The Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Handbook
Posted by: meikah | 23 May 2006 | 1:16 am
I visited Six Sigma forums again today. It’s such a learning experience to be doing so. You get to learn about real issues and concerns of Six Sigma and quality practitioners.
So today, Joe Patterson claimed that he had been helped by 
The Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Handbook by D. Benbow and T. Kubiak.
His exact words were,
“If anyone is preparing to take the six sigma black belt certification exam, there is one book that is a must: THE CERTIFIED SIX SIGMA BLACK BELT HANDBOOK by D. Benbow and T. Kubiak – published by Quality Press (ASQ). I have over 15 text books on six sigma – but none of them compares to the simplification this book gives – there was not anything in this book I couldn’t figure out on my own. I really liked how this paralleled the test. I wish I had this book 2 years ago! I received the book only 2 weeks before my third test. I was able to read through it in my spare time with a fine tooth comb in just under a week. I also believe it helped me grasp a few areas that I was having difficulty in such as probability. I will be recommending this book to anyone who wants to learn about six sigma! Thanks again for putting this book together! I really needed this.”
It comes with a CD that contains a wide selection of supplementary problems covering each chapter and a simulated Six Sigma Black Belt exam which has problems distributed among the chapters according to the scheme published in the body of knowledge for the ASQ certification.
Well, who knows you might find this book useful too.
Filed under: Certification, Training
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Relying on Black Belts to Deliver the Goods
Posted by: meikah | 13 January 2006 | 3:05 am
Among the top news in the Six Sigma community are two leading manufacturing companies that have appointed certified Six Sigma Black Belts to deliver the goods so to speak.
Accuride Corporation, one of the largest and most diversified manufacturers and suppliers of commercial vehicle components in North America, appointed Ben Laaper to Vice President / Global Sourcing.
As VP, Laaper will be responsible for procurement and logistics at all Accuride business units. Part of his expanded role is the taking on the role of driving Accuride’s continual improvement processes surrounding procurement reengineering. Many believe that Laaper is highly qualified for the job. Laaper has more than 30 years of procurement and sourcing experience and is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt of MoreSteam University. Read the complete press release here.
Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc., leading automotive supplier, appointed Fred Bentley to the new position of Chief Operating Officer and President of the Global Wheel Group. The appointment comes in time for the company’s strategic realignment of its wheel businesses to strengthen coordination and synergies worldwide. The realignment brings together the company’s North American and International Wheel Groups, forming the Global Wheel Group.
Like Laaper, many also believe that Bentley can do justice to his new post. Bentley has been part of Lemmerz’s growth overseas and is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt, and one of his expertise is lean manufacturing. Read the complete press release here.
Just what is it about Six Sigma Black Belts that people rely on them to take on serious roles such as driving companies to succeeding further? Two of my previoius posts (Naming the Six Sigma Masters and Doing Six Sigma Right) have discussed Black Belts trainings. A Black Belt training is serious training. Before you get certified, you need to complete certain number of hours and complete a project. So that when you come out of the training you are ready for process improvement projects.
Thomas Pyzdek, author of the Six Sigma Handbook, listed down the 101 Things A Six Sigma Black Belt Should Know. Among them are…
1. In general, a Six Sigma Black Belt should be quantitatively oriented.
2. With minimal guidance, the Six Sigma Black Belt should be able to use data to convert broad generalizations into actionable goals.
3. The Six Sigma Black Belt should be able to make the business case for attempting to accomplish these goals.
4. The Six Sigma Black Belt should be able to develop detailed plans for achieving these goals.
5. The Six Sigma Black Belt should be able to measure progress towards the goals in terms meaningful to customers and leaders.
6. The Six Sigma Black Belt should know how to establish control systems for maintaining the gains achieved through Six Sigma.
7. The Six Sigma Black Belt should understand and be able to communicate the rationale for continuous improvement, even after initial goals have been accomplished.
8. The Six Sigma Black Belt should be familiar with research that quantifies the benefits firms have obtained from Six Sigma.
9. The Six Sigma Black Belt should know or be able to find the PPM rates associated with different sigma levels (e.g., Six Sigma = 3.4 PPM)
10. The Six Sigma Black Belt should know the approximate relative cost of poor quality associated with various sigma levels (e.g., three sigma firms report 25% COPQ). Continue reading.
This sure sounds like a tough job to do. But the training will equip the person to do it and do it well. For companies who believe that process improvement can only happen through Six Sigma should seriously consider a Black Belt training for their highly capable employees.
Filed under: Certification
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Certifying on Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 30 November 2005 | 3:15 am
In an article in isixsigma, Charles Waxer mentioned about receiving a lot of questions regarding Six Sigma certification. Like any other scientific endeavor, certification is very important. It renders your effort valid and legitimate–a confirmation of an individual’s capabilities in specific competencies. Every company has a different set of certification requirements. The general ones are as follows:
Six Sigma certification entails learning the appropriate subject matter, passing a written proficiency test, and displaying competency in a hands-on environment. The materials can be purchased from almost any Six Sigma training and consulting company, but almost always comes bundled with classroom training.
After a quality professional has completed training, s/he must complete one or two quality projects and display competency in applying the concepts learned in the classroom training.
The next logical question might be, where to get certified. The article has this to say.
There is no single body authorized to provide certification to the quality profession. Almost every one of the tens of companies providing Six Sigma training and consulting also provide certification. Why is this? Because individuals and companies are spending a great deal of money, sometimes in excess of $30,000 per individual, to become trained, and they feel like they should have something to show for it. Hence, certification became a popular add-on service for consulting companies because it allowed them to differentiate between skills levels, as well as charge additional fees.
Filed under: Certification
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Six Sigma Yellow Belt
Posted by: meikah | 28 September 2005 | 3:50 am
We have heard about Green Belts, Black Belts, and Master Black Belts.
The Juran Institute is giving a Six Sigma Yellow Belt Training.
Corpedia/Juran has released a series entitled Six Sigma DMAIC Process?Production, the first of three Six Sigma Yellow Belt certificates. This five-course, six-hour series teaches individuals how to apply Six Sigma basics to manufacturing industries. Upon completion of the programs, individuals will receive a certificate of completion, a credential that corroborates the individual has attained a thorough understanding of the material.
According to isixsigma, a Yellow Belt typically has a basic knowledge of Six Sigma, but does not lead projects on their own, as does a Green Belt or Black Belt. It is often responsible for the development of process maps to support Six Sigma projects. A Yellow Belt participates as a core team member or subject matter expert (SME) on a project or projects. In addition, Yellow Belts may often be responsible for running smaller process improvement projects using the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) methodology. PDCA, often referred to as the Deming Wheel, enables Yellow Belts to identify processes that could benefit from improvement. These smaller Yellow Belt projects often get escalated to the Green Belt or Black Belt level where a DMAIC methodolgy is used to maximize cost savings using Statistical Process Control.
