. The Lean organization understands and implements the Lean practices seamlessly across the functional and operational areas. The organizations striving for extreme perfection in the competitive global marketing environment have accepted Lean deployment as a tool to face the challenges pertaining to production cost reduction and faster delivery. Combining the time-tested powers of Lean and Six Sigma works wonders for the businesses by delivering exceptional financial gains.

Why Do Businesses Need Lean Six Sigma Experts?

Businesses use Lean Six Sigma methodologies to reduce the variations in products & processes, but the commonly experienced benefits of Six Sigma introduction are – shorter cycle time, fewer defects, increased delivering capacity, lower costs because of reduced waste, improved revenues, reduced capital expenditure etc. In addition, the successful Lean Six Sigma deployment develops the culture among the employees and associated stakeholders to apply the innovative data-driven problem-solving approach. The systematic and pervasive deployment of Six Sigma helps organizations to reduce COPQ (Cost of Poor Quality) also.

The increasing demand for Lean Six Sigma certified professionals confirms the benefits experienced by the businesses directly or indirectly. The more in common experienced unexpected benefits of Lean Six Sigma deployment include:

•    Better Time Management
•    Reduced Cycle Time
•    Waste Reduction
•    Smoother Operation
•    Improved Customers’ Loyalty
•    Strategic Planning For Long Term Benefits
•    Enhanced Employee Motivation
•    More Effective Supply Chain Management ….

Lean Six Sigma Training at Different Levels:

Leading management consultancy institutes and companies provide instructor-led Six Sigma certification training through classroom and virtual modules. Six Sigma training is provided at different levels to facilitate even the beginners:

• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification: It is an advanced level Lean Six Sigma certification course. Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification provide guidance on the application of Six Sigma principles to specific process improvement projects.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification: Lean Six Sigma Green Belt professionals are supposed to help the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt professionals for successful implementation of lean and Six Sigma methodologies for quality improvement and better profitability.
• Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certification: It is the basic level certification designed for the management professionals willing to add new dimensions to their competence. The successful completion of Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt certification makes them eligible to work and learn in association with Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and Black Belt holders.

### Shubhranshu Agarwal

Freelance content writer

Shubhranshu Agarwal is a technical writer with special interest in business management and project management subjects. Over the 15 years of freelance content writing, he has written a lot to help the industries, businesses and project managers to achieve the sustainable growth by implementing strategic critical management methodologies.

## 5 Advantages Of Implementing Six Sigma

Six Sigma is one of the popular process improvement techniques used in the industry. It was invented back in 1986 by an engineer named Bill Smith while he was working at Motorola. The main motive of introducing this technique was to decrease the number of defective products produced in the factory. This, in turn, improves the overall efficiency of the factory and the overall profits of the organization. The goal of reducing the defective products is achieved by following a sequence of steps and by using statistics. Let’s find out the main advantages of implementing Six Sigma in a factory. Advantage #1 – Customer is king This is a motto followed by most organizations. The customer gives the order for a particular set of products and the factory has to fulfill that demand. Six Sigma aims at doing exactly that but, at a faster rate. There are techniques involved that are used to exceed the expectations of the customer. The first step towards achieving this is by reducing the number of defective pieces produced in the factory as this will reduce the amount of time required to manufacture products which will ensure that the customer gets his product sooner. Advantage #2 – Employee Encouragement The employees of an organization will work enthusiastically only if they are driven and realize that they are making a difference to the company. The tools provided by Six Sigma aid employment development which will motivate the employees to work harder in their respective jobs. According to a survey it was found that companies that thoroughly implemented Six Sigma tools and techniques in their factories saw a 25-50 percent growth in productivity because their employees were completely engaged in their work. Advantage #3 – Planning Strategies Six Sigma helps in planning various strategies for the company and not only in the manufacturing process. It can help the company reach its vision and stay true to its mission. Every business carries out a SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat) analysis which helps them identify their own qualities. In order to succeed, they need to focus more on their weakness and improve it instead of just focusing on their strengths and being satisfied with it. Six Sigma can help even in converting those weaknesses into strengths. For example, if the vision of a company is to sell quality goods at reasonable prices, Six Sigma can be implemented to reduce the cost of goods by eliminating complexity, improving the supply, gaining cheapest supplier agreements etc. Advantage #4 – Supply Chain Management Suppliers play a pivotal role in the manufacturing or assembling process of every factory. They can either make or break the productivity of the company. If the products delivered by them are delayed, it could delay all the processes of the factory. Using Six Sigma this problem can be eradicated. Using the Six Sigma methodology by which the number or suppliers required for a particular process can be reduced. This will ensure that lesser defective products are produced. Advantage #5 – Lower Cycle time Cycle time is defined as the amount of time taken to complete one entire cycle of an operation from start to finish. If a company needs to assemble/manufacture products at a faster rate, it first needs to reduce its cycle time. What most companies tend to do most of the time is to immediately begin the process without proper planning. By doing this, they end up crossing the deadline and straining the relationship with the customer. As per the rules of Six Sigma, the business should set up a team of individuals at all levels of the company. These individuals will have the major task of identifying and resolving the problems that are hindering the assembly/manufacturing process. Once these problems are resolved, the company can achieve shorter cycle times and deliver the product at a faster rate. Six Sigma is being used by many companies around the world and is popular mainly because of its success rate. The organisations that have successfully implemented Six Sigma have already achieved or are in the process of achieving their goals. If you’re interested in learning more about Six Sigma and its various principles, enrol for a Six Sigma classroom training or online training course.
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5 Advantages Of Implementing Six Sigma

Six Sigma is one of the popular process improvemen... Read More

## Six Sigma Belts and Certifications Demystified

Six Sigma is a business improvement methodology that was first used in the 1980s by companies like Motorola and Honeywell. By the 1990s, a long list of Fortune 500 companies had adopted Six Sigma in an effort to increase quality (and profits) by eliminating defects, service failures, and waste. Today, companies in almost every industry use Six Sigma to improve their operations, bottom-lines, and customer satisfaction. All Six Sigma projects are managed using a set of tools and techniques across five phases known as the DMAIC framework: define, measure, analyze, improve, and control. Using statistical analysis, Six Sigma teams work to fix processes so they’re 99.997% defect-free, which translates to only 3.4 defects per million. Six Sigma projects are managed by individuals with specific titles, roles, training, and certifications. These roles are identified by a hierarchical belt structure with darker belts representing roles that require more experience and training: white belt, yellow belt, green belt, black belt, and master black belt. White Belts Six Sigma white belts are engaged at the first level of the Six Sigma process and have a basic understanding of Six Sigma concepts. They’re responsible for connecting with the next highest belt (green belts) to solve specific problems at a local level. Often, white belts are called upon to support an overall Six Sigma project but aren’t actually on the Six Sigma team. Certification: Neither of the widely recognized Six Sigma certifying organizations, the International Association for Six Sigma Certification (IASSC) or the American Society for Quality (ASQ), offer a Six Sigma white belt certification. However, some universities and companies do offer this level of certification. Yellow Belts The yellow belt is the first level of Six Sigma certification. Yellow belts are Six Sigma team members who report to green belts. They understand the basics of Six Sigma, including the first three phases of the DMAIC framework: define, measure, and analyze. Yellow belts are responsible for reviewing process improvements in support of a Six Sigma project. Certification: To obtain a Yellow Belt certification, you must pass a 60 question exam. Green Belts Six Sigma green belts are usually at the manager level and report to Six Sigma black belts. They’re considered to be the worker bees of a Six Sigma project because they do most of the data collection and analysis work. Green belts are knowledgeable on all phases of the DMAIC framework. Experienced green belts might lead small Six Sigma projects. Certification: To obtain a Six Sigma green belt certification, you must have three years of work experience in one or more areas of the Six Sigma Green Belt Body of Knowledge (e.g., process improvement), and that experience must have been in a paying role. You are also required to pass the 1.5 hour, 100-question green belt certification exam. Black Belts Six Sigma black belts lead Six Sigma projects, green belts, and teams. They are Six Sigma experts with a great deal of experience. Black belts interface with executives and ensure Six Sigma project goals are met. They also act as coaches to people with lower level belts. Certification: To obtain a Six Sigma black belt certification, you must have green belt experience and have completed two Six Sigma projects with signed affidavits. In addition, you have to pass the 4-hour exam, which includes 150 questions. Master Black Belts Six Sigma master black belts act as trainers and coaches to people with lower-level belts. Their role is typically strategic rather than project-based and focuses on Six Sigma at the program and enterprise level. Certification: To obtain a Six Sigma master black belt certification, you need to have at least five years of experience as a Six Sigma black belt or a minimum of 10 completed Six Sigma black belt projects. In addition, you need to pass a two-part exam. Other Six Sigma Roles In addition to the Six Sigma belt designations, organizations typically have Six Sigma executives and champions. A Six Sigma executive’s role is to align the Six Sigma program with the company’s culture and strategy. The champion translates the company’s vision and goals into a comprehensive Six Sigma program and individual projects. Each of these roles plays an important part in ensuring Six Sigma effectively improves a business and its profitability
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Six Sigma Belts and Certifications Demystified

