Book Description

Project management strategies for meeting Six Sigma project goals--on time and on budget

The Six Sigma Project Planner shows Six Sigma Black Belts and Green Belts how to use project management tools to complete Six Sigma improvements on time and on budget.

The Planner provides dozens of reproducible project management tools for following the proven Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve- Control (DMAIC) process improvement format.

Readers who follow its guidelines will be able to quickly and effectively:

• Determine a Six Sigma project's ROI
• Correct problems in current processes
• Develop and implement entirely new processes

Book Description

This is a revision of a classic! This text provides a single source for information on both the structure and management of quality systems and the use of statistics to control and improve quality. It incorporates an international flavor and a good balance of services and manufacturing coverage. The goal of the second edition remains the same as the first edition - to promote learning by means of practical, effective applications intended to develop, control, and improve quality systems and processes. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

not recommended
Very tedious, always refers to other examples, bad problems, unfriendly, unclear, no quality control

Tedious history of QC
Reader unfriendly, tedious. Not recommended as a text for individuals entering the field. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Insightful!
Motorola invented Six Sigma. This concise handbook promises to introduce readers to the history of Six Sigma, to explain Six Sigma's leadership requirements and to point the way for Six Sigma practitioners to go forward. It delivers admirably on these promises. Many Six Sigma books offer dense diagrams and mind-numbing descriptions of all of the minutiae that goes into the process improvement program. This book provides a broader perspective. It necessarily sacrifices much of the operational detail in order to present a good general introduction to the subject. This is not the book for managers who need a field-guide or an instruction manual to forge ahead with implementing a Six Sigma program. But for those who have heard of Six Sigma, wonder what it is about and want a good, basic, elementary explanation, we believe this book will serve nicely.

Revisionist and Vague
I read this book this morning over coffee. It's a quick read, but unfortunately I cannot say that it's worth anyone's time. The title makes it seem like it's appropriate for Six Sigma leaders, when in fact it's not. It's about half history and about half the "future of Six Sigma."

Let's start with the history. No where do the authors mention the Six Sigma Research Institute or Six Sigma Management Institute. Dr. Harry nor many of the key individuals associated with the program (Mario Perez-Wilson, the key individuals from any of the five companies that contributed to Six Sigma, etc.). If half of the purpose was to document the true history, it failed miserably. It appears revisionist to me since it leaves out so much of the history. There are other sources on the web that I've read that are better.

Regarding the "future of Six Sigma," it's ok. It throws out a bunch of different vague ideas that you (the leader) will need to figure out how to do. Most of the "future" ideas are in fact being used today by many, many companies. For instance, using a balanced scorecard idea with Six Sigma -- hello...many, many companies have been doing this for 5 years already. There were some other ideas concerning Black Belts, but they're not even worth mentioning.

All in all, it was a quick read but provided little benefit. I wish the authors would have applied a Six Sigma process to their topic selection and research for the book.

Great Balance of Business Case and Detail
I really enjoyed this book. I thought McCarty did an outstanding job of presenting a business case for six sigma with a clear, straightforward discussion of how and why businesses should implement it. Barney's detailed explanation of the statistical nitty-gritty of six sigma provided an excellent follow-up to McCarty's piece. Barney's level of detail was just right for the book - enough to show the reader the "meat" of six sigma statistical foundations without the weighty specifics.

The New Six Sigma
I really enjoyed this book. I thought McCarty did an outstanding job of presenting a business case for six sigma with a clear, straightforward discussion of how and why businesses should implement it. Barney's detailed explanation of the statistical nitty-gritty of six sigma provided an excellent follow-up to McCarty's piece. Barney's level of detail was just right for the book - enough to show the reader the "meat" of six sigma statistical foundations without the weighty specifics.

