UB - University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

Six Sigma Black Belt Certification Program

Six Sigma Certification

UB's Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and the Center for Industrial Effectiveness (TCIE) have launched a Six Sigma Certification Program available to seniors and graduate students within UB Engineering. This program provides students with a distinct advantage in the competitive workforce and can result in Black Belt certification.

Over 25 students have participated in this program since its inception in 2004.

What is Six Sigma?

Six Sigma is a quality improvement program pioneered by Motorola and General Electric. It focuses on addressing problems at the root cause level, eliminating the need for unnecessary inspection and rework processes. The Six Sigma approach identifies and eliminates defects with a structured, data-driven, problem solving method of using rigorous data-gathering and statistical analysis. To achieve Six Sigma a process must not produce more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities. There are five phases to a typical Six Sigma project: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control.

Requirements

Admission to the Six Sigma certification program requires completion of IE 408/508 Quality Assurance and IE 409/508 Six Sigma Quality with a B or better. The courses cover statistical methods, management principles, and methods for dramatically improving the quality of products produced resulting in increased productivity as well as quality. Black Belt certification also requires the completion of a full-scale Six Sigma project with a local company and satisfactory performance on a four-hour comprehensive exam. Students will be paired with Black Belt certified mentors through a partnership with TCIE to conduct their company projects. The program spans two consecutive semesters and is open to seniors and graduate students within UB Engineering.

Program announcement and application requirements for the next program year are generally released in February.

Contact

Program administration is provided by Mr. Tim Leyh, administrative director of TCIE.

For more information on Six Sigma certification at UB,
please contact Nick Randell at TCIE: 636-2568 ext.23