Renee O'Farrell is a freelance writer providing valuable tips and advice for people looking for ways to save money, as well as information on how to create, re-purpose and reinvent everyday items. Her articles offer money-saving tips and valuable insight on typically confusing topics. O'Farrell is a member of the National Press Club and holds advanced degrees in business, financial management, psychology and sociology.
What Is Six Sigma Certification?
Six Sigma certification is a verification of an individual's command of a well-regarded quality assurance method. Certifications for Six Sigma training are awarded in levels using a belt classification system similar to belt levels used in martial arts.
Six Sigma is a set of quality management techniques and tools developed in the 1980s and adopted by American corporations, including General Electric. Development of the Six Sigma system is credited to Bill Smith and Mikel Harry, two Motorola engineers, and the name was trademarked by Motorola in 1993.
There is no standard Six Sigma curriculum. Programs are offered by many colleges, online and on-campus, and are offered in-house by many corporations.
Key Takeaways
- Six Sigma is a set of quality management techniques and tools that have been widely adopted by American corporations.
- Six Sigma originated as a method of minimizing errors or defects in manufacturing processes.
- It has since had a pervasive influence on management practices in the U.S. and abroad.
Understanding Six Sigma Certification
The name Six Sigma stems from a statistical measurement represented by the lowercase Greek symbol sigma (σ). On a bell curve measuring data and standard deviation, sigma represents one standard deviation from the mean of a set of data. So, six sigma refers to the data that falls with six standard deviations on either side of the mean of the dataset.
On the curve, any data points outside of six sigma represent products outside acceptable norms—these are generally called defects. The Six Sigma bell curve represent one million data points. Therefore, if your product falls within six sigma—or six standard deviations from the mean on either side—there is a likelihood that you only have 3.4 defects per million items produced.
In a manufacturing process, this is the ultimate level to strive for, ensuring error-free delivery of a product 99.99966% of the time. Six Sigma training, therefore, focuses on developing management processes that reliably lead to virtually defect-free results in manufacturing or in any business activity.
The Six Sigma Belt Levels
Six Sigma certifications are awarded belt levels relevant to the position in the employee's business within an organization. They are earned through practical experience, course-based training, and exams. The belt levels are:
- White belt: Awarded for completing an entry-level overview of the tools used in Six Sigma, its history, and the system's structure.
- Yellow belt: Awarded for assisting a project at a practical level and passing an exam demonstrating an understanding of implementing, performing, and applying Six Sigma.
- Green belt: Awarded for learning the principles of Six Sigma and implementing them under the guidance of a black belt in real projects. Must pass an exam demonstrating thorough knowledge of the phases of the Six Sigma Method.
- Black belt: Plans and executes projects using Six Sigma principles. Must pass an exam demonstrating a complete knowledge of the phases of the Six Sigma Method.
- Master black belt: Manages the implementation of Six Sigma projects across functions. Demonstrates through an exam an expert understanding of the philosophies and principles of Six Sigma.
- Champion: An upper-level executive who is responsible for the implementation of Six Sigma across all departments.
Benefits of Six Sigma
For Employers
Six Sigma helps employers in many ways. In addition to improving employee and process performance, businesses benefit from:
- Reduced waste
- Increased efficiency
- Increased revenue
- Reduced errors and defects
- Increased customer satisfaction and loyalty
- Increased brand recognition
For Employees
Employees benefit from Six Sigma training and application as much as businesses do. Many experience:
- Increased pay
- An increase in opportunities
- Higher job security
- Leadership opportunities
Lean Six Sigma
Lean Six Sigma is derived from a combination of Lean and Six Sigma principles. Lean focuses on removing waste of physical and personnel resources by identifying the causes of defects, overproduction, waiting, non-utilized talent, transportation waste, inventory waste, waste of motion, and extra processing.
Lean Six Sigma uses Six Sigma techniques to identify and eliminate wasted resource use that doesn't generate value for the end user while continually working to achieve a goal of 3.4 defects per million products.
No Official Standards for Six Sigma
No unifying standard or organization sets a standard for Six Sigma belt certification. Instead, each company, school, or certifying organization determines its own criteria.
In some organizations, certification may require completing an exam or a series of exams. In others, an individual must complete several Six Sigma-based projects. In addition, certification services charge a fee.
