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What Is a Lean Six Sigma Champion?
Lean Six Sigma Champion Training focuses on giving you the managerial and technical skills to enable the deployment and leadership of the Six Sigma strategy. The Lean Six Sigma champions are the upper-level managers above the black belt that lead the implementation of the Lean Six Sigma plans in the company. This makes it the most important role in any successful Lean Six Sigma initiative. In order to ensure the deployment is effective, the executive team will set the direction for champions. They will select projects, decide who gets trained as Black Belts/Green Belts, and review progress. The Lean Six Sigma Champion Training agenda is designed to provide the technical and managerial knowledge needed to facilitate the deployment and leadership of the Six Sigma Strategy.
What Is The Role of the Six Sigma Champion?
Six Sigma Champion is defined as the person in your organization who converts the mission, values, and vision into a Six Sigma strategy that supports the goals of your company. This is done by deciding which projects to implement, identifying resources needed, and removing roadblocks.
Six Sigma teams are made up of executives, champions, and team members, led by a black or green belt. Members of the project level may include black belts or master black belts. They can also be green belts or yellow belts. For technical and expertise guidance, team members are recruited from all over the organization. Six Sigma roles are assigned based on the strengths of individuals within an organization. These assignments are also streamlined as part of Six Sigma certification. It is important that the Six Sigma roles are aligned with individual talents. This will create a high-functioning and efficient team.
- Executives are responsible for ensuring that initiatives and Six Sigma Projects are aligned strategically within the organization.
- Champions lead the team by providing resources and organizational support while removing roadblocks.
- Master Black Belts Train black and green belts and manage the strategic direction for the Six Sigma Program.
- Lean Six Sigma teams with Black Belts
- Green Belts Assist with data collection and analyses for black belt projects.
- Yellow Belts Review overall activities and participate in project teams as members.
The Champion is the individual who develops the idea of a Six Sigma Project within a particular part of an organization. The person who sponsors the deployment is the Champion. They are usually a senior manager or executive in the company, such as a vice president or director. To have a thorough understanding of Six Sigma, they should be trained in Six Sigma Champions.
Six Sigma champions play a number of important roles when leading Six Sigma teams toward the successful completion and implementation of projects. They are responsible for:
- Six Sigma mentors and coaches
- Team members should be able to overcome any organizational obstacles they encounter
- Make sure projects are aligned with the strategic plan of your business
- Focus on teamwork
- Complete projects on time
Six Sigma Belt Levels
White Belt
Six Sigma White Belts are professionals who have not completed a formal six sigma certification level or training program. One session that provides an overview of the relevant LSS methods and vocabulary shows employees at all levels how they can contribute to reliable, efficient outcomes. White Belts can now participate in quality management projects and tasks that involve waste reduction and quality management.
Yellow Belt
Yellow Belts have been exposed to Six Sigma level concepts beyond what is taught in White Belt training. Yellow Belts have often attended a series of training sessions that lasted a few days, gaining the necessary knowledge to be able to contribute fully as team members. They can guide projects with a limited scope and help managers at higher belt levels.
Green Belt
To earn a Six Sigma Green Belt certification level, professionals must attend a course that introduces Six Sigma methods to develop and improve products, services, and processes. The frameworks they learn include DMAIC, which stands for Define, Measure Analyze Improve, and Control. This improvement cycle describes a set of steps that can be used to identify problems, establish metrics for measuring improvements, analyze relevant data, implement the solutions, and sustain the results.
Green Belt training can be valuable for people in positions such as project management, health administration, or Financial Management. It will give them a better understanding of performance metrics, and tools like Control Charts and Failure Modes & Effects Analysis (FMEA). Professionals are prepared to lead projects after certification. They can make connections between LSS concepts, and their organization’s goals. They can use leadership tools, eliminate waste and gain valuable insights from data.
Black Belt
Leaders can take their skills up a notch by earning the Six Sigma Black Belt level certificate. The advanced training is designed for professionals who have a solid understanding of LSS. They will learn how to lead, explain and plan more complex projects and organizational changes. In a Black Belt course, students gain a thorough understanding of how they can drive organizational-wide change, analyze statistics and deploy Lean principles, as well as supervise projects for Green Belts.
In a Black Belt course, professionals gain practical experience and demonstrate their knowledge by completing a project with their employer or nonprofit organization. Students learn how to improve their business productivity and customer satisfaction by establishing a project chart, collecting data, and using Six Sigma tools.
Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma holders can then go on to manage teams, supervise results and execute LSS. They can have a major impact on the productivity of a company by implementing quality improvement and lean initiatives.
Master Black Belt
A Master Black Belt is a seasoned Black Belt who has strong leadership and problem-solving skills. This designation shows that the expert has a broad perspective on strategy across a business and coordinates teams across
Champion
A champion is a manager at the upper level who oversees LSS strategy and implementation. Champions, based on the goals set by senior management, ensure that all initiatives aimed at reducing waste and removing defects are aligned with a business’s growth needs. These managers, with the help of Master Black Belts and other LSS implementers, mentor leaders and track their progress.
How to Become Certified and Trained as a Six Sigma Champion?
There is no standard industry training or certification for Champion. The training provider you choose will determine what you learn and the time it takes. If you’re deploying an LSS, it may be possible to get trained and certified in your own company. You can also get training and certifications from outside consultants, professional associations, and educational institutions.
The training can be conducted in a virtual classroom, with an instructor, or at your own pace. The training can last from 6 hours to 2 days. The content and cost of your course will depend on the reputation and length of service of the provider.
One consulting firm, for example, offers two-day classroom sessions to Champions that cover the following topics.
- Introduction to Lean Six Sigma
- Lean Six Sigma: Techniques and benefits
- Lean Six Sigma: How to get started
- Project definition for Lean Six Sigma
- Lean Six Sigma Example Projects
- Project selection process
- How to Select Black Belts for Lean Six Sigma Distribution
- Metrics development in Lean Six Sigma Projects
- Lean Six Sigma: Recognition
- Lean Six Sigma: What is it?
- Six Sigma and Lean Methods are incorporated
- Lean Six Sigma: Fundamental Tools
- Systems of measurement
- Capability Study
- How to apply Lean Six Sigma in Business Processes
- Tracking and managing Lean Six Sigma Projects
- Handling changes within the Lean Six Sigma Process
- Monetary Strategies for Lean Six Sigma Projects
A professional organization offers a 6-hour class covering the following topics.
- Introduction to Lean Six Sigma
- Performance Measures
- Requirements
- Project Identification
- Important Implementation Decisions
- Lessons Learned
- Project Selection
- Project Review Guidelines
- Deployment planning
Benefits of Being a Six Sigma Champion
- They set the direction for process improvement in an organization.
- They connect the benefits of a project with organizational priorities.
- The Champions can create an entire portfolio of projects that could include projects in Customer Satisfaction and Service, Cost, Quality, or Cost. This gives Champions visibility and showcases their abilities to the top management to manage a diverse portfolio of projects.
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