I

A Quick Read
This is a very informative book that can be read in a about one to two hours. It isn't as in-depth as I thought it would be but it certainly provides some updated and interesting information on Six Sigma. My advice for people who may buy this book is to purchase this book along with 'Leading Six Sigma', 'Lean Six Sigma', and if you are new to Six Sigma, 'Sailing Through Six Sigma with CD' for an overall appreciation of Six Sigma. This is not a book that discusses the DMAIC model or the actual statisitics involved in Six Sigma in any great length so if that is what you're looking for you need to look elsewhere. However, if you're looking for some of the most up to date information on Six Sigma this book is well worth the price. ... Read more

Book Description

This up-to-date book documents and communicates the last 20 years of research with regard to a theory of quality improvement relating to fields such as learning theory, organizational theory and behavioral theory. It is based on the contingency approach which assesses the current condition of the firm and identifies gaps in quality deployment as a basis for future improvements thereby basing improvement on contingent variables that are operative in the firm as it exists. The final chapter of the book provides a means for outstanding companies to asses themselves and determine where they need improvement.differing perspectives on quality, quality theory, global quality and international quality, strategic quality planning, the voice of the customer, the voice of the market, quality in product and process design, design of experiments, designing quality services, managing the supply chain, the tools of quality, managing teams and projects, statistically-based quality improvement, managing organizational learning, implementing and validating the quality system.quality managers, presidents or CEO's. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Learning how to manage quality
Tsang Choi Fung, Teresa from City University of Hong Kong, Department of Marketing

This book is used by our university as a textbook for the subject of ¡§Service Quality Management". I found that this book can give us much useful information of service quality. Since service quality is very important in service industry nowadays; there is a need to understand more about how to manage service quality in order to deliver good-quality service and gain customer loyalty.

The contents of this book are divided into four part: Part one is about ¡§Understanding quality concepts¡¨; part two is about ¡§Designing and assuring quality¡¨; part three is about ¡§Implementing quality¡¨; and part four is about ¡§Forever improving the quality system¡¨.

For part one, the author has described about the difference between product quality and service quality as well as the product and service quality dimensions. The main service quality dimensions are tangible, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. These five service quality dimensions are popularly used nowadays to measure service quality.

Moreover, the author also explained some popular service theories in the world. For example, W. Edwards Deming¡¦s ¡§14 points for management¡¨, ¡§The Juran Trilogy¡¨ advocated by Joseph M. Juran and ¡§The basic seven tools of quality¡¨ advocated by Kaoru Ishikawa, etc. All these theories can be as guidelines for improving service quality.

For part two, this book teaches us how to design and assure service quality. The service design is mainly from the voice of customers and from market. Since the service is mainly used by customers, customers¡¦ voice can help to design better service the match customers¡¦ needs. Moreover, the author has explained how to draw a quality function deployment (QFD) step by step in order to develop or improve service to match customers¡¦ needs and competitors¡¦paces.

In addition, this book introduced SERVQUAL instrument and gaps model that help to understand the gap between customer¡¦s perceived service and expected service, Moreover, SERVQUAL instrument and gaps model can help company to understand more about customers¡¦ requirements and needs, so that company can improve the service that match customers requirements and needs.

For part three, the author has introduced Ishikawa¡¦s basic tools of quality and the seven new tools for improvement. These set of tools can help manager to manage projects and improve service quality. In addition, different control charts such as X chart, R chart, p chart, np chart are introduced. All these charts can help to check whether the variation appeared in the production process is random variation or nonrandom variation, so that improvement can be made in order to correct the poor performance in nonrandom variation.

For part four, it is focus on managing learning for quality improvement as well as implementing and validating the quality system. It emphasizes that improvement should be continuous and should have regular review so that improvement are made on correct direction.

Actually, this book is very useful that give us useful information about service quality. I believe that continuously improving service quality is a must in this competitive market. Therefore, this book can help the reader to grasp how to measure, manage and improve service quality. I hope that all the readers can also enjoy reading this book and learning how to manage service quality for their business in order to meet customers¡¦ needs and gain customers loyalty.