How Much Does Six Sigma Cost?
Because Six Sigma training is not standardized, costs will vary based on who is conducting the training. For example, a company training employees in Six Sigma will likely not charge the employees but will incur the costs of employing people who can teach the subject, developing the curriculum, and losing the employee's time at their regular job.
You can take certification tests through various sources, such as Purdue University, The Council for Six Sigma Certification, or Project Management Academy. Project Management Academy charges $495 for its Beginner Yellow Belt certification, $2,295 for its Green Belt Training, and $3,595 for its Black Belt Training.
The Council for Six Sigma Certification offers free white belt certification and charges $99 for a yellow belt, $159 for a green belt, and $229 for a black belt (for primary certifications—level II certifications are more expensive).
What Is a Six Sigma Certification?
Six Sigma certification signifies you have received a specific level of training and understand the concepts involved in a particular quality improvement method.
How Long Does It Take to Get Six Sigma Certification?
The time it takes to get a Six Sigma certification depends on many factors. If you're receiving the training through your employer, it may take one week or more. On the other hand, studying in your free time can take as long as you need to study and pass the exam.
What Does Six Sigma Certification Cost?
Six Sigma certification costs vary by level from $99 to $3,595. The costs also depend on how much instruction you receive or whether you're only paying for the exam.
The Bottom Line
Six Sigma is a quality control certification that attempts to educate people on analyzing processes and outcomes to reduce waste and decrease defects. There are several levels of certifications, from a primary end user to a master Six Sigma user who acts as a senior quality control member.
Six Sigma benefits both employees and employers because using it can reduce waste and defects, thereby increasing a business's value to consumers and end-users. This can lead to high levels of customer satisfaction, more revenue, higher compensation, and better products.
The design language of the Moto Watch 70 is radically different from Motorola's previous wearable products. For starters, this one features an Apple Watch-styled square display — instead of the standard round displays we have gotten used to seeing on older Motorola wearable products. The Moto Watch 70 gets many health-tracking features one would expect from a 2022 fitness tracker. The device gets a plethora of onboard sensors that include an accelerometer, gyroscope, heart rate monitor, and SpO2 sensor. These sensors let the watch monitor the users' steps, distance traversed, running data, elevation gain, heart rate, and estimated amount of calories burned.
The display used on the Moto Watch 70 measures 1.69-inches across and boasts a resolution of 240x280 pixels. With the supplied straps, the fitness band weighs a little over 150g. It supports Bluetooth 5.0 for wireless connectivity — and also has the ability to pair with Android and iOS smartphones. While the spec sheet doesn't reveal the battery capacity of the Moto Watch 70, the product listing claims that it is good to last up to 14 hours when used continuously. The device can also be fully charged in just about an hour, the listing asserts. Along with the watch, the retail packaging of the Moto Watch 70 also includes a Zinc Alloy Case, as well as a silicone strap. The product is also IP67 rated for water resistance making it apt for quick dashes to the pool and surviving an occasional shower.
There is no official word yet about the Moto Watch 70 from Motorola. However, we do expect the company to announce this product in the weeks to come.
Motorola on Thursday announced the new $170 Moto G Play smartphone, an updated version of the 2021 Moto G Play. You'll be able to order the new Moto G Play starting Jan. 12 directly from Best Buy, Amazon, and Motorola.
The new Moto G Play retains the previous model's 6.5-inch display HD display, but it's now faster, with a refresh rate of 90Hz.
The improved speed, compared with the standard 60Hz, means that scrolling through webpages, apps, and gaming will all have a smoother look and feel.
Also: These are my 5 must-have devices for work and travel now
Powering the Moto G Play is a MediaTek Helio G37 processor, 3GB of memory, 32GB of storage, and a 5,000-mAh battery that Motorola promises will give owners up to three days of use.
You can expand the 32GB of storage using a microSD card, adding up to 512GB of extra space.
There are three rear-facing cameras: a 16-megapixel main camera, a 2-megapixel macro camera, and a 2-megapixel depth camera. The front-facing selfie camera is 5 megapixels.
In order to get the Moto G Play's cost so low, there are some features that don't make the cut, even in 2023. You won't find 5G connectivity with the Moto G Play, nor will you find NFC capabilities -- which means you can't use any mobile payment services like Google Pay.
