One would think that with the levels of standardization and process efficiency we drive in Lean Six Sigma that there would be consensus on how much training a certified Black Belt should receive. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, despite the herculean efforts by the American Society of Quality (ASQ) and the…
iSixSigma is publishing a series of short interviews with our community of Lean Six Sigma practitioners and leaders. Today’s special guest – Gokhan Gureser. You’re at a party and you’re introduced to someone new. Explain what you do in 2-3 sentences. Just like people, organizations also desire to recognize their potential and unleash it. The…
Avoid These Hitches When Presenting Your Project For many organizations, Lean Six Sigma certification requires a Green Belt or Black Belt to present and defend their project to a panel of experts. Through this presentation they demonstrate their ability to use the methodology and its tools to deliver sustained results. Whether you are preparing for…
As Six Sigma’s DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) methodology has spread across diverse industries, there has been much discussion about what the body of knowledge should contain for Black Belts. It is common to see different “flavors” of Black Belt certifications created within the same company: transactional Black Belts, manufacturing Black Belts, etc. Each…
Through Lean Six Sigma projects and an arsenal of tools, Black Belts make change and manage change. But before Black Belts pat themselves on the back for a job well done, they should consider the following: How deep, pervasive and life altering are the initiated change? What mechanisms were put in place to make the…
Beginning Aug. 1, Black Belt Ken Curry will become the next vice president of the customer services division of the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD).
Mobile applications firm Xora Inc., based in Egan, Minn., USA, has hired Black Belt Howard Latham to fill the newly created position of vice president of customers.
Process data is critical. But taking a step back to look at accountability metrics provides another level of continuous improvement opportunities as shown in this real-world Six Sigma project targeting off-grade production in a carpet yarn manufacturing process.
Laboratory Supply Company (LABSCO), a medical laboratory products supplier, has named Black Belt Thomas Ording vice president of operations and logistics for the Louisville, Ky., USA-based firm.
Health insurance provider HealthAmerica has hired certified Black Belt Dawn Milstead as its new vice president of health services. She will work out of the company’s office in Harrisburg, Pa., USA.
Polymer chip manufacturing is a multi-step, large-volume process that makes hundreds of millions of pounds of products annually at a typical plant. Unlike fiber extrusion, which requires the use of multiple units of specialized equipment, chip manufacturing involves fewer machines operated in either continuous or batch modes. Chip manufacturing is often driven by operator decisions,…
Finch Paper, based in Glen Falls, N.Y., USA, has named Black Belt Ken Chartier as its new director, quality and continuous improvement.
UpWind Solutions Inc., a wind-power asset management firm based in Medford, Ore., USA, has promoted Peter Wells from vice president and general manager of parts services to the title of chief operating officer.
Transplace, a transportation management and logistics firm based in Dallas, has promoted its director of operations, Fadra Norton, to vice president of the company’s Lean Six Sigma group.
Cincinnati-based marketing operations firm Aero Fulfillment Services has hired Black Belt David Glew to the newly created position of quality assurance manager.
A record number of seniors and graduate students have applied for the University at Buffalo’s (UB) 2011-2012 Six Sigma Black Belt Student Certification program, according to a recent statement from the school, part of the State University of New York system.
ABRA Auto Body & Glass, a Minneapolis-based vehicle repair company, has hired Black Belt Jim Richardson as the company’s new vice president of ABRA Glass, where he will be tasked with meeting the division’s growth objectives and Lean initiatives.
San Diego-based SG Biofuels, an energy company that is developing biodiesel fuels based on the jatropha plant, is expanding operations into India and has named Black Belt Subhas Pattnaik as its new director of operations for the Indian market.
The Green Grid, a global consortium that promotes energy efficiency in business computing systems, has named Six Sigma Black Belt Mark Monroe as its new executive director.
RS Precision, a manufacturer of a wide rnge of machine-tooled parts, has hired Allan Brill, a certified Lean expert and Six Sigma Black Belt, to the newly created position of continuous improvement manager.
Onity, a provider of electronic locking systems, has announced that it has appointed W. Laird Hamberlin to the position of president. Laird, who is a certifed Six Sigma Black Belt, will be based in Onity’s global headquarters in Duluth, Ga., USA.
LaBarge Inc., a St. Louis-based manufacturer of electronic componenets, has named Black Belt Charles Metheny as the new operational excellence site leader for the company’s Berryville, Ark., USA, operation.
The city of Springfield, Mass., USA, has hired Marta Nichols, a Six Sigma Black Belt, to run its governement performance management program, known as CitiStat.
The Peninsula Regional Medical Center (PRMC), a hospital based in Salisbury, Md., USA, has promoted Six Sigma Black Belt Steve Leonard to the position of vice president of operations, optimization and innovation.
The Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) has promoted Six Sigma Black Belt Zachary Reed to the position of director of neurosciences.
Plastics firm A. Schulman Inc. has hired Greg Agnew as its new director of continuous improvement for the Americas. Agnew, a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, will start at Schulman on Jan. 1, 2011, focusing on Lean manufacturing operations, and stronger sales and operating planning processes.
