International Association for Six Sigma Certification

The Most Recognized Six Sigma Certification: ASQ or IASSC

The nature of today’s job market is that for certain types of jobs many employers require some level of Six Sigma certification as a minimum for consideration. Although having a certification is no guarantee that the holder is actually competent or is the right fit for achieving an organization’s goals, it is a starting point for many companies. Even if you already have a job, in some organizations Six Sigma certifications are a plus for consideration of higher level positions.

ASQ and IASSC text showing on image banner.

There a many ways to earn your six sigma certification but there are only a few affordable ways to earn a credible certification. We are going to discuss two methods of getting certified by the most common certification entities in the industry. These methods also happen to be the most affordable too!

Six Sigma Terminology - U to Z

UCL

Upper Control Limit (note, different from USL): representing a 3 x Sigma upwards deviation from the mean value of a variable (see also LCL). For normally distributed output, 99.7% should fall between UCL and LCL.

When used on control charts, the “3sigma” level can be calculated from sample-to-sample values or batch-to-batch averages using a “magic number,” and is used to flag-up unexpected deviations.

Unexplained Variation (S)

Regression statistical output that shows the unexplained variation in the data. Se = sqrt((sum(yi-y_bar)^2)/(n-1))

Unit

A unit is any item that is produced or processed which is liable for measurement or evaluation against predetermined criteria or standards.

Univariate

A random variable with a numerical value that is defined on a given sample space.

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Six Sigma Terminology - O to Q

Operational Cost Target

This value represents the maximum expenditure for material, labor, outsourcing, overhead, and all other costs associated with that project. This figure can then be divided between the various operations comprising the manufacturing process to control costs at each step.

Operational Cost

Sometimes referred to as Revenue or Running Costs, these are the costs resulting from day-to-day running of an operation, e.g. staff costs, hardware maintenance, and electricity.

Operations Process

Known for leveraging economies of scale and narrowly defined tasks, it is one of a family of four work processes characterized as an on-going endeavor undertaken to create a repetitive product or result which is performed by people, planned, executed and controlled. (Artisan Process, Project Process, Operations Process, Automated Process)

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Six Sigma Terminology - K to N

Kaizen

Kaizen a Japanese term that means continuous improvement, taken from the words ‘Kai‘ that means continuous and ‘zen‘ that means improvement. Some translate ‘kai‘ to mean change and ‘zen‘ to mean good, or for the better.

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Six Sigma Terminology - G to J

Gantt Chart

A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart, devised by Henry Gantt in the 1910s, that explains a project schedule. Gantt charts illustrate the start and finish dates of the terminal elements and summary elements of a project

Globalization

Social, economical, environmental and technological perspectives to the many cultures that exist in the world.

Green Belt

An employee of an organization who has been trained on the improvement methodology of Six Sigma and will lead a process improvement or quality improvement team as *part* of their full-time job. Their degree of knowledge and skills associated with Six Sigma is less than that of a Black Belt or Master Black Belt. Extensive product knowledge in their company is a must in their task of process improvement.

Hawthorn Effect

Improved process data that results from process operators who know their process performance is being measured and exercise more care in the execution of the process than would normally be done.

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Six Sigma Terminology - D to F

Defining terminology and solving doubts on them is a vital part you do as a six sigma expert. Terminologies are descriptive in nature and should be understood before moving ahead in studies.

Data

Data are factual information used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation; often this term refers to quantitative information. It is plural in form. The singular is “datum.”

Defect

Any undesired result is a defect.

A failure to meet one of the acceptance criteria of your customers. A defective unit may have one or more defects. ‘A defect is an inability to conform to requirements’ (Crosby, ‘Quality Is Free’), whether or not those requirements have been articulated or specified.

Defective

The word defective describes an entire unit that fails to meet acceptance criteria, regardless of the number of defects within the unit. A unit may be defective because of one or more defects.

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Six Sigma Terminology - A to C

Before starting six sigma journey, you should take the time to review terms of six sigma for the better understanding of its tools and techniques.

six sigma terms

Accountability

Conditional personal or professional liability “after” the fact, determined by action or responsibility. Accountability to action assumes the willingness to be held accountable for sufficient expertise and capability. (see responsibility)

Accuracy

Accuracy refers to a clustering of data about an obvious target. It is the difference between a physical quantity’s average measurements and that of a known standard, accepted ‘truth,’ vs. ‘benchmark.’ Envision a target with many arrows circling the bullseye. However, none of them are near each other.
Precision refers to the tightness of the cluster of data. Envision a target with a cluster of arrows all touching one another but located slightly up and to the right of the bullseye.