Six Sigma Courses | Six Sigma Green Belt

Introduction

Six Sigma is a globally recognised and respected methodology for quality improvement based on the idea that, with successive quality improvement efforts, defects can be eventually eliminated almost completely from a product. Six Sigma Green Belts are highly sought-after professionals in their field who have the expertise to lead Six Sigma teams on company-wide projects.

This 5-day course provides a thorough grounding in the use of Six Sigma for quality improvement projects and includes two certifications: Yellow Belt and Green Belt. Yellow Belt will ground you in the basics of the Six Sigma methodology while Green Belt will teach you how to use this knowledge to be part of, or lead, a Six Sigma improvement team. The course includes both exams and lasts five days in total.

Course Structure

This is a five day training course which is presented in two parts. The first two days will cover the Yellow Belt certification and exam, while the final three days will cover Green Belt certification and the exam.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course, so anybody of any experience level can attend.

Pre-Course Reading

Before the course begins, you will be sent a pre-course handout introducing Six Sigma and the topics you will be studying. Reading these will ensure you are fully prepared for the beginning of the course.

Target Audience

We recommend this course for anybody interested in learning a business process improvement method which is based on real world results. It will be especially useful for managers and those involved in the product development and quality control process.

Course Content

The course focuses on the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control) approach and covers the following areas:

Yellow Belt:

• Introduction to Lean 6 Sigma
• Lean, 6 Sigma, and Lean 6 Sigma
• The DMAIC cycle
• The Lean Triad (5s, Poka Yoke, SMED)
• Voice of the Customer
• Understanding Value Stream Maps
• Heijunka
• Introduction to Variation & SPC
• Identifying the Root Cause
• Solving Problems
• Kaizen Events
• Lean Teams

Green Belt:

• Lean Management & Cell Theory
• Improvement Methodologies
• Defining Projects
• Implementing Heijunka
• Creating Value Stream Maps
• Process Capability
• GB SPC

About Six Sigma

Six Sigma is a quality improvement methodology for businesses which focuses on collecting and analysing data on business processes in order to identify where defects are occurring and decide how to reduce them. In organisations, Six Sigma is practised by specialised Six Sigma teams with different designations based on the level of learning and certification they have achieved: Black and Master Black Belts oversee Six Sigma related activities, while Green and Yellow Belts work together with the Black Belts to help carry these activities out. Having been invented originally by Motorola in the 1980s, Six Sigma has since been taken on by many other companies and has proven itself as an effective method for quality improvement in business.

Case Study – Six Sigma in Action

Arguably the most famous case study on the use of Six Sigma is General Electric’s implementation of it in the 1990s.

In 1995, the owner of General Electric, Jack Welch, knew that the company was in need of a change of strategy. Their product quality was not what it once was and after seeing the success of Six Sigma at his friend Larry Bossidy’s company Allied Signal, he decided that it could be the answer.

Analysis showed that General Electric were currently running at 3 or 4 sigma. By raising this to Six Sigma, or 99.99966% perfection, the company could save between $7 billion and $10 billion. The choice was obvious.

GE introduced their Six Sigma program in 1996 with the goal of reaching the highest level of quality in just five years – Motorola took ten.

Jack Welch knew that Six Sigma could only deliver maximum benefit to GE if it was allowed to fully permeate the company’s processes and culture. This meant focusing on the product not only from the manufacturing perspective but also the value it was delivering to the customer. In addition, almost all employees attended two-week mandatory Six Sigma training. After the company had a few Black Belts these were then able to train other employees to get Green Belt certification, leading to the creation of Six Sigma teams who were able to carry out projects within the company.

GE’s success with Six Sigma also relied on how it was implemented by the executives. Every quarter, each executive was required to work on a Six Sigma project and have it reviewed in a quarterly meeting. The most successful executives were given stock options, creating a rewards culture where the best workers could see their Six Sigma work celebrated. Once workers could see that Six Sigma got the executives’ backing, it was easy to engage the other employees.

In conclusion, General Electric is one of the biggest Six Sigma success stories because the company managed to turn itself completely around. In just two years, their revenues rose by 11% and their earnings increased by 13%. After five years, they reported savings of $12 billion. Nowadays, Six Sigma is an integral part of GE’s business model, as well as many other Fortune 500 companies.