Financial services firm XL Group has appointed Six Sigma Black Belt Fielding L. Norton III as senior vice president, deputy chief enterprise risk officer.
Glass products maker Viracon Inc. recently announced that three of its employees – Bethany Stringer, Matt Jukkala and Mike Smith – have earned Six Sigma Black Belt certification and will support continuous improvement efforts for both manufacturing and transactional processes at the Owatonna, Minn., USA, company.
Business software firm SuccessFactors announced the appointment of Black Belt Jeffrey Diana as chief people officer, effective Dec. 6, 2010.
DEK has appointed Black Belt Smith Hou to the position of business unit manager, where he will be responsible for enhancing operations efficiency at the screen printing equipment manufacturer.
The Hartford Financial Services Group today announced that James Eckerle, 51, has joined the company as executive vice president, strategic initiatives and enterprise technology. In this newly created role, Eckerle will report to the company’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, Liam E. McGee.
808 Renewable Energy Corp. has named Pascal Lorthioir as it s new Chief Executive Officer and Board of Directors Member. Lorthioir brings to the firm – which started in 2006 as 808 Investments, LLC – more than 20 years of professional, hands-on corporate experience in operations, management, research and development, mergers and acquisitions and international…
iSixSigma’s 7th Annual Global Salary Survey, published in the March/April 2010 issue of iSixSigma Magazine, offered data on average compensation for Six Sigma professionals from around the world for the year 2009. The report analyzed salary and bonuses for a variety of regions, including Asia and Pacific Nations. Some of the findings included: Across the…
American Airlines named William Collins, vice president of electric power for GE Aviation, its new vice president of base maintenance, effective Oct. 1.
Aethon, a developer of 21st century robotic delivery solutions for hospitals, today announced the appointment of Kevin Newton as vice president of operations and quality assurance. In this role Newton will lead the company’s manufacturing, purchasing and quality improvement initiatives as well as assist in new product development.
Albany Door Systems announced that David Leach has joined its Americas business unit as quality manager. In his new role, Leach will have responsibility for all quality assurance and customer satisfaction activities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Tita Jeter has been hired as the new manager of quality assurance and regulatory compliance at the Copernicus Group (CGIRB), an independent institutional review board.
GE-certified Black Belt and Master Black Belt Eric Luftig has joined pipe joining firm Victaulic as director of marketing and communications. In this position, Luftig will lead Victaulic’s global marketing efforts, overseeing marketing research, product marketing and marketing communications.
DEK has appointed Lean Six-Sigma Black Belt, Liang Zong, as its new Business Improvement Engineer.
William Stone, a veteran of 27 years in OEM and tier-one automotive manufacturing, has been hired as the quality director of Grote Industries. Stone will lead the quality management team for the manufacturer and marketer of vehicle safety systems products.
During its graduation ceremony last week, UC Irvine Extension recognized Volkswagen de Mexico with its Partnership Award. This honor is bestowed on an organization that maintains a top-quality educational relationship with the institution.
Arctic Cat Inc. today announced that the company has named Paul Fisher, 53, as vice president of operations, effective immediately.
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 has generated similarly stunning results at companies here and abroad in the manufacturing, transactional, and service sectors. All businesses – regardless of sector, size, or project – link…
Education is a key component of your Six Sigma initiative. Below is a recommendation of what should be included in your training, whether conducted in-house or by a third-party consultant. If you feel that some relevant topic is missing from the curriculum or body of knowledge of any of the areas listed below, please send…
OK, so you are not Hamlet, and deciding whether to become a Six Sigma Black Belt (BB) is not a matter of life or death. But it is a major career move, and you should carefully consider the pros and cons. With a nod to David Letterman, we have created two “Top Ten” lists that…
Whether you are a process owner, Master Black Belt or Champion, you will at some point need to interview candidates for an open Black Belt position. Or, you may be a Green Belt or quality engineer with aspirations of someday working full-time as a Six Sigma Black Belt. What should you look for in a…
A Black Belt used Six Sigma to improve a transactional bank deposit process, resulting in yearly savings of $4 million.
Six Sigma is a quality methodology that can produce significant benefit to businesses and organizations. Not much text, however, has been written about the structure needed to successfully implement Six Sigma quality within your business or organization. This article will focus on roles and responsibilities, as well as required rewards and recognition for a successful…
The role of a Black Belt is typically described as a Change Agent and the two terms are frequently used interchangeably. Why then, if the change agent role is such an important part of the Black Belt identity, do we spend four to six months training the Black Belt candidates with maybe, just a few hours of…
With more than 1,000 trained Black Belts, the U.S. Army continues marching forward in its Lean Six Sigma efforts. Trained Black Belts who complete projects and obtain certification are essential to building a robust cadre of practitioners. To this end, the Army formalized the use of Belt course portfolios (BCPs), the collection of projects assigned…
Michael Carver
Gokhan Gureser
Brian Swayne
Global Productivity Solutions
Val Larson
Randy Woods
Richard Miller
Kirsten Terry
iSixSigma-Editorial
Charles Waxer
Jim Fishbein
Michael Cyger
Colonel Garrett D. Heath