Response to Rhenium
Actually, the book has a very balanced view to quality and the United States. The only time that it is mentioned that a US product is better than a foreign product is in the case of Fender Stratocaster guitars. The US models are preferred. It is interesting to note that the book has been translated into Chinese.

not that worth.......
General speaking, this book is well organised and written. However, I'd found the author doesn't face the actual problem on nowsday American Industry. Throughout the books, Great Americanism, or America is the best can always be found. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Highly Recommended!
This book differs from most other Six Sigma guides in that it identifies, by name, companies that failed at Six Sigma. So many authors have presented Six Sigma as something magical that it is refreshing to see its warts. Make no mistake - the authors are not out to debunk or dethrone Six Sigma, a management philosophy and method that has been their professional life for many years. They clearly believe that Six Sigma is worth the investment of time, brain power, leadership and political capital that it requires. But they aren't afraid to point out the fact that it does require serious investment, and that management must sustain its commitment for years to unlock the full benefit of the Six Sigma approach. The book is a tolerably good read, albeit dry. It mercifully spares the reader any puffery or promotion, and it lays out the axioms of Six Sigma life in a very lucid format. Occasionally, it stoops to cliché, but not terribly often. We recommend it to those who need to know what it really takes to achieve Six Sigma performance, and how to begin.

Six Sigma for Those Who Read Books for CEOs
This is a book about getting your organization to adopt Six Sigma. This book focuses on excellent techniques that are needed for convincing upper management of the value of Six Sigma. The target audience seems to be CEOs and their top assistants. In fact the authors pretty much concede that implementing Six Sigma is impossible without CEO intervention. Little can be found to help line managers implement a culture appropriate for Six Sigma. This fine book would have been even better had they addressed line issues more aggressively and had more on how to communicate Six Sigma in a manner that would not leave the "rank and file" thinking Six Sigma is just "old water in new bottles".

I dare say in many companies, the rank and file will assume that Six Sigma is ineffective jargon. Further, this will to a large extent be due to oversimplified misunderstandings of Six Sigma. Most Six Sigma training emphasizes that Six Sigma is used when the solution is unknown. Yet I only hear people mention Six Sigma when they have a solution (sometimes a solution in search of a problem). "We need to finish this project to improve our Six Sigmas" and "we should [insert project goal] so we can all get our green belts" are typical of the comments I hear that are laughable to someone who understands Six Sigma.

This book's weakest sections are the first few chapters. The authors compare companies who had successfully adopted Six Sigma and those who did not. The authors believe that the successful adopters shared (and the unsuccessful companies did not have) the following characteristics:
- committed leadership
- use of top talent
- supporting infrastructure

The authors eventually come out and say that the CEO should dedicate a percentage of his/her time to Six Sigma: money is not sufficient! Having worked at GE, this conclusion seems inevitable: Jack Welch did, in fact, put a lot of personal attention into adopting Six Sigma. However, we don't all work for someone like Jack Welch.

In his autobiography, Welch describes not giving bonuses to those who were not working on Six Sigma. This was his way of ensuring that all the top talent were working on Six Sigma projects because otherwise managers would be unable to reward their top talent.

GE had another thing going for it that set the stage of Six Sigma: a culture of managing by facts and numbers and not opinion. Remember, when other companies were "focusing on core strengths" in the mid 1980s, GE was expanding in finance, particularly leasing. Why? It supported their other businesses and created tax shelters that saved tremendous amounts of cash. As long as these subsidiaries could demonstrate ever-increasing profits, they could get ever-increasing resources. Subsidiaries that could not come up with the numbers were sold or shut down, debates about "core" or not core did not enter into the picture. In this environment, if Six Sigma could demonstrate results, the corporate culture would adopt it. Certainly, Welch's actions made Six Sigma happen more quickly, but he had won the battle long before when he fostered a results-oriented culture.

Being able to briefly and clearly describe what you are trying to do has become a critical tactic in modern leadership. In business we call this a "mission statement", in politics, its called, somewhat derisively, a sound bite. The next edition would benefit from the reworking of one of the early chapters to one that would help management create a Six Sigma mission statement.

I've read some other books NOT on Six Sigma that by analogy bring home the weakness of Six Sigma literature. To learn how to create a mission statement, I recommend Carville and Begala (2002). They used a passage in the Bible, John 3:16, as an excellent example: "For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten son so that whoever believes in Him shall not die but have everlasting life." They assert that this passage summarizes in 25 words the essentials of Christian theology. To paraphrase Carville and Begala, if the Bible can explain all the important tenets of Christianity in 25 words, surely 25 a word sample mission statement for Six Sigma can be provided for those who want to convince an organization to adopt it.

