What is the Six Sigma Black Belt?

Six Sigma Black Belts are quality control professionals trained in Six Sigma and sometimes include certification. People in this role execute quality initiatives aimed at improving manufacturing and other business processes. Six Sigma Black Belts are consultants who are often assigned full-time in project execution focused on improving business processes and manufacturing processes. These specialists usually work under the direction of the Master Black Belt. In addition to the role of the Black Belt, Six Sigma Methodology roles include the roles of Executive Leadership, Champions and Green Belts.

The Six Sigma process improvement methodology evolved from other quality management programs such as Total Quality Management (TQM). This methodology was developed in 1986 by Motorola engineer Bill Smith. The term Six Sigma comes from the field of statistics. In statistics, the term refers to the number of standard deviations from the mean, usually indicating that almost all samples meet product or process specifications.

Lean manufacturing can use six sigma process improvement methodologies to reduce waste, for example. One of the goals of the Six Sigma process is to reduce defects to less than 3.4 per million over the long term. By reducing the frequency of defects that are wasted, companies applying these quality improvement methods hope to reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction.

Six sigma also supports two project methodologies. One is used to create a new process or product design and can be called Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) or DMADV. Here are the steps: Define design goals, measure and establish critical quality factors, and validate analysis, design details and designs. Another methodology is known as DMAIC and is intended to improve existing business processing. The DMAIC phase is problem definition, measurement, analysis, improvement and control.

Anyone interested in a role in the Six Sigma Master Black Belt can attend Six Sigma training sessions offered by employers, colleges, universities, or other educational establishments. Training can be delivered in person or online. Depending on the student’s career goals, self-education without Six Sigma certification may be sufficient. If a student decides to pursue a Six Sigma Master Black Belt Certification, they want to research various accreditation bodies to see which accreditation bodies in their industry are respected and which meet budget and time constraints.

Skills critical to the Six Sigma Black Belt include extensive knowledge of quality control, manufacturing processes, and process management. These quality management professionals have a thorough understanding of business management and their business training should include learning about business processes. Six Sigma Black Belts frequently oversee the work of Green Belts, employees who support Six Sigma manufacturing or business process improvement. In this case, the Six Sigma Black Belt must have supervisory and mentoring skills.

2 thoughts on “What is the Six Sigma Black Belt?

  1. First off I want to say wonderful blog! I had a quick question in which I’d like to ask if you don’t mind. I was curious to know how you center yourself and clear your thoughts before writing. I have had a hard time clearing my mind in getting my thoughts out. I do enjoy writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are usually wasted just trying to figure out how to begin. Any suggestions or tips? Thanks!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *