Six Sigma Training

Organisations today seek improvement in their products and services which ultimately lead to customer satisfaction and profits. To achieve this end, Six Sigma acts as a mean. By implementing the Six Sigma methodology, organisations can better their productivity. It was Motorola who first implemented this methodology in the 1980’s. Thereafter seeing the success of Six Sigma major giants such as GE have also implemented it in their production line. Six Sigma aims at reducing product-failure levels by 10 times within a span of 5 years. There are three methodologies that form a part of the Six Sigma:

• DMAIC: Define-Measure-Analyse-Improve-Control
• DMADV: Define-Measure-Analyse-Design-Verify
• DFSS: Design For Six Sigma

During the Six Sigma training, the delegates go through 3 courses, the fourth being an upgrade course only. Once the delegates have covered all the three exams from Yello Belt to Black Belt, they are considered as certified Six Sigma Professionals. The courses are:

• Six Sigma Yellow Belt
• Six Sigma Green Belt
• Six Sigma Black Belt
• Six Sigma Black Belt Upgrade

Certification Process

The two leading companies who tried their hands at the Six Sigma methodology - General Electric and Motorola – offered certification programs to implement the Six Sigma methodology. This was helpful in acknowledging the command a professional had over the Six Sigma techniques and levels i.e. Yellow, Green and Black Belt respectively. In the 199o’s many organizations in the 1990s offered Six Sigma certifications to their employees. Six Sigma has no standard body that offers certifications. There are different certification services offered by different associations and other providers for a fee. The different associations have different requirements of their own such as the American Society for Quality requires that the Black Belt delegates should pass a written exam and must have two completed projects or 3-year practical experience along with one project.

Application

Six Sigma can be applied to organisations of any size but mostly it does so to large organizations. Six Sigma found its way into the world when GE in 1998 announced that because of Six Sigma it had been able to save $350 million a, number that later grew to $1 billion. Industry consultants Thomas Pyzdek and John Kullmann report that companies having less than 500 employees may not be suitable for a Six Sigma implementation to make them work. Six Sigma, however, has tools enough to contain a large number of their uses in almost all types and size of organisations. In case an organisation cannot afford Black Belt professionals doesn’t hinder it from improving by using the Six Sigma tools and techniques. It is the size of the implementation of Six Sigma is affected by the organisation’s size and not on its requirement.