A structured review of the Six Sigma belt system

Abstract

The Six Sigma methodology creates many possibilities for a radical improvement of process and product quality. Organizations that are embarking on the implementation of Six Sigma improvement initiatives need to overcome substantial barriers to ensure the effectiveness of the implemented approaches. In many cases, the implementation of improvement initiatives involves a significant investment in the establishment of a supporting infrastructure and training for the improvement initiatives. One of the most critical success factors for the implementation of Six Sigma is a strong organizational infrastructure led by different Six Sigma belts. Thus, the aim of the article is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of research regarding the Six Sigma belt system. A total of 62 journal papers about the Six Sigma belt system published during the period from 2000 to 2016 were selected for the analysis. The analysis reveals that the research regarding the Six Sigma belt system has so far been focused primarily on large manufacturing enterprises. The Six Sigma belt system has not been yet adequately studied within the context of smaller companies. Thus, the field on the application of Six Sigma in the small and medium enterprises provides valuable research opportunities. Furthermore, only 15 out of the 62 articles focus exclusively on the examination of the SS belt system rather than exploring general application of the Six Sigma methodology. However, these research papers only focused on Black Belts or Green Belts while neither the Master Black Belt nor Yellow Belt was a high priority in these studies.