Networking in Person

Networking events are great opportunities to meet potential Six Sigma practitioners for your business. Sometimes, you must rely on your gut instincts. By meeting and talking to them in person, you stand the best chance of separating the bad from the good. Look them in the eyes, look at how they dress and present themselves? Do they look professional? Remember, you’ll have to work with this person on a frequent basis, so it’s critical you decide early on whether they’re right for you (or right at all).

Active communication is key. As such, it’s highly beneficial to prepare a set of questions in advance of your meeting. Make practitioners work hard to demonstrate their capabilities. That way, you’ll get the best understanding of how they would, or would not, be able to improve your business. You’ll meet lots of different practitioners, too, which allows you to judge one against another, to see who measures up.

Communication Over Social Media

LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. This triad is an incredibly useful source of information you can’t afford to ignore. If you can’t meet your potential practitioners in person, social media is the next best thing. Social networking sites are all valuable means of communication. You can send messages to potentially legitimate Six Sigma practitioners and see how they interact with other users. Furthermore, look at their pages and posts for a good idea of their legitimacy. There might even be links to their website or blog, which is usually an indicator of legitimacy and reputability. You can learn a lot about a person or company from their social media accounts, so don’t neglect them in your research.

Check Their Website

An organization’s or individual’s website is the number one chance you have of gauging their legitimacy. It can also give you an idea of how reputable they are as well. All reputable company websites, especially for Six Sigma providers, should provide detailed information on their services and goals. A blog is always a good sign, as it demonstrates an interest in their work and reputation.

Some sites even provide profiles on their employees. Naturally, you’ll want someone with the right stuff for the job, and employee bios are a means of judging this. They may even provide contact information so you can reach out to them directly. Moreover, drop them an email and see what happens. If you can meet them in person, go for it. In our experience, one-on-one meetings are the best way of judging someone’s legitimacy.

We also recommend looking at testimonials to see how other customers and clients have reacted to your practitioner’s services. You could even follow this up by contacting former clients to get an informed opinion straight from the source. Facts, like communication, are invaluable tools. Getting yours straight is the key to finding the best legitimate Six Sigma practitioner for you.

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Master Black Belt Curriculum

We believe Master Black Belt training should build upon already existing Black Belt training, expanding on the concepts delivered in their previous education. Master Black Belts will typically require two or more years of Black Belt experience (plus training), and five or more years of business experience. MBB’s previous work and expertise should inform their MBB training, building on their existing skills and knowledge base. Some areas of responsibility for Master Black Belts are as follows:

• Leadership and people skills. MBBs will typically manage and coach Black Belts, Green Belts, Yellow Belts, and entire Six Sigma teams, while on the project floor. Furthermore, leadership and people skills are essential to building strong teams and professional relationships. Additionally, MBBs teach team members to deploy improvement tools and solutions, as well as identify areas that require attention.
• Developing and implementing organizational metrics. Classical Six Sigma metrics include timeliness, accuracy, efficiency, workability of business and cost, as well as other measures of quality. Moreover, Master Black Belts should know how to select and implement appropriate metrics.
• Creating, maintaining, and reviewing Six Sigma curriculums in classroom-based training. As Master Black Belts, you will be required to assess and deliver Six Sigma training programs, providing coaching and support for other Belts.
• Networking is an essential skill for Master Black Belts to master, as it can open many doors for you when it comes to finding employment. Master Black Belts often work as consultants, an independent role that requires seeking out opportunities. Networking with other MBBs and Six Sigma practitioners will enable you to get the lay of the land. Likewise, MBB training should teach critical networking skills to build your network from the ground up. Maintaining strong professional relationships is important as an MBB, and training should support this.

Essential Master Black Belt Skills

• DMAIC. MBBs should be able to use and teach DMAIC in the classroom and on projects.

• Non-Parametric Analysis. When there are fewer assumptions to deal with, NPA enables MBBs to get a handle on their data.

• Multi-Vari and Practical Experiments. MBBs will be expected to address multiple parameters and sources of process variation at any one time. Similarly, experience with practical experimentation is just as important.

• Handling Attribute Responses and Optimization Experiments. Our MBB curriculum covers how to use Minitab to handle attribute responses and create optimization experiments.

• Advanced Regression and SPC Methods. Regression alone is a difficult tool to use, and SPC can be just as tricky, but advanced methods are often required. Our MBB curriculum teaches several different ARMs and ASPCs.

• Handling Multi-Response Experiments. We believe in going above and beyond Freeman-Tukey when it comes to MREs.

• Distributional Analysis. We teach our MBBs to understand the far-reaching effects of policy programs and funding decisions.

• SIPOC Diagrams. SIPOC diagrams identify key factors of process improvement projects before commencement.

• Identifying CTQ (critical-to-quality) factors. Quality MBB training teaches how to draw CTQ trees. This enables MBBs to measure and display improvement efforts and align them with customer demands.

• Statistical software training. Reliable, statistical data underpins all Six Sigma work. Our trainers teach MBBs how to use statistical software like Statgraphics, SigmaXL, and SPC XL.

• Poka-Yoke. Mistake-proofing improvement measures will ensure the same problems don’t arise in the future. Our course teaches MBBs to recognize opportunities and devise solutions to reoccurring issues.

Contact us if you have additional questions.

The post What Should be in a Six Sigma Master Black Belt Curriculum? appeared first on 6sigma.