Countrywide Financial Corporation has left the Six Sigma and Belt terminology completely behind instead, they refer to Master Black Belts, Black Belts and Green Belts as Gold, Silver, and Bronze certification levels, respectively. Mount Carmel Health System refers to Black Belts as Guides, and Master Black Belts as Master Guides. Raytheon, for example, has replaced the words Black Belt with Expert, as in Six Sigma Expert and Six Sigma Master Expert. Some companies have changed the names of their process improvement change leaders to move away from these images. For some, martial arts is synonymous with violence, attack mode, and bravado, all of which run counter to the term’s intended meaning: a methodically executed self-defense. The evocative term is not without its detractors, however. And, to ensure continued improvement, the Black Belt works affirmatively to identify and mentor new Black Belts.

The Six Sigma Black Belt is disciplined, purposeful, and decisive, able to lead highly focused efforts aimed at improving a company’s bottom line. Like a person skilled in the Oriental sport of karate, the Six Sigma Black Belt is self-assured and knowledgeable, the result of intensive training and real-world experience. Not surprisingly, the term Black Belt has its roots in the exotic realm of martial arts. Green Belts require less training than Black Belts and take responsibility for leading fewer projects, while Master Black Belts spend nearly all of their time consulting, mentoring, and training Green Belts and Black Belts. The term Black Belt refers to project leaders, skilled in the use of statistical methods and interpersonal communication, and dedicated to using Six Sigma methods to ensure customer satisfaction. In Six Sigma parlance, it is the Black Belt. All businesses – regardless of sector, size, or project – link their success to one factor. Six Sigma has generated similarly stunning results at companies here and abroad in the manufacturing, transactional, and service sectors. Motorola, the company that holds the Six Sigma trademark, says the data-driven defect-reduction process has saved the company more than $16 billion over the past 15 years.

Six sigma belts levels