ASC-PCS-0012017.pdf Lean Six Sigma Accreditation standard from ASC

ASC-PCS-001:2017 Lean Six Sigma Personnel Certification Standard establishes the official accreditation framework for organizations certifying professionals in Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodologies. Developed by the American Standardization Council (ASC), this standard defines the mandatory requirements that certification bodies must meet to ensure competence, impartiality, consistency, and integrity in the certification of Lean Six Sigma practitioners worldwide.

1. AMERICAN STANDARDIZATION COUNCIL
ASC-PCS-001:2017
Lean Six Sigma Personnel Certification Standard
Requirements for Accreditation of Bodies Certifying Persons in Lean Six Sigma
Methodologies


Revision 1

Publication Date: January 2017

Effective Date: July 1, 2017


Document Classification
Accreditation Standard

Supersedes
None (Initial Release)


American Standardization Council
Advancing Excellence in Professional Certification


© 2017 American Standardization Council. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in
writing from the American Standardization Council .

American Standardization Council
Accreditation Services Division
www.americanstandardscouncil.org

2. Foreword
ASC-PCS-001:2017 (Revision 1) has been developed by the American Standardization
Council (ASC) to establish mandatory requirements for the accreditation of organizations that
certify personnel in Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodologies. This standard ensures that LSS
certifications are credible, consistent, and meet rigorous standards of quality and impartiality.

This standard is based on the principles of ISO/IEC 17024:2012, Conformity assessment —
General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons, with specific and
stringent requirements for the LSS field. The designation PCS -001 stands for Personnel
Certification Standard - 001, representing the first in the ASC personnel certification
standards series.

Introduction
The purpose of this standard is to establish strict requirements for organizations providing
Lean Six Sigma certification. ASC accreditation demonstrates that certification bodies meet
the highest standards of competence, impartiality, and reliability.

This standard specifies mandatory requirements for certification schemes, certification
processes, and quality management systems. Compliance with all requirements is mandatory
for accreditation. No deviations or alternative approaches are permitted unless explicitly
stated in this standard.

1. Scope
This standard specifies mandatory requirements for organizations seeking accreditation from
the American Standardization Council (ASC) to operate a certification system for Lean Six
Sigma (LSS) personnel.

This standard applies to all organizations providing certification for LSS personnel. The
scope of accreditation covers the following levels of LSS certification only:

• Yellow Belt
• Green Belt
• Black Belt
• Master Black Belt

Note: White Belt, Champion, and Project Manager certifications are not included in this
revision.

3. 2. Normative References
The following document is a normative reference and is indispensable for the application of
this standard:

• ISO/IEC 17024:2012, Conformity assessment — General requirements for bodies
operating certification of persons

3. Terms and Definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO/IEC 17024:2012
apply, along with the following:

• Lean Six Sigma (LSS): A methodology that combines Lean manufacturing principles
and Six Sigma quality improvement methods to systematically remove waste and
reduce variation.
• Certification Body: The organization conducting the certification of persons.
• Candidate: A person who has applied to be admitted into the certification process.
• Certified Person: A person who has fulfilled all specified requirements and is
granted certification.
• Scheme: A certification system for specified categories of persons.
• Body of Knowledge (BoK): The complete set of concepts, terms, and activities that
make up the Lean Six Sigma professional domain.
• DMAIC: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control - the mandatory methodology
for Six Sigma process improvement projects.

4. General Requirements
4.1 Legal and Contractual Matters
The certification body shall be a legal entity or a defined part of a legal entity such that it can
be held legally responsible for all its certification activities. The certification body shall have
a documented organizational structure that demonstrates independence and safeguards
impartiality.

4.2 Responsibility for Decision on Certification
The certification body shall be solely responsible for all decisions relating to granting,
maintaining, recertifying, suspending, or withdrawing certification. These decisions shall not
be delegated to any external party.

4. 4.3 Management of Impartiality
The certification body shall establish and maintain a formal impartiality committee
consisting of at least five members representing diverse stakeholder groups. The committee
shall meet quarterly to review threats to impartiality. All committee meetings shall be
documented with minutes maintained for a minimum of ten years.

4.4 Finance and Liability
The certification body shall maintain professional liability insurance with minimum coverage
of $2,000,000 USD (or equivalent) per occurrence. Financial statements shall be audited
annually by an independent certified public accountant and submitted to ASC.

5. Structural Requirements
The certification body shall maintain complete separation between training and certification
functions. Personnel involved in training candidates shall not participate in any certification
decisions for those candidates for a period of at least two years following training
completion.

6. Resource Requirements
6.1 General Personnel Requirements
The certification body shall employ a minimum of:
• Two full-time Master Black Belts
• Four full-time Black Belts
• Sufficient administrative staff to process certifications within required timelines

6.2 Personnel Involved in the Certification Activities
All personnel involved in certification activities shall sign legally binding confidentiality and
impartiality agreements. These agreements shall be renewed annually.

