No, you can begin with yellow or green, even if you are new to six sigma. See the question Where should beginners/newbies begin.

In theory yes, and we do have some delegates who choose this path. We do not recommend skipping green belt, because as a black belt you will need to manage a team of green belt practitioners, and if you have never been through the process of understanding and experiencing green belt, you will possibly be ill-equipped for the task. If however, you insist, we will permit it at your own risk.

Six Sigma is a highly disciplined approach that allows us to focus on creating and delivering nearly perfect products and services. The underlying idea being that if you can measure how many “defects” you have in a process, you can systematically figure out a way to eliminate them and get as close to “zero defects” as possible. This concept is the motivating factor why employers today are increasingly searching for candidates with this type of certification.

Lean uses tools and techniques to improve efficiency. Major improvements can be achieved by working on the value provided to customers. DMAIC focuses on reducing variation by finding and fixing the root cause. This improves effectiveness and focuses on doing things right the first time.

Both Lean Six Sigma and DMAIC Six Sigma use the same DMAIC framework for solving complex process issues. The primary focus areas are different though. Lean Six Sigma focus on identifying and eliminating the sources of waste, and thus improving process flow. Six Sigma focus on identifying and eliminating sources of variation and defects, and thus improving quality and capability.

We spent many years aligned with IASSC, and recently decided that we prefer CSSC. The IASSC Certification is exam based, where industry primarily requires experience-based certifications. 2KO Africa students actually apply the learning and the 6+ month journey of certification is the evidence-based part of the training and certification.

If 2KO Africa students want to sit the IASSC exam, they are welcome, but it will require extensive preparation as it is a closed book 4-hour exam with a strong focus on advanced statistical analysis. It will give them an additional certificate, but only evidence of ability to study and memorize material, not the ability to apply. 2KO Africa students will not be certified by our master trainers, unless they prove themselves capable of implanting the stats and tools gained in their training, by means of actual evidence-based project, which they can prove will have a massive impact on waste reduction and impact on bottom line.

You can request our brochure which will give you pre-requisites for each course. See Q11. You do not need to start from white belt – see Q1 and Q2.

The price you see when we send you a forma quote, is the price which includes course, manuals, logistics, and certification. There are no additional costs.

Virtual courses and Instructor led courses have the same duration.

• Yellow belt courses (virtual and instructor led) are 2 days full time
• Green belt courses (virtual and instructor led) are 5 days full time
• Black belt courses (virtual and instructor led) are 10 days full time (2 non-consecutive weeks)

Online self-study courses have the following duration

• White belt – 30 days access
• Yellow belt – 90 days access
• Green belt – 1 year access
• Black belt – 1 year access

If you choose for an online course with SigmaXL, we include a perpetual license for SigmaXL with your course purchase. If you choose a course with Minitab, you will get a 30-day free trial for Minitab software. Thereafter you will need to purchase the software yourself. An annual Minitab license for an individual costs around R25,000. We do not include the cost of Minitab software in the online minitab course, but this is made clear in our quotes and invoices.

If you run out of time, and need additional time, you may contact our staff who will request an extension for you from the instructor. This is usually given for a few weeks, when requested. A subsequent extension will require some direct correspondence with the instructor before given.

We have payment terms for individuals who are funding their own courses. To qualify, the invoice will need to be made in your personal name. You may request payment terms from any of our staff. We allow all courses to be paid off in 3 or 6 months usually, but we are flexible and will try to accommodate students where possible.

We judge each delegate on their own experience before deciding about whether they should attend green belt before the black belt or go straight to black belt. In rare cases where there has been vast pre-requisite experience in the project and engineering field, we will enrol a student directly on Black belt. Usually, a student is required to attend green belt before the black belt. No specific six sigma experience is required before enrolling for green belt, if a delegate has stats and project management experience.

Our course schedule is available on our website for all our instructor led and virtual training courses. See link: https://sixsigmasouthafrica.co.za/google-calendar