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What are the key roles within a Lean Six Sigma Deployment?

Who does what in a Lean Six Sigma deployment, and what should I expect from those playing those roles?

Lean Six Sigma is something an organisation does to improve its performance, and to be effective it needs three components to be working: People, Projects and Processes.

fig 1

In simple terms, the Lean Six Sigma approach involves People working on improvement Projects using specific Processes methods and tools.

But for Lean Six Sigma to become a sustainable approach to improvement requires more than just people working on projects, it involves people with different roles each with clearly defined responsibilities working together. So what are these roles and what are the responsibilities for each of them? This article will explain the roles and describe what each is expected to do. It will also explain how the different roles fit together into an integrated whole.

Fundamentally Lean Six Sigma is about improving an organisation's performance, so we do need some people to lead the improvement activity, and these are the Belts.

The key Belt is the Black Belt. These are typically full time improvement agents and they tackle the more complex, difficult and strategic projects. They usually operate at management level within an organisation and are trained with the full tool box of improvement methodologies and techniques. Training typically takes 16 to 20 days and good Black Belts need to have a good problem solving and educational aptitude. They need to be able to lead and inspire, and successful Black Belts are usually promoted into higher management positions after they complete a 2-3 year stint as improvement agents. This rewards them for their efforts and helps keep the management team invigorated.

Next in line are Green Belts. These are typically part time improvement agents tackling projects alongside their normal duties. They therefore undertake smaller scale projects within their own areas. They are still significant improvement activities, but not usually cross functional or strategic. Green Belts are just as extensively trained in the methodologies but they don't have the full tool box (they generally get about 10 days training) and they are expected to go to the Black Belts if they need help with the more sophisticated tools.

Green Belts tend to operate at supervisory level but it is not uncommon to find high-flying operational people working as Green Belts. To be a successful Green Belt you need to be highly motivated because it is not easy to fit in a Green Belt project within a busy schedule. Good Green Belts may develop into Black Belts or use the experience as a stepping stone to promotion.

After the Green Belts are Yellow Belts. These are trained in the improvement methodology but have only a foundation tool set, and so they are expected to either help the Green and Black Belts on larger projects, or undertake small scale projects to drive continuous improvement in their own areas. As Yellow Belts are not trained in the statistical tools (they typically get five days training) the issues they tackle are not expected to require extensive statistical study. If they do need these tools then they go to Green or Black Belts for support.

Lean Six Sigma projects are team activities and you don't have to be a Lean Six Sigma expert to be part of an improvement team. A typical Lean Six Sigma organisation will typically have 1% Black Belts, 5% Green Belts and up to 20% Yellow Belts. If they are all doing a project with an average team size of say 3 to 5 members then sooner or later just about everyone gets involved in improvement activity. However, that isn't all the roles within a Lean Six Sigma deployment.

Each improvement project needs a Process Owner. Process owners are local managers who actually own the problem to be fixed. They support the belts with team members and expertise. It is very difficult for the Belts to deliver good projects on time without extensive Process Owner support. Good Process Owners will take a real interest in the improvement projects and support them in any way they can.

Alongside the Process Owners are Project Champions. These are senior managers who make sure projects are strategic in nature and also make sure that the necessary resource and focus is applied. Good Champions may not need extensive technical skills but they do need the influencing skills to clear the way for the Belts to make sure projects get delivered in time and in full. Successful Champions will be involved in identifying, selecting, launching and reviewing progress at each stage of the improvement project. Departmental Heads and Site Leaders make good Project Champions.

Fig 2

There is an important relationship between Process owner, Champion and Improvement Belt: for a project to be successful, each role must be clearly in place, and there must be effective communication and cooperation between them.

The final Lean Six Sigma role is the Master Black Belt. Master Black Belts are the masters of the methodologies and tools. Their role is to train and coach the Belts and the management team. To be successful Master Black Belts need to have extensive academic and practical experience of problem solving and waste reduction. They must be able to inspire and lead others, and must be good communicators at all levels. Typical Master Black Belt training is a further 10 days on top of the Black belt training.

A common misunderstanding is that to become a Black Belt a person needs to go through Yellow, then Green and finally become a Black Belt. This is certainly possible, but need not be the case. Each belt has different responsibilities, and tackles improvement at a different level within the organisation.

In this article we have examined the roles within a Lean Six Sigma deployment and also given an indication of what might be expected of a successful person working at each of the roles. For a sustainable approach to improvement, it is important that each of the roles, Process Owners, Champions and Belts are present and correct

All these roles are equally important. If we make an analogy to a hospital we might equate the Doctors to Black Belts, the Consultants to Master black Belts and Nurses to Green and Yellow Belts. But none of these front line professionals could operate without dedicated Ward Staff and Administrators (team members) and effective Managers and Executives (Process Owners and Champions). For the hospital to operate efficiently and effectively each role must be carried out correctly, and all the roles must be working together in harmony. It is the same for Lean Six Sigma, for it to operate efficiently and effectively each role must be present, and all the roles must be working together in harmony.

If you would like to find out more about Lean Six Sigma and the different roles involved, contact SigmaPro for more information, attend one of our introductory sessions or review the articles available on our resources section on the web site.