Welcome back to the official Services Limited ISO18404:2015 blog, a weekly instalment of ISO18404 knowledge right where and when you need it!
In this week’s blog, we’ll be informing you of the role of a Black Belt, or Lean equivalent, according to the new International Standard.
First and foremost, ISO18404 is considered to be a very proactive International Standard, whereby an organisation or practitioner will continue providing evidence of competences in order to retain internationally-recognised certification.
In addition to the 23 Six Sigma and 16 Lean competencies, required in the standard, the role of a Black Belt and Lean Expert is defined as follows:
Six Sigma Black Belt
A Six Sigma Black Belt according to the new International Standard has the role of working with others to identify and quantify opportunities for improvement, they should organise multi-disciplinary teams (process organisation) where necessary and manage improvement projects.
Alongside the above, a Black Belt should lead improvement projects and facilitate a Green Belt’s project using the DMAIC methodology. They should train, coach and mentor a Green Belt on the DMAIC methodology and associated process improvement techniques.
As a Black Belt, you should participate in all ‘gate’ reviews directly, through prepared presentations of the work accomplished to-date, with an emphasis on the accomplishments in the phase being reviewed.
Lean Leader
According to the new International Standard, a Lean Leader has the role of working with the local ‘line management’ to identify and drive improvement within their local environment. To achieve this, a Lean Leader should use TAKT and cycle times to identify appropriate resource requirements.
With this considered, a Lean Leader should lead improvement activities and quantify the benefits that have been delivered. A Leader should coach Lean Practitioner’s on process improvement methods and activities, whilst also running training sessions on Lean techniques.
Six Sigma Black Belt and Lean Leader roles represent two of the roles which are set out in ISO18404. If you’d like to learn more about the specific job roles for Six Sigma Green Belt or Master Black Belt; Lean Practitioner and Expert. Please visit our past blogs on these matters.
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