I would also recommend Michael Lewis' "Moneyball" as a companion book. Lewis (author of "Liar's Poker") uses Wall Street trading as an analogy to explain why the Oakland Athletics baseball team is one of the successful franchises with much less money than most. But I also see an analogy relevant to the topic of Six Sigma. "Moneyball" shows how one can achieve superior results by testing what everyone thinks they know with fact gathering and rigorous analyses. Moneyball will inspire anyone trying to implement Six Sigma to value testing assumptions with measurement.

A quick read of the reviews on Amazon will give you a feel for why people are skeptical of 6 Sigma: the feel-good tone of most writing on 6 Sigma and the insistence that it "is not a flavor-of-the-month management trend" make many of us suspect that 6 Sigma is not much more than hollow jargon and acronyms. The readers are left with the essential difficulties of positive change in any organization: you need to overcome assumptions that your organization's subculture may not even realize it has. What a corporation does by accepting Six Sigma is that it empowers people to gather data to challenge what "everybody knows". Most importantly, it sets a standard of very high quality, which reinforces the sanctioning of data-driven change.

I feel that this book comes up short in this regard, as do the other books I've read on Six Sigma, but otherwise is a good description on how an upper-level manager can bring about organizational change in general and implement Six Sigma in particular.

The 6 Sigma Book for Leaders Planning a Deployment
Of the many books I've read on 6 sigma, this IS the book on how to plan and deploy a 6 Simga initiative in a company. This is not a book on the tools and how to use them in detail. It is discussed, but more in terms of highlighting the training required and the caliber of people assigned.

There is a comparison and contrast of successful deployments and less successful deployments. The authors disect why they failed. They have a GE bias, in that at least on of the authors is heavily versed in the GE system. This is not to the detriment of the book, but it does color the successful path they advocate. That path is well trod and proven successful. There are variations to that that can be successful, and will depend heavily on the culture of the company.

The path they advocate attacks the common organization barriers that ANY initiative will face. So in that sense, the book is broader that just 6 simga. Those elements are:
* Active and strong leadership from the top

* Appropriate resources, people and funding
* Demand results
* Be willing to change internal policies and procedure to support implementation

This is a must read for anyone planning an implementation, or looking to fix one.

An Excellent Book
Without a doubt this is one of the best books ever written on Six Sigma and I should know as I have read nearly every book written on Six Sigma over the last three years. However, let me clarify something up front. This book does not delve into the tools of Six Sigma nor the actual statistical methods of Six Sigma like Air Academy Associates excellent books 'Basic Statistics' or 'Understanding Industrial Designed Experiments'. What this book does, however, is address the following topics which so far every other book on Six Sigma has failed to cover and clarify:

1. The right projects, the right people: Identifying your company's most promising Six Sigma opportunities and leaders.
2. How to hit the ground running: Providing leadership, talent, and infrastructure for a successful launch.
3. From launch to long-term success: Implementing systems, processes, and budgets for ongoing Six Sigma projects.
4. Getting the bottom-line results that matter most: Measuring and maximizing the financial value of your Six Sigma initiative

What makes this book such a good value is that the author's of the book clearly know what they're talking about and their wisdom from implementing actual Six Sigma projects is priceless. This book is really a blueprint for implementing and sustaining Six Sigma and provides excellent advice on how to avoid the pitfalls that so many companies have run into during their failed attempts at implementing Six Sigma. The book is written in clear, easy-to-understand language with just the right amount of graphs and charts so even people who know nothing about Six Sigma will benefit from reading it. My advice is to buy this book and Michael George's outstanding book 'Lean Six Sigma' together so that you truly get an appreciation for what Six Sigma is and what it can do when combined with Lean. ... Read more

Book Description

The first and only nontechnical method for installing, maintaining, and measuring a comprehensive quality improvement program in your business operation. Special features: Emphasizes throughout that doing things right the first time adds nothing to the cost of a product or service. (What costs, and costs dearly in terms of rework, test, warranty, inspection, and service after service, is doing things wrong). Introduces the proven Make Certain program (the best way known to get management and service personnel participating in the improvement effort). Shows how to recognize and guard against the kinds of problems that can cost your company money, damage its reputation, invite litigation. Proves that quality is a people business, not a ``manufacturing'' function or statistical mystery (note, for example, the chapter on management style to help you improve your personal quality). Illustrated throughout with actual case examples, enabling profit-minded managers to understand and install quality programs in their own operations. Management at all levels: Quality is not only free, it is a supreme source of profit. Quality professionals and company executives: Don't forget that current ``consumer'' and ``environmental'' pressures fall under this quality responsibility. MBA or undergraduate students and company trainees: the basics for specific training programs are included. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Good overview of Quality - Too Traditional
I will never have the Quality background of Philip Crosby, but I felt strongly that Crosby's approach was long on the old school, prior to America's turnaround in Quality in the Mid 80s.

Look at how American cars have improved in quality over the last 20 years. From our cars just barely holding together in the 80s to the great cars from the big three, all because we used new methods to get to quality.

His methodology is more of the 50s and 60s military style of management. His quality method was inspection after the fact, not elimination of defects before the product is made.

This a good book as a basic study in quality and understanding why managers have the approaches they have. It is traditional and will appeal mostly to 'old school' quality methods.

Quality is not a gift, but it is free.
The author has figured out that it is traditionally difficult to have a meaningful, real-life, factual discussion on sex, quality and other complicated subjects until some basic erroneous assumptions are examined and altered.

"The first erroneous assumption is that quality means goodness, or luxury, so shininess, or weight. We must define quality as conformance to requirements if we are to manage it. The second erroneous assumption is that quality is an intangible and therefore not measurable. In fact, quality is precisely measurable by the oldest and most respected of measurements - cold hard cash", says the author. For example, "It is much less expensive to prevent errors than to rework, scrap or service them".

This book does not only have theoretic approach, but also brings practical value. It offers a quality improvement program that can be installed in any service or manufacturing company.

Philip Crosby's "Quality Is Free", first published in 1979, influences the book "Business @ Speed of Thought" by Bill Gates, released twenty years afterwards. With a bright set of modern case studies, he illustrates the basic concepts presented by Philip Crosby:

- There is absolutely no reason for having errors or defects in any product or service.
- Basically, we are slow to change because we reject newness.
- Transmitting: how you come across to others should not be left to chance.
- It is much less expensive to prevent errors than to rework, scrap or service them.
- Business is ... communication that we control and utilize. The effectiveness of the business is determined by how well we do that data transmission.

In the same year when the Bill Gates's book was published, Philip Crosby exposes his own case studies entitled "Quality and Me: Lessons from an Evolving Life".

A very practical and insightful book
This book contains excellent material, which shows what way to look if you want to increase your productivity/profitability. The whole approach is very customer-oriented, which makes it possible to avoid distinguishing between manufacturing and service businesses (and thus getting lost in irrelevant details). The concept of quality the way that Crosby presents it is fairly universal to all types of businesses. This lets one see to the bottom of the quality issue, which is essential for true understanding.

I found very useful the idea that quality should be observed in all business activities, not only customer-specific (e.g. hiring, bookkeeping, etc. vs programming). If this is neglected then the firm simply does not know the true cost of quality. Seems to be so obvious, but ask yourself if you really think of it this way. Also very useful is the suggested way to measure quality in dollars, instead of indirect measurements, like defects-per-KLOC and such. After all, everything boils down to money, and that's the only real indicator of performance.

The weak point of this book is its language: it is a little bit hard to read, especially if English is not native to you. It would be much better if it were written in decent English, instead of US spoken.

Another pitfall is a somewhat free use of terminology. Thanks to this, many authors argue that the book message is not (entirely) correct, but the point is that some of its statements should not be taken literally. One needs to grasp the true meaning, which Crosby attaches to some of his words, like "requirements".

I rate that book with 4 stars only because of readability, which could be better. The contents deserves full 5 stars, and I consider it a must-read for all managers.

Cistch ma! Eszk mire kamite!
Tchiker tesk miserka-masurkayet...matzurkae! Tchet, yeteMUSS! Blazkir ye Fzjieste cozte lidenczery, yetemire. Diskzt muzsye ister neueyrnz. Me ye yetskirmire