Six Sigma Yellow Belt Philosophy

Originally developed by Motorola, USA in 1986, Six Sigma is a business management strategy that is used in various sectors of industry where production suffers due to lack of motivation on part of the workforce. The strategy consists of a set of quality management processes that includes statistical methods, thereby creating a special brand of people who are termed as Black Belts, Green Belts, Yellow Belts, etc). Six Sigma Yellow Belt has the potential to infuse vigorous new blood into companies that have either been vitiated by bad blood, or have become enduringly anemic. It is not that statistical quality improvement techniques are ineffective, it is their way of implementation that often spells disaster. What is really needed is an organized and effective transformation to bring the industry or the business back to health.

Any change or transformation, even if it involves cultural or ethnic matters, when forcibly injected into a race by authority or orthodoxy, seldom reaches its goal. Similar is the case with man management. It can sure change external behavior patterns, but so far as inner motivation is concerned, especially when focusing on the process outputs, vis-à-vis raw inputs, it usually draws a blank. Needless to say, this was the result of utilizing numerical goals.

According to Deming’s Six Sigma Yellow Belt training program, vigorous training of plant level employees would be implemented through his famous cycle of Plan > Do > Check >Act. Translated into more practical mode, it would read: “Define > Measure > Analyze > Improve > Control”.

Here is a set of insights provided by Deming that are supposed to help better deployment for all.

“Focus on fundamentals’, because Six Sigma as a regulation can become lost in density. Focus rather on simple and sticky’ resolutions that is quickly applicable. Six Sigma Yellow Belt is after all, 10% rocket science and 90% common sense.

“Seek profound knowledge”, since phony perceptive can be fatal. Instead, he recommended a holistic way of thinking that was based on four simple factors or issues – Understanding a system, understanding variation, epistemology and human psychology. Managers and actual workmen both need to become flexible enough to adapt to an unstable commercial environment.

“Embrace Pareto insights”, commented Deming as he remembered the fabled 80/20 analysis enumerated by Vilfredo Pareto’s insight that established the fact that 80% of the land in England was owned by 20% of the population. This phenomenon was applicable in all forms of natural and social issues.

“Expose the hidden factory”. All human processes are ridden by furtive panels of incompetence. It should try to eliminate this hidden factory as early as possible.

“Sustain the gain”, prophesized the master management pro. Management fads may come and go; so are quality gurus. But Six Sigma Yellow Belt must maintain consistency all the while.