Summary of Six Sigma and Green Belt

I took time to learn and share my understanding having heard the words Six Sigma and Green belt from an associate. Here's my short summary of the understanding.

What is Six Sigma?

It is associated with manufacturing.
Statistical modelling of manufacturing processes.
It is a set of tools and techniques/strategies for process improvements
orginally developed by Motorolla in 1981
Well known after its use in business strategy at General Electric in 1995
Focuses on Quality Management methods & statistical methods

Goals addressed by Sigma

Seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying and removing the causes of defects(errors)
Minimizing variability in Manufacturing and Business Processes.
Quantified value targets
Example :
Process cycle time reduction,customer satisfaction,reduction in pollution,cost reduction & profit increase

Methodology

Follows two project methodologies - 5 phase approach
DMAIC - improve existing business process
Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control
DMADV - creating a new product or process designs
Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify

Tools & its application
    Arena
    ARIS Six Sigma
    Bonita Open Solution BPMN2 standard and KPIs for statistic monitoring
    JMP
Read more on : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Sigma


Maturity Rating

A Sigma rating indicates its yield or the percentage of defect free products it processes.
A six sigma process is one in which 99.99966% of the products manufactured are statistically expected to be free of defects
(3.4 defects per million)

All the belts

Champions take responsibility for Six Sigma implementation across the organization in an integrated manner. The Executive Leadership draws them from upper management. Champions also act as mentors to Black Belts.
Master Black Belts, identified by champions, act as in-house coaches on Six Sigma. They devote 100% of their time to Six Sigma. They assist champions and guide Black Belts and Green Belts. Apart from statistical tasks, they spend their time on ensuring consistent application of Six Sigma across various functions and departments.

Black Belts operate under Master Black Belts to apply Six Sigma methodology to specific projects.They primarily focus on Six Sigma project execution and special leadership with special tasks

Green Belts are the employees who take up Six Sigma implementation along with their other job responsibilities, operating under the guidance of Black Belts.
Additional ( informal )
Yellow Belts, for employees that have basic training in Six Sigma tools and generally participate in projects and
"White belts" for those locally trained in the concepts but do not participate in the project team.
"Orange belts" are also mentioned to be used for special cases.


Sources :

http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/six-sigma/overview/belts-executives-champions.html
http://prdweb.asq.org/certification/control/six-sigma-green-belt/index
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Sigma
http://www.isid.ac.in/~sqc/gb.html

Regards,
Ajith Moni