Six Sigma White and Yellow Belt

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Let’s talk about “Six Sigma.” The main goal is to reduce the difference between the norm and reality. The norm can be changed depending on the organization. When we do not follow the norms, defects arise and the six sigma score goes down.

Six Sigma includes different types of projects with specific start and end dates. Project has many phases; Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control (DMAIC).

The role of Six Sigma experts varies according to their belts. In this article, we will discuss the White and Yellow Belts.

White Belt

It contains basic information about Six Sigma. This means having essential knowledge about Lean, Kaizen, Agile, and Scrum.

Lean means a continuous improvement and strengthening the entire organization with less money and faster.

Kaizen means change for the better. It enables continuous improvement and change through small steps. It is part of lean manufacturing.

Agile provides freedom in the use of tools and methods. It allows quicker response to changes and can be used in almost every project (mostly software development).

Scrum is a specific Agile methodology used to streamline a project. It provides feedback loops throughout the entire project.

The responsible person is no significant role in projects. He/she can support the project by raising awareness.

Yellow Belt

It contains masters basic tools about Six Sigma. He/she can collect data, perform basic analysis, and contributing to quality management within the scope of the project.

Quality means meeting and exceeding customer expectations. An organization seeks ways to consistently deliver the same quality at a lower cost, and this is a lean approach.

The 7 Basic Quality Tools are easily understandable and interpretable by everyone in the organization to ensure quality.

• Flowchart provides a process map. You can visualize the sequence of activities from start to finish using symbols. It can be used at any stage of the project, but it is mostly used in the measure, improve, and control stages.
• Fishbone (Ishikawa) Diagram helps us structure all these possible causes by brainstorming. It is suitable especially for the analyze phase of DMAIC.
• Check Sheet helps tracking frquencies of specific activites, or defects. For example, companies can use a checklist to monitor whether the weekly order quantity falls within an acceptable range.
• Pareto Chart helps separate a few critical causes from many insignificant ones. This is based on the 80/20 principle, which states that 80% of problems are usually caused by 20% of the causes. It is suitable especially for the analyze phase of DMAIC.
• Control Charts provides to keep track of our problem and solution within control limits. If data points fall outside the limits, this indicates possible defects that require investigation of the root cause. The basic recognition of patterns (trend, shift and cycles) is also useful in the measure and analyze phase.
• Scatter Plots are used to show relationships. There may be negative, positive, and weak correlations between two variables. It is generally used in the analysis phase of DMAIC.
• Histogram shows data distribution in bars.It helps identify areas where further research is needed.

We took a brief look at the White and Yellow Belt of Six Sigma.

I hope this short article has provided a different perspective on the subject.

I would be happy to hear your thoughts as well.

Thank you.