Six Sigma Green Belt vs. Black Belt- The Fair Comparison
For many, the journey of becoming six sigma experts begins with a green and black belt. These are the two most famous belts in Certification Training for Quality Management. Both belts are designed to educate the candidate about the practices of quality management that further help in process improvement.
As both green and black belt holders work closely with each other many often end up considering them as the same professionals. However, both of them are slightly different from each other- including their skills and roles in organizational projects. In this blog, we are going to learn how green belt holders are different from the black belt holders and which certification can lead to higher salaries and better career opportunities. However, right before we dwell into the comparison let’s find more about six sigma belts.
Different Levels of Six Sigma
Here is a brief overview of the different levels of six sigma:
- White belt: white is often referred to as the beginner’s belt that is designed to provide the basic knowledge of six sigma methodologies and their impact in an organization.
- Yellow belt: At this level of six sigma, candidates will learn about the principles of six sigma and learn to gather data and create process maps.
- Green belt: this level of six sigma is designed to provide a detailed overview of six sigma tools and concepts. Those who successfully obtain this certification are considered as green belt experts.
- Black belt: At this advanced level of six sigma, professionals will master the six sigma tools, techniques, and data analysis. However, the six sigma black belt requires the relevant experience in six sigma projects and passing the previous belt exam.
- Master Black belt: it is the highest level of six sigma certification and often obtained by the black belt holders to influence enterprise-wide projects. Moreover, this certification requires at least 5 years of experience in the role of a black belt or master black belt.
As you can already figure out from the above levels of six sigma that green belt is actually a huge leap from the yellow belt status. The green belt help candidates to gain expertise in six sigma and open a new path toward leadership.
Although the green belt is the certification that opens the path of leadership, the black belt is the leadership that completes that journey. Those who successfully earn the black belt certification are ready to take over the role of a leader by setting themselves as an expert in improvement management. It is obvious that obtaining a higher belt leads to higher earning potential.
The Role of the Green Belt
Yellow belt training helps you to see what six sigma can accomplish. The yellow belt helps to learn how to apply the six sigma tools and techniques and a green belt certainly takes that expertise to a whole new level. Green belt defines professionals who are already serving in the industry and aspire to become successful leaders in their field. Green belts are generally experts in DMAIC, a significant methodology in six sigma.
DMAIC stands for the:
- Define: Defining the challenge and preparing methodologies for why and how to change it
- Measure: Set goals and standard performance to make sure the new process can contribute to the overall effectiveness.
- Analyze: Observing the data to find issues such as process redundancy.
- Improve: creating, implementing and managing the process management strategies and setting standards to measure their effectiveness.
- Control: look after new processes to ensure all goals are met.
In most of the organizations, green belt professionals work right under the Six Sigma Green Belts as they are the one who leads the entire team.
The Role of Black Belt
The black belts have all the expertise that is held by green belts on six sigma tools and techniques but they also have an in-depth understanding of six sigma and they know where to implement methodologies to further improve the business goals. Black belts are generally the leaders.
Unlike green belts, black belts play a crucial role in communication with executives and act as a bridge between the team and the senior management. Their ability to create strategies to find how six sigma will benefit the organization is what makes them a significant organizational asset.
In the end, both green and black six sigma belts play an important role in successfully implementing the improvement process through the six sigma. Those who want to grab new market opportunities in the market should definitely earn these six sigma belts.
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