6.2.1 Competence of Instructors
Instructors shall be certified at least two levels above the LSS belt level they are teaching.
For example, an instructor teaching a Green Belt course shall be certified as a Master Black
Belt only. Black Belts are not permitted to teach Green Belt courses.

Instructors shall have:
• Minimum five years of documented LSS experience
• Completed at least ten LSS projects in a leadership role

5. • Formal instructor training certification from an accredited institution
• Annual teaching performance evaluations with minimum rating of 4.5/5.0

6.2.2 Competence of Assessors
Assessors shall be Master Black Belts only. Black Belts are not permitted to assess
candidates at any level.

Assessors shall have:
• Minimum seven years of documented LSS experience
• Completed at least twenty LSS projects
• Formal assessor training certification
• Annual inter-rater reliability testing with minimum agreement of 90%

6.3 Outsourcing
Outsourcing of any certification- related activities is prohibited. All training, examination,
and assessment activities shall be conducted by employees of the certification body.

6.4 Continuing Professional Development
Instructors and assessors shall complete a minimum of 40 hours of continuing professional
development annually. At least 30 hours shall be in LSS-specific topics. Records shall be
maintained and verified annually.

7. Records and Information Requirements
7.1 Records of Applicants, Candidates and Certified Persons
The certification body shall maintain comprehensive records for all applicants, candidates,
and certified persons for a minimum of fifteen years . Records shall be stored in both
physical and electronic formats with daily backups maintained at a geographically separate
location.

7.2 Public Information
The certification body shall publish and maintain on its website:
• Complete certification scheme requirements for each level
• Current pass rates for all examinations (updated monthly)
• Names and certification numbers of all certified individuals
• Detailed fee schedules
• Annual statistical reports

6. 7.3 Confidentiality
All examination materials, candidate responses, and assessment records shall be classified as
strictly confidential. Access shall be limited to authorized personnel only. All access shall be
logged and audited quarterly.

7.4 Security
The certification body shall maintain:
• Physical security measures including locked storage, access control systems, and
video surveillance
• Cybersecurity measures including encryption, firewalls, and intrusion detection
systems
• Annual security audits by independent third- party security firms
• Incident response plans tested semi-annually

8. Certification Schemes
The certification body shall establish certification schemes that strictly adhere to the
following mandatory requirements.

8.1 Competency Requirements
Each certification scheme shall define competencies based exclusively on the ASC-approved
Lean Six Sigma Body of Knowledge. No additional or alternative competencies are
permitted.

The following table specifies the mandatory requirements for each certification level:

Certification
Level
Mandatory
Training
Hours
Assessment Requirements
Mandatory Project
Requirements
Yellow Belt
24 hours
(minimum)
Written examination (100
questions, 3 hours, 80% passing score)
Participation in 1 LSS project as team member
Green Belt
40 hours
(minimum)
Written examination (150
questions, 4 hours, 80%
passing score) + Project
defense presentation
Lead 1 completed DMAIC project
with minimum $50,000
documented savings
Black Belt
120 hours (minimum)
Written examination (200 questions, 5 hours, 85%
passing score) + Project defense presentation
Lead 2 completed DMAIC projects with minimum $100,000 documented savings each

7. Certification
Level
Mandatory
Training
Hours
Assessment Requirements
Mandatory Project
Requirements
Master Black
Belt
80 hours (post-
Black Belt,
minimum)
Written examination (250
questions, 6 hours, 90%
passing score) +
Comprehensive oral
examination
Lead 5 completed projects with
minimum $200,000 documented
savings each + Evidence of
mentoring 5 Black Belts to
certification
8.2 Training and Assessment Criteria
8.2.1 Training Requirements
All training shall be conducted in- person in a classroom setting. Online training, distance
learning, or self-study are not acceptable for any certification level.

Training shall be conducted in consecutive days or weeks. Part-time training spread over
extended periods is not permitted.

Class sizes shall not exceed 20 participants per instructor.

8.2.2 Examination Requirements
All examinations shall be:
• Proctored in- person at approved testing centers
• Paper-based only (computer-based testing is not permitted)
• Closed-book with no reference materials allowed
• Monitored by certified proctors with video recording
• Scored by optical scanning with manual verification

Examination items shall be developed by Master Black Belts and reviewed by a minimum of
three independent subject matter experts.

Item difficulty shall be validated through pilot testing with minimum sample size of 50
candidates before operational use.

