subject: Six Sigma Green Belt Certification [print this page] Six Sigma is the name given to a process that includes a variety of tools and strategies to improve any output process. It was developed at the Motorola Corporation in 1986, and popularized by Jack Welch, the CEO of General Electric, in 1995. Today the process is involved in measuring and improvement processes in a wide variety of industries and businesses.
It involves identifying and eliminating the causes of defects, by minimizing variability in the process. The term sigma is actually a statistical term that is used to indicate the percent of products that are free of defects. A six sigma rating would correlate to achieving 3.4 products with defects, for every million products that are produced. The notion is that any measurement that is with 6 standard deviations away from the mean is considered as meeting the specification.
Six sigma employs a set of methods, for handling quality issues. It relies very heavily on statistics, and it was actually derived from a field known as process ability. The phases involved in the methodology center around 5 Processes that include:
1. defining the problem.
2. Measuring the important aspects that contribute most to the process.
3. Analyzing data to determine cause and affect relationships.
4. Improving the process.
5. Controlling the process to minimize deviations
There are special people in each organization who assume the responsibility of managing the six sigma process. They operate at different levels, and all have different levels of responsibility. The top levels are known as Champions, followed by Black Green, Orange and Yellow Belts respectively. They all participate at different levels and training is required. After getting belts, employees can then become certified.
Green Belts are employees who assume responsibility for implementation of the process and work under the guidance of black belts. To be considered a green belt, the employee must have at least three years of work experience, and should be able to demonstrate knowledge of Six Sigma processes and tools.
There is no formal process or standard body involved in the six sigma green belt certification process. Criteria for certification may vary by companies. Some organizations may simply require course participation and completion of a six sigma project. Some entities will offer six sigma green belt certification programs. Certification is granted after successful completion of a written exam.
In many cases, certification can even be completed online. Businesses can use the online exam to grant certification to proposed green belt candidates.
There may be several other providers for the certification process, but knowledge gained can be invaluable to many organizations. Although the six sigma process may have many critics, it can help businesses reduce consulting fees, when needing to hire independent consultants, who may not be very familiar with the operation. Having internal employees who are familiar with the operation, and training them with the proper use of statistical methods to improve processes, can offer tremendous advantages.
