Motorola’s Six Sigma-driven success story has saved the company more than $16 billion for the past 15 years. Following this thriving defect-reduction process, many other companies in the manufacturing, transactional, and service sectors are experiencing increased profitability as well. Regardless of sector, size, or project, all businesses can achieve success through one criterion: the Black Belt.
Black Belts are project leaders, skilled in statistical methods and interpersonal communication. Green Belts require less training than Black Belts, thus take responsibility for fewer projects, while Master Black Belts spend nearly all of their time consulting, mentoring, and training Green Belts and Black Belts.
The term Black Belt is used to be associated with the martial arts. It has been claimed that proponents of Six Sigma use the term because, as in martial arts, the masters acquire discipline and intensive training and real-world experiences by practicing this quality program. Like a person skilled in the Oriental sport of karate, the Six Sigma Black Belt is self-assured and knowledgeable, disciplined, purposeful, and decisive.
Dr. Mikel Harry first thought of this Black Belt jargon. He was then helping Unisys Salt Lake Printed Circuit Facility solve a costly circuit board production problem. After the project, he was asked to train the people at Unisys. Harry called those he trained as process characterization experts. Brainstorming with Unisys facility manager, Clifford Ames, for a catchier term to call Six Sigma trainees, he thought of Black Belts.
Through the Motorola’s Six Sigma Research Institute, Harry nurtured the Black Belt model. The Institute was soon intensively training Black Belt candidates. By the end of 1992, the first half-dozen Six Sigma Black Belts had gained recognition in Asia and the United States.
Since then, the Black Belt jargon has stuck. The Green Belt/Black Belt/Master Black Belt designations have found their way to the business terminology.