8.3 Body of Knowledge Coverage
The training curriculum shall cover 100% of the ASC -approved Body of Knowledge for
each certification level. The Body of Knowledge shall include the following mandatory
topics with minimum time allocations:

Green Belt Minimum Requirements:
• Define phase (8 hours): Project charter, VOC, CTQ, SIPOC, stakeholder analysis

8. • Measure phase (10 hours): Process mapping, data collection, sampling, measurement
systems analysis, process capability
• Analyze phase (10 hours): Root cause analysis, hypothesis testing, correlation,
regression
• Improve phase (8 hours): Solution generation, pilot testing, FMEA, implementation
planning
• Control phase (4 hours): Control plans, statistical process control, documentation,
standardization

Black Belt Additional Requirements:
• Advanced statistical methods (20 hours): DOE, ANOVA, regression analysis,
reliability analysis
• Lean principles (15 hours): Value stream mapping, 5S, Kaizen, TPM, cellular
manufacturing
• Project management (10 hours): Scheduling, resource allocation, risk management
• Change management (8 hours): Stakeholder management, communication, resistance
management

9. Certification Process Requirements
9.1 Application Process
The certification body shall verify all application information within five business days.
Incomplete applications shall be rejected immediately.

Applicants shall provide:
• Government-issued photo identification
• Educational transcripts (minimum bachelor's degree required for Black Belt and
above)
• Employment verification
• Three professional references
• Signed code of ethics agreement

9.2 Assessment Process
9.2.1 Written Examination
Candidates shall achieve the minimum passing score on the first attempt. Retakes are
permitted only after a mandatory waiting period of 90 days and completion of remedial
training.

Maximum number of retakes: Two. After three failed attempts, candidates shall retake the
complete training program.

9. 9.2.2 Project Assessment
For Green Belt and above, candidates shall submit a complete project report within 90 days
of training completion. Extensions are not permitted except for documented medical
emergencies.

Project reports shall include:
• Executive summary (2 pages maximum)
• Detailed methodology (minimum 20 pages)
• Complete data sets and statistical analysis
• Financial impact validation by candidate's finance department
• Signed approval from project sponsor and supervisor
• Sustainability evidence (minimum 6 months post-implementation data)

Projects shall be evaluated by two independent Master Black Belt assessors using the
mandatory ASC project rubric. Both assessors shall score the project independently. If scores
differ by more than 10%, a third assessor shall evaluate the project.

Minimum passing score: 85/100 points.

9.3 Examination Process
The certification body shall administer examinations at least quarterly at approved testing
centers only.

All examination materials shall be transported in locked, tamper-evident containers with
chain-of-custody documentation.

9.4 Decision on Certification
Certification decisions shall be made by a certification committee consisting of at least three
Master Black Belts who have not been involved in the candidate's training or assessment.

Decisions shall be made within 30 days of project approval.

9.5 Suspending, Withdrawing or Reducing the Scope of Certification
The certification body shall immediately suspend certification upon:
• Failure to pay annual maintenance fees (no grace period)
• Ethical violations
• Misrepresentation of certification status
• Failure to complete recertification requirements by deadline

10. Suspended certifications shall not be reinstated. Individuals shall reapply and complete the
full certification process.

9.6 Recertification Process
9.6.1 Recertification Period
All certifications are valid for two years only (not three years). Recertification shall be
completed before the expiration date. Late recertification is not permitted.

9.6.2 Recertification Requirements
To be recertified, certified personnel shall demonstrate:

Yellow Belt:
• Participation in at least 2 LSS projects
• 20 PDUs from approved activities
• Payment of recertification fee

Green Belt:
• Leadership of at least 1 LSS project with documented results
• 30 PDUs from approved activities
• Passing score on recertification examination (50 questions, 70% passing score)
• Payment of recertification fee

Black Belt:
• Leadership of at least 2 LSS projects with documented results
• 40 PDUs from approved activities
• Passing score on recertification examination (100 questions, 75% passing score)
• Evidence of mentoring at least 1 Green Belt
• Payment of recertification fee

Master Black Belt:
• Leadership of at least 3 LSS projects with documented results
• 50 PDUs from approved activities
• Passing score on recertification examination (150 questions, 80% passing score)
• Evidence of mentoring at least 2 Black Belts
• Published article or presentation at professional conference
• Payment of recertification fee

11. 9.7 Use of Certificates, Logos and Marks
Certificates shall be printed on security paper with the following mandatory elements:
• Unique certificate number with holographic seal
• Candidate photograph
• Fingerprint (for Black Belt and above)
• Issue and expiration dates
• Authorized signatures (wet signatures only, no digital signatures)

Use of the ASC accreditation mark is strictly controlled . Unauthorized use will result in
immediate revocation of accreditation and legal action.

9.8 Appeals Against Decisions on Certification
Appeals shall be submitted in writing within 15 days of the certification decision. Appeals
submitted after this deadline will not be considered.

