Becoming a Certified Six SIGMA Master Black Belt: The Premier Study Guide

Six Sigma is a systematic approach to making significant or breakthrough process improvements. Currently, Six Sigma exists as a team-based problem-solving approach applied by trained project facilitators, which are typically called belts. Depending on the level of expertise in the methodology and improvement tools, belts can be White, Yellow, Green, Black, and Master Black Belts (MBB). The Master Black Belt is the highest level of expertise in Six Sigma approaches, tools, and techniques.

In companies implementing Six Sigma, the role of Master Black Belt is to train, guide, and coach Black and Green belts to execute their improvement projects efficiently. In addition to this, Master Black Belts often are responsible for overseeing the organization’s entire improvement program with the ultimate responsibility for creating a robust culture of continuous improvement. Thus, the competence of MBBs is critically important for the success of and long-term sustainability of Six Sigma in organizations.

This book is ideal for all those who wish to get trained and certified as Master Black Belts and train others to achieve breakthrough results using Six Sigma to shape and execute improvement projects. The book has the right balance between topics such as strategic planning, project selection, stakeholder management, and training design, to Advanced Statistical Techniques such as propagation of errors, destructive measurement systems, general linear models and components of variation, and complex blocking structures in Design of Experiments. This book was written by three expert Master Black Belts certified by the American Society for Quality (ASQ). Moreover, they are from different parts of the world and industry, which brings great diversity to the contents of the book.

Hemant Urdhwareshe is a Fellow of the American Society for Quality (ASQ) with five Quality Certifications from ASQ including a Six Sigma Master Black Belt. He has a total of 46 years of experience in the industry and consulting/training. He is the author of Six Sigma for Business Excellence and coauthor of the book Total Quality Management, both published by Pearson Education. Hemant also runs a YouTube channel with technical videos on the subjects of quality and reliability. The channel has 10,200+ subscribers. Hemant has received QCI-DL Shah Quality Champion Award 2018, the Qimpro Silver Standard 2003 Award, and the Quality Leadership Award from the World Quality Congress 2022.

Husain Al-Omani is a Senior Member of ASQ, with 19-years of experience in project management and Six Sigma. He holds BS. (Mechanical Engineering), MS. (Construction Management) and MBA from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM). He has four ASQ-Certifications including Six Sigma Master Black Belt. He had a Leadership role in the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE) International Board of Directors as Director at Large (2021-2025). He was awarded Keane Award in 2021 from AACE International.

Thomas West graduated from the Kelley School of Business with an MBA in Finance and an emphasis on Operational Excellence. Thomas is certified by ASQ as Master Black Belt and Manager of Quality and Organizational Excellence. He is also a Project Management Professional (PMP), Master Change Agent, and National Baldridge Examiner. Following his graduate studies, Tom joined a regional health system in the Indianapolis area, where he spent nine years serving in various roles on the organization’s continuous improvement team. After several years with the health system, Tom pursued a career path that led him to create his own consulting business, which helps organizations integrate strategy with continuous improvement and innovation.