Before we understand everything about Six Sigma Certification (SSC), let's first understand what Six Sigma is. Six Sigma is the set of tools and techniques used or employed in an organisation for business improvement. The concept was first introduced by Bill Smith, an American Engineer, in 1986 while working with Motorola. This concept deals with error removal in the manufacturing processes and produces a high-quality product. Other terms such as “zero defect”, “Operational Excellence”, or “Customer Perfection” are used in generic language.
It is a well-defined statistical methodology to eliminate defects where one production process should not have more than 3.4 defects per million products to achieve Six Sigma. The main motive of Six Sigma methodology is to achieve process improvement and operational excellence.
Under Six Sigma, there are two more categories of methods: DMAIC and DMADV.
DMAIC stands for Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control, while the DMADV process of Six Sigma stands for Define, Measure, Analyse, Design, Verify.
What is Six Sigma Certification(SSC)?
Six Sigma Certification is like any other certification taken by professionals to improve their skill-sets. This certification helps the individual or an organisation improve their work process, production rate, quality of work, eliminates errors and helps them achieve organisational goals.
Why would anyone need a six sigma certification in robotics and automation?
Six Sigma is always associated with continuous improvement and waste reduction. While robotics and automation help in increasing the efficiency of work processes and reduce the error rate, there are still some minor deviations that need to be monitored in the manufacturing processes. To monitor these minutest of details, someone with six sigma certification and strong expertise come in handy.
What are the main objectives to obtain Six Sigma Certification?
Before you go ahead and obtain a Six Sigma certification, you should be aware of how it will help an individual or your organisation. Some benefits that Six Sigma Certifications provide include:
- As a technique for process improvement, it simplifies your current work.
- It helps in explaining how to measure product and process.
- It significantly improves customer satisfaction along with the quality of products and services.
- As product quality increases and errors decrease, it results in a reduction in overall cost.
- As a certified Six Sigma professional, your value and worth increase in any set of work.
- If an organisation is Six Sigma certified, it helps in getting a competitive advantage over the others.
- As an individual, you gain more career advancement, salary hikes, and better positions in the organisations.
- There is improved communication among team members.
- Reduced cost and increased efficiency in work increase the revenue for the business.
- It also helps in ensuring compliance.
What is Lean Six Sigma?
Six Sigma focuses on process improvement and improved quality, while Lean Six Sigma focuses on efficiency. It helps an organisation reach goals quickly by increasing efficiency, reducing waste/or removing errors, and performance improvement. The tools and techniques come from the combination of Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing.
Levels of Six Sigma Certification
Six Sigma certification has a total of five levels. These levels are similar to that of Karate or Martial Arts. These levels are used to identify the stages of training obtained by an individual or an organisation in Six Sigma methodologies. Like coloured belts in Karate, Levels of Six Sigma Certification is also termed Six Sigma Belts.
Six Sigma Belts are:
- Six Sigma White Belt - It is the introductory level of Six Sigma Certification Training. It teaches fundamental concepts.
- Six Sigma Yellow Belt - Yellow Belt is one step ahead of the Six Sigma White Belt, where the person knows how Six Sigma works, its methodologies, and its application in the real business world.
- Six Sigma Green Belt - The main focus of the Green Belt is to resolve the problems and analyse the quality improvement projects. These professionals are capable of leading and managing assignments along with assisting the Six Sigma Black Belts. They are also known as workhorses of a business. These professionals can apply DMAIC, i.e. Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control the business processes, especially in their daily line of work.
- Six Sigma Black Belt - This makes you an expert in the disciplines and methodologies of Six Sigma. As a leader, they can initiate change in the business processes. They have a greater sense of team management and team handling.
- Six Sigma Master Black Belt - It is the highest level of training in Six Sigma ideologies. They are leaders and masters who coach other levels of certification or training. They are the subject matter experts.
The above Six Sigma Belts are in a hierarchical order.
Six Sigma Certification Eligibility & How it Changes with Levels
As the levels or belts of Six Sigma are different, the Eligibility of each level of certification is additional.
Eligibility Change According to Certificate Level
The eligibility requirement for each level is explained below:
Basic Requirement:
For every certification or training in the Six Sigma, the candidates are required to take an examination prepared by the Certification authority such as The Council for Six Sigma Certification (CSSC) or American Society for Quality (ASQ), or International Association for Six Sigma Certification (IASSC).
The examination has multiple choice questions The examination can be a Computer-Based Test or a Paper-Based Test.
Eligibility criteria for Six Sigma White and Yellow Belt
There is no such qualification required for obtaining a White Belt Certification level or Yellow Belt Certification level. Any candidate who clears the prescribed examination can be provided with the Certificate. It doesn’t require any specific prerequisites.
Eligibility criteria for Six Sigma Green Belt
Eligibility criteria differ at this particular level. Along with the examination, which is standard for all the levels and belts, candidates must have at least three years of full-time experience in the related field in which he/she is seeking Six Sigma certification. Candidates can also lead a Green Belt project which is mentored by a Black Belt.
Eligibility criteria for Six Sigma Black Belt
Six Sigma Black Belt certification is a one-level upgrade from the Green Belt. So the Eligibility for this training requires a candidate to either already hold a Green Belt Certification, or he/she must have completed at least 3-4 Green Belt level projects in the related field along with three years of full-time work experience. The examination is a must at this level.
Eligibility criteria for Six Sigma Master Black Belt
It is the last level in the Six Sigma Certification and is considered the master of all the previous belts. For a candidate to be eligible for Master Black Belt, he/she must have at least five years of full-time work experience and Six Sigma Black Belt certification. The candidate should also have completed at least 10-15 Six Sigma Black Belt projects in their area of the field. Instead of examination, the candidate should possess a portfolio stating his/her line of work or projects undertaken. These professionals then are eligible to provide mentoring and guidance/training to the Black Belts and Green Belts.
How much time does it take to complete the Six Sigma Certification?
The entry-level Belts, such as White Belt and Yellow Belt, take from 1 week to 3 weeks to complete the Certification. For Green Belt Six Sigma Certification, the time taken ranges from between 2 to 7 weeks. For Black Belt and Master Black Belt Certification, it depends upon the projects they undertake, as the compulsory requirement is 5-7 projects and 10-15 projects for respective Belts.
Ways to get your Six Sigma Certification
There are many ways to obtain a Six Sigma Certification. Some of them are as below:
- One can obtain the certifications from the Accreditation Bodies. Certification from such authorities is recognised worldwide.
- Candidates can also go for Online Certification provided through various Organisations or Universities. It is the most upcoming form of training and also a very convenient one. The most common online Bodies are Udemy, Simplilearn, Sixsigmaonline.org, Coursera, and more.
- Another way to obtain the certifications is through In-house mode, which means that the organisation you are employed with provides Six Sigma training to all its employees for their continuous improvement and quality of work.
- Candidates can also obtain the Six Sigma Certifications from the Universities or the separate training institutes that provide these certifications.
Cost of Six Sigma Certification
The cost of obtaining the Six Sigma Certification differs based on how a candidate obtains the said training. The cost of the Certification is different from Accreditation Bodies such as ASQ and IASSC, and it is different when obtained through online sources like Udemy and Coursera.
ASQ Certification exam fees are as below:
- Yellow Belt - Rs 27,580
- Green Belt - Rs 30,660
- Black Belt - Rs 37,660
- Master Black Belt - 1,56,030 (exam fees) and Rs 45,500 (Portfolio Review)
IASSC exam cost for Six Sigma Certifications are as below:
- $195 for Yellow Belt
- $295 for Green Belt
- $395 for Black Belt