Appeals shall be reviewed by an independent appeals panel consisting of three Master Black
Belts not affiliated with the certification body.

Appeals decisions are final and binding. No further appeals are permitted.

9.9 Complaints
Complaints shall be investigated within 30 days. All complaints shall be reported to ASC
within 5 business days of receipt.

10. Management System Requirements
10.1 General
The certification body shall be certified to ISO 9001 by an accredited certification body. ISO
9001 certification is mandatory for ASC accreditation. Self -declarations or alternative
quality systems are not acceptable.

10.2 Document Control
All documents shall be controlled with formal version control, approval workflows, and
distribution tracking. Document changes shall be approved by the Quality Manager and
reviewed by the Impartiality Committee.

12. 10.3 Control of Records
Records shall be maintained in fireproof, waterproof storage with redundant backups.
Electronic records shall be backed up daily with backups stored at a geographically separate
location (minimum 100 miles distance).

10.4 Management Review
Top management shall conduct formal management reviews quarterly. Minutes shall be
documented and submitted to ASC within 15 days of each review.

10.5 Internal Audits
The certification body shall conduct comprehensive internal audits semi-annually. Audits
shall be conducted by certified lead auditors (ISO 19011 training required).

All nonconformities shall be corrected within 30 days. Evidence of correction shall be
submitted to ASC.

10.6 Corrective and Preventive Actions
All nonconformities shall be addressed through formal corrective action procedures including
root cause analysis using approved methods (5 Whys, Fishbone Diagram, or Fault Tree
Analysis).

Preventive actions shall be implemented for all potential nonconformities identified through
risk assessment.

11. ASC Accreditation Process
11.1 Initial Accreditation
Organizations seeking initial accreditation shall submit:
• Completed application with non- refundable application fee ($5,000 USD)
• Complete quality manual and procedures
• Evidence of ISO 9001 certification
• Evidence of professional liability insurance
• List of all personnel with qualifications
• Sample certificates and examination materials
• Financial statements for previous three years

Initial accreditation audit shall be conducted on- site over a minimum of five days by a team
of at least two ASC auditors.

13. 11.2 Surveillance Audits
Accredited organizations shall be subject to semi-annual surveillance audits (not annual).
Surveillance audits shall be unannounced and conducted on- site.

Surveillance audit fees shall be paid in advance annually.

11.3 Accreditation Fees
Initial Accreditation:
• Application fee: $5,000 USD (non- refundable)
• Initial audit fee: $15,000 USD
• Accreditation certificate fee: $2,000 USD

Annual Fees:
• Annual accreditation fee: $10,000 USD
• Semi-annual surveillance audit fees: $5,000 USD per audit
• Per-certificate fees: $50 USD per certificate issued

All fees are non -negotiable and non -refundable.

12. Noncompliance and Corrective Actions
12.1 General
Any noncompliance with this standard shall be addressed immediately. The certification
body is responsible for all corrective actions.

12.2 Minor Nonconformities
Minor nonconformities shall be corrected within 15 days (not 30 days). Evidence of
correction shall be submitted to ASC within this timeframe. Failure to correct within 15 days
will result in escalation to major nonconformity.

12.3 Major Nonconformities
Major nonconformities will result in immediate suspension of accreditation. During
suspension:
• The organization shall cease all certification activities immediately
• All use of the ASC accreditation mark shall cease immediately
• All stakeholders shall be notified within 48 hours
• The organization shall submit a comprehensive corrective action plan within 10 days

14. Suspension will be lifted only after:
• Complete corrective action plan implementation
• Verification audit by ASC (at organization's expense)
• Payment of reinstatement fee ($10,000 USD)

12.4 Revocation of Accreditation
Accreditation will be permanently revoked for:
• Fraud or misrepresentation
• Repeated major nonconformities
• Failure to correct major nonconformities within 60 days
• Failure to pay fees within 30 days of due date
• Violation of ASC code of ethics

Following revocation:
• The organization shall not reapply for accreditation for a minimum of five years
• All certificates issued during the period of noncompliance shall be invalidated
• The organization shall notify all certified individuals within 10 days

15. References
[1] ISO/IEC 17024:2012, Conformity assessment — General requirements for bodies
operating certification of persons. https://www.iso.org/standard/52993.html

[2] ISO 9001:2015, Quality management systems — Requirements. https://www.iso.org/standard/62085.html


Document Control Information

Attribute Details
Document Number ASC-PCS-001:2017
Revision 1
Publication Date January 2017
Effective Date July 1, 2017
Review Date January 2020
Document Owner ASC Accreditation Services Division
Approval Authority ASC Board of Directors

Revision History

Revision Date Description of Changes Approved By
1 January 2017 Initial release of ASC-PCS-001 standard ASC Board of Directors



END OF DOCUMENT