Review: Motorola Edge Plus: Mid-range experience for flagship price
The Moto G Play will come in the color blue, with a plastic housing that has a USB-C for charging and data transfers.
At launch, on Jan. 12, the Moto G Play will be available from Best Buy, Amazon, and Motorola.com.
After the initial launch, Motorola says we can expect to see the G Play 2023 at Metro by T-Mobile, Dish, Xfinity Mobile, US Cellular, Consumer Cellular, Spectrum Mobile, and Optimum Mobile.
Motorola’s Moto Watch 70 is on its way to being released soon, as the wearable has just been listed on Best Buy Canada. The landing page reveals the product in its full glory, presenting its key specifications alongside a boring, conventional, and lazy design.
The Moto 70 features a 1.69-inch color display with a 240 x 280-pixel resolution. While we don’t know if the display is LCD or AMOLED, the case it’s housed in is zinc alloy. You’ll get a silicone watch band bundled with the device. As for other features, the Moto 70 sports heart-rate tracking alongside a SpO2 sensor and a gyroscope. Fitness features onboard include 23 sports modes.
As for connectivity, you will get Bluetooth 5.0 to pair it with your smartphone. According to the listing, the Moto 70 is rated to last up to 14 hours of continuous usage, which is poor considering it doesn’t run Wear OS.
Any version of a real-time operating system or RTOS (think smartwatches from Amazfit, Honor, and more) lasts more than a week. The upcoming Motorola smartwatch is touted to run Moto OS, which was also present on the Moto Watch 100 launched last year.
The Moto 70 is totally different from Moto 100 design-wise. Instead of a circular dial, it features a rectangular design that doesn’t look dissimilar from the likes of the Apple Watch and Amazfit GTS series. This is the same Motorola that once launched an exquisite Moto 360 back in 2014. Since then, the company has been sold to Lenovo, and it is now releasing products with uninspiring design languages. It’s as if the company doesn’t want to innovate and would rather play it on the safer side by launching wearables that resemble all other smartwatches on the market.
The Moto 70 is only available in black at CAD 99, which translates to $75. At that price, it will go up against the Amazfit Bip U Pro. The smartwatch is yet to be launched by Motorola, but the Best Buy listing indicates it’ll be coming soon.
Editors' Recommendations
What do Pantone’s Color of the Year 2022 and a 200-megapixel camera have in common? Both are attention-grabbers for Motorola as it gets ready to catch your eye next time you’re shopping for a new smartphone.
Digital Trends talked to Ruben Castano, Motorola’s head of customer experience and design, and Rahul Desai, Motorola’s director of camera and imaging, about the Motorola Edge 30 Ultra and the Edge 30 Neo. The 30 Ultra is the first internationally available phone with a 200MP camera, and the 30 Neo is the brand’s first phone created with color experts Pantone.
Meet Motorola’s standout phones
The Edge 30 Ultra and Edge 30 Neo are the latest devices from Motorola. Both represent new territory for the brand, with the Edge 30 Ultra being a true flagship smartphone — a segment that hasn’t really been Motorola’s focus for a while — and the Edge 30 Neo being the first device created with Pantone.
The headline feature of the Edge 30 Ultra is the 200MP main camera, which is Samsung’s ISOCELL HP1 sensor that we also recently tried on the Xiaomi 12T Pro. It sits alongside a 50MP wide-angle camera and a 12MP telephoto camera with a 2x optical zoom. Powering the phone is a Qualcomm 8+ Gen 1 processor with 12GB of RAM, and the screen is a 6.67-inch curved pOLED panel with a 144Hz refresh rate and a 2400 x 1080 pixel resolution. What else? There’s a massive 60MP selfie camera, a 4,612mAh battery, 125-watt wired fast charging and 50W wireless charging, an IP52 water resistance rating, 5G, and Android 12.
The Edge 30 Neo is a different beast, and it’s all about the colors. It’s the Very Peri model in our photos, based on Pantone’s Color of the Year, and if that’s too bright, you can also get it in Ice Palace, Black Onyx, and Aqua Foam colors.