Obtaining your Six Sigma certification makes you stand out from the crowd when you’re applying for a new job or trying to get a promotion with your current employer. Six Sigma expertise is in high demand, and hiring managers at companies that have implemented Six Sigma know the value of certification. They understand the commitment it takes to become Six Sigma certified and might not even consider your application if you don’t have the credential. Six Sigma certification shows employers not only that you understand Six Sigma but also that you are committed and motivated. They instantly recognise that you’re very knowledgeable in reducing costs, increasing revenue, improving quality and processes, and gaining employee buy-in. Six Sigma certification also signals to employers that you’ve been trained to be an effective leader. Whether you’re a certified yellow belt or black belt, Six Sigma training and certification is all about honing your leadership skills. Employers understand that and will reward you for it. Job Opportunities for Six Sigma Certified Yellow, Green, and Black Belts A wide variety of companies and government organizations use Six Sigma and need certified yellow belts, green belts, and black belts. Companies like American Express, Boeing, Amazon.com, and Bank of America have all used Six Sigma to improve processes and business operations. Depending on which belt you have and how much experience you have participating in or leading Six Sigma projects, you could obtain a job in operations, manufacturing, information technology, quality assurance, and more. For example yellow belts, green belts, and black belts could be employed as Six Sigma consultants, production managers, quality analysts, business analysts, manufacturing engineers, process development engineers, project managers, warehouse operations managers, information technology project managers, data scientists, industrial engineers, process improvement directors, and more. The list goes on and on. Salaries for Certified Six Sigma Yellow, Green, and Black Belts Six Sigma certification is a highly sought after credential among employers, and they’re willing to pay top dollar for job candidates that have yellow, green, and black belts. According to Payscale.com, a certified Six Sigma yellow belt employed in the United States could make anywhere from $40,299 to$76,529 per year depending on the company they work for and where they work. Payscale.com reports that certified Six Sigma green belts can earn from $51,280 to$98,381 annually, and certified Six Sigma black belts salaries range from $62,214 to$118,134 per year. Again, depending on how many years of experience you have, which company you work for, and where you work, your salary could go even higher. Six Sigma Job Requirements Keep in mind, most employers won’t even consider a candidate for a Six Sigma position that requires more than entry-level knowledge of the Six Sigma DMAIC framework without yellow belt, green belt, or black belt certification. In addition, many employers want candidates to have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in business or another relevant field. Coursework in project management, statistics, accounting, finance, and business administration are also important to hiring managers. Finally, employers are most interested in candidates who not only have a Six Sigma certification but also have a history of ongoing education, particularly training related to Six Sigma, project management, and continuous improvement.