Green Belt

A Green Belt is a certification that indicates a person is qualified to lead a Six Sigma project or, less frequently, a kaizen team in Lean.

The Belt System Ranks

• Yellow Belt: Team Participant
• Green Belt: Team Leader
• Black Belt: Trainer
• Master Black Belt: Trains black belts; leads improvement effort

The Belt System

1. The full belt system is more commonly used in Six Sigma than Lean, though Master Black Belts are prevalent in both.
2. There is no official certifying body managing the belt system.

(See “Yellow Belt” for more information about the belt system.)

Six Sigma Green Belts

Green Belts have the skill to lead a continuous improvement project on their own. Because Six Sigma is more complicated than Lean and generally has its teams operating independently over an extended period, a formal training program makes sense.

Lean Green Belts

You are unlikely to see a requirement for green belts in Lean projects. You might have a black belt do the training and mentor the team. The actual team leader, though, is often just a recruit from the leadership or engineering team in the area that is being improved.

Many companies don’t even use a green belt certification for their Lean efforts.