The phone is distinctly midrange, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 processor, 8GB of RAM, a 6.28-inch pOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, an IP52 rating, 5G, a 4,020mAh battery, and 60W wired fast charging and wireless charging.
Bringing a 200MP camera to the Edge 30 Ultra
“It is a massive sensor,” Castano smiled as we discussed how the 200MP camera affected the Edge 30 Ultra’s design. “It occupies quite a bit of space, so we celebrated the fact that we have this camera, and it’s a very prominent element. It’s pretty much the first thing you see on the rear of the device, with a lot of focus on quality and details. We landed on this idea of creating almost a layered approach between the flash, the two secondary cameras, and the main camera as the most elegant way to integrate it. Yet it’s a very thin device with a curved display on the front and curved glass on the back. So a lot of research was actually done, with a lot of fine-tuning and refinement until we got to the point where we were getting reactions of, ‘Oh, that looks nice, that looks premium.’”
It certainly stands out on the back of the Edge 30 Ultra, but not so much that it’s all you see. The module sits proud of the frosted, matte-finish glass rear panel and its layered plinth, but it’s great to see such a large sensor treated with subtlety and wrapped up in an 8.4mm-thick device that weighs only 198 grams. I asked Desai what makes the 200MP camera so exciting, and what you should think about when shooting with it?
“The best way to take advantage of the additional level of detail is with really expansive landscape photography. We’re talking pictures of mountains, lakes, and nature in general. This is the best way to show it off,” Desai revealed, before adding a word of warning. “When you operate in the 200MP mode, it is critical that you have a lot of light. We recommend brighter scenes to really take advantage of it. It’s not really meant for taking photos inside the house, for example.”
For the times you aren’t taking photos using all of the 200 megapixels, the Edge 30 Ultra’s camera takes quad-pixel 15MP shots.
“In everyday circumstances, [the camera] operates in a pixel-binning mode where we combine a certain number of pixels at a lower resolution for much better lowlight performance.” Desai continued. “People get the benefit of either choosing a really high resolution, or getting really good performance in their everyday use as well.”
Motorola has worked hard to maintain consistency between the cameras, and also on the software driving them.
“We think of the camera as a camera system, not just one standalone camera,” said Desai. “A lot of the software work involves making sure the 200MP main rear camera works well with the wide-angle and the telephoto cameras. From a user perspective, we want to ensure they aren’t aware which particular camera is being chosen, so the transition from one camera to another is smooth. It also involves making sure that the tuning of each individual camera matches, so that when you zoom, for example, from the main camera to the telephoto camera, the colors don’t suddenly change.”
The Edge 30 Neo’s stunning Pantone colors
Consistency in the colors produced by the camera is essential, but there’s a lot more experimentation when it comes to the Edge 30 Neo, the first smartphone Motorola and Pantone have worked on together. The phone you see in our photos is in Very Peri, Pantone’s 2022 Color of the Year. We asked Castano what attracted Motorola to work with Pantone:
“Color has a huge impact on the emotional reaction that consumers have with our products,” he said. “Internally, we do a lot of color research and quantify the emotional reaction [to the color], something that Pantone, through their expertise after many years of working in the field of color, have really perfected. They can not only anticipate trends, but also understand how people will react emotionally to a color almost at a psychological level. That was what initially attracted us to work with Pantone.”
But surely a color is a color, right? Castano talked more about our relationship with color, and why it’s important to get it right on a smartphone.
“Mobile phones are becoming vessels of self-expression. We do everything on our devices. So there’s a lot more [to choosing a color] than just taking the device and dipping it in a bucket of color that we hope will be trendy for the next six to 12 months. Color is a powerful tool. Pantone’s data shows that color influences purchase decisions by up to 85% and also increases brand recognition by up to 80%.”
If color is that important, how was the decision on the four colors of the Edge 30 Neo made?
“The 2022 Color of the Year was, in a way, almost a no-brainer,” Castano said. “We were announcing our partnership with Pantone, and it’s the most important color this year, so it had to be one. The two complementary colors to that, Ice Palace and Aqua Foam, were the result of working with Pantone and identifying two additional shades that were relevant and would complement the meaning of the Very Peri color. The fourth one is a neutral, dark black. It’s still needed as part of any product lineup.”
