Six Sigma Online Certification

I have just came across a website offering six sigma black belt certification online. What do you think? Is Six Sigma something that must be learned in a practical manner or would an online course suffice?

Expert Six Sigma Blackbelt Certification

 So if you come from Israel, India, Australia, USA or anywhere else in the world for that matter what is your opinion on online Six Sigma certification. Is e-learning the way forward? It has many advantage such as taking the course in your own free time and at your own pace and possibly some people do not like the lack of a conference room environment. Let me know what you think.

Thanks in advance.

Six Sigma Tools

Recently I have been scouring the Internet to get a real sense of what six sigma practitioners are saying are the three most important six sigma tools. Essentially what are the three six sigma tools they feel they must use on every project. I have searched for and read numerous blogs, forums and other types of forums such LinkedIn and iSixsigma. Although it was close the following three tools came up more than others. 

1. Six Sigma Pareto Chart and Analysis (although personally I studied this as part of lean on my industrial engineering course)
2. Fishbone diagram (also known as Ishikawa diagram)
3. Value Stream Mapping (VSM) / Process Mapping and Flow Charts

Would you agree with this list? What are your top three? Over the next coming week I will write an individual blog post about each of these lean six sigma tools. I have added the word lean before six sigma as it appears they seem to blend into each other more and more as I research the topic. Ask any Industrial Engineer, who more than likely will have studied Lean Manufacturing as a subject, and they will admit the studied Pareto, Fishbone diagram and VSM as part of their non Six Sigma course.

While I think of it I would also be eager to hear from our international readers if different countries place emphasis on different tools within their Six Sigma certification courses. So  what are the top three six sigma tools in India, UK, USA and Israel for starters?

Oh and before I forget, the book below also came up in numerous blogs and articles. Many people working, or at least planning to work, in the Lean Six Sigma field  speak highly of it. More importantly it's currently on sale with a massive 42% discount so check it out.

Thanks in advance.

Lean Sigma Six

Now I know there are many versions of Six Sigma hybrids out there but this is a new one to me. Well "new" might not be the best way of describing it, however I haven't seen the words aligned in  the "Lean Sigma Six" fashion. I'm more accustomed to the "Lean Six Sigma" label.

So is Lean Six Sigma the way forward? Lean certainly has huge scope for structured continuous improvement processes. It also takes a more systems or Value Stream Mapping view of things into account. Will this be enough to sustain Lean Six Sigma (Lean Sigma Six as I've recently seen people refer to it, although to be honest they were in the minority) into 2012 and beyond.

Finally if you haven't seen the humorous Six Sigma video in the previous post please check it out. Let me know if you get a sense that any of it is familiar in your own line of work.

Does anybody truly understand Six Sigma?

I remember the first time I saw this video and it made me smile. It's quite old and nevertheless the key message remains true. How many of you have tried to explain what Six Sigma is only to get a feeling that your message wasn't received as you'd liked? It might have been a look on your colleague or friends face... perhaps there was some incongruence there, something just didn't add up as they say. If you have said yes to any of the above well then you'll see a lot of similarities in the video below:

So what do you think? Will people who go on to obtain their Six Sigma Certifications (green, black, etc) be able to shine the light. Of course lots of people understand Six Sigma, perhaps the question should be how can these people spread their message in a more easy to digest way?

As Six Sigma grows and begins to merge with Lean Six Sigma I am sure that there will be more emphasis on this aspect. This may lead to a change in how Six Sigma training courses are delivered. What do you think?

Top 6 reasons to get Six Sigma Certification

Why has there been a huge increase in the number of people securing six sigma certification? There are probably many market drivers such as a need to design more stable processes within both manufacturing and service organisations. This has become very important as companies continuously try to lower their costs in any way possible.

The question could possibly be better reframed to ask the following... are companies investing in six sigma certification in order to become more competitive or are employees persuading their employers to provide them with six sigma training, in tools such as DMAIC and the six sigma approach to project management so that they can gain better six sigma opportunities elsewhere?

Nevertheless  the following 6 reasons are just some of the top reasons to get Six Sigma Certification (from both a personal and company point of view):

1. You get confirmation that you meet the industry standard when it comes to Six Sigma
2. From a personal point of view it can bring you recognition amongst your peers and also prestige within your company
3. Your CV will be more quantifiable in terms of six sigma knowledge to potential new employers
4. It can possibly lead to new responsibilities or opportunities which will increase your job satisfaction. You may even amaze your colleagues, and yourself, with your increased productivity
5. Your organisation will be seen as one that values it's employees and this can create a good company brand
6. It goes without saying that you are personally developing and so your skills and knowledge will increase. This can only help increase your mobility and security depending on what you want to do.

And which reason of your own would you like to add to the comments section? I look forward to reading your comments.