Black Belts and Green Belts are quickly becoming the talk of the town. No you’re not in the midst of a kung fu movie, the “belts” of Six Sigma are empowering companies to recover profits at an unprecedented scale. Here’s a basic rundown of their roles:

Master Black Belts

Six Sigma Master Black Belts are sometimes found within organizations and are at the top of the food chain. These team members are the full-time experts in Six Sigma integration. They not only are highly trained Black Belts, but they also have additional specialized skills and experiences that are used to deploy Six Sigma across the entire enterprise.

Black Belts

Six Sigma Black Belts are the ones who will be directly responsible for the execution of Six Sigma projects within an organization. Often, they are “full-time” in their duties (however, they typically only assume the role for a few years before returning to their regular duties). They are expected to take on projects with savings ball-parked at around $100,000 - $250,000. They help coach, develop, lead, and advise management and employees to achieve their goals.

Green Belts

Six Sigma Green Belts are the “worker bees” of the Six Sigma project. They can do much of the legwork; from gathering data to executing experiments in support of the Black Belt projects. Green Belts typically have two primary responsibilities:

• Help ensure the success of six sigma techniques
• Lead improvement projects of a smaller scale within their respective areas

The amount of Green Belts will regularly exceed the number of Black Belts.

Yellow Belts

Six Sigma Yellow Belts have a solid basic knowledge of the Six Sigma methodology. Although they are not typically handling a Black Belt project, they are taught to realize the value of Six Sigma. Their daily work reflects their excellent understanding of a quality vs. profit relationship.

Solid guidance and commitment allow these various belts to work together to achieve increased quality throughout an organization. It is through the specific roles of each that proper discipline is achieved through the Six Sigma implementation process.