“There’s a reason behind why we select a camera, why we select the chipset, and why we select the display,” Castano concluded about the brand’s approach to making phones. “Now, there’s also a strong reason why colors are selected and the meaning behind them.”
Motorola, megapixels, Pantone, and the future
Motorola has a multiyear partnership with Pantone, and it’s exclusive too, meaning you won’t see any other smartphone makers collaborating with the company in the same way. It’s also notable that the Edge 30 Ultra is the first smartphone to be sold outside China with the 200MP ISOCELL camera inside. These two devices also arrive at the same time Motorola has launched the new Motorola Razr 2022 folding smartphone. There’s no doubt Motorola is working hard to attract attention, and with colors like Very Peri on its phones and 200MP cameras topping spec lists, it’s certainly doing that.
At this time, neither the Motorola Edge 30 Ultra nor the Edge 30 Neo are available in the U.S., but have been released in the U.K. The Edge 30 Ultra costs 750 British pounds, or about $875, while the Edge 30 Neo is 350 pounds, or around $408. There is a chance both devices may arrive in North America in the future, perhaps under different names.
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Motorola
TL;DR
- Motorola is bringing a special edition of the Motorola Edge 30 Fusion to the US.
- The phone will have a new color scheme, Viva Magenta.
- The Edge 30 Fusion was initially launched in Europe and Latin America.
Motorola is bringing a new special edition phone to the US, the Motorola Edge 30 Fusion. Along with its North American debut, the special edition phone will come in a new unique color.
The Pantone Color Institute recently named Pantone 18-1750 Viva Magenta as its color of the year. In partnership with the Institute, Motorola announced it has created a special edition Viva Magenta version of the Motorola Edge 30 Fusion that it plans to launch in the US.
Initially only available in select European and Latin American countries, the original Motorola Edge 30 Fusion straddles the line between a high-end mid-tier and low-end premium phone. The phone offers features like 6.55-inch pOLED 144Hz display, a Snapdragon 888 Plus 5G chip, and a 50 MP camera system with optical image stabilization. Outside of the color, the special edition will have the same features and design as the original.
In addition to the new color tone, Motorola says the special edition will be paired with its new Moto Buds 600 with active noise-cancelling in Pantone 19-2118 Winetasting. The Winetasting color is more of a dark pink, almost purplish hue compared to Viva Magenta. The company says the hue is designed “to complement the Pantone Color of the Year 2023 and special edition motorola edge 30 fusion, creating a striking pair and new wardrobe staple.”
Motorola says that the bundled Motorola Edge 30 Fusion with the Moto Buds 600 will sell for $799.99 when it launches in the US on December 12. It will be a GSM unlocked device that’s compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile and will only available on Motorola’s website. Additionally, Motorola plans to also sell the device in Lazuli Blue for $699.99.
Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- A filing for the Motorola Edge 40 Pro was found on the FCC certification website.
- The filing reveals that the handset will support 125W fast charging.
- There will be a single SIM and dual-SIM variant.
The next iteration of Motorola‘s flagship phone — the Motorola Edge 40 Pro — was spotted on the FCC’s certification website. It appears the listing reveals new details on the charging capabilities and dual-SIM variant.
According to the filing — discovered by the people over at Mysmartprice — that lists the Motorola Edge 40 Pro model number as XT2301-4, the phone will support 125W fast charging. This easily puts its charging speed above competitors like the iPhone or Galaxy S. It seems that the device will also support wireless charging and reverse charging.
Additionally, it was found on the certification website that there will be two Motorola Edge 40 Pro options. These options include a version with single SIM support and another with dual-SIM support. The single SIM variant will only support a physical SIM, while the dual-SIM variant will have a physical SIM slot and an eSIM.
Something else that was seen in the filing was charging adapter model numbers for different regions. This includes MC-1251, MC-1252, MC-1253, MC-1254, MC-1255, MC-1256, MC-1257, or MC-1259. According to Mysmartprice, these adapters may support outputs at 15W, 27W, 45W, and 125W.
At the moment, there are no details on a release date for the Motorola Edge 40 Pro. However, its predecessor — the Motorola Edge 30 Pro — was released back in March 2022, so it’s possible it could release around the same time. Although this filing doesn’t provide a ton of information, the fact that it appeared on the FCC certification website suggests that the device is getting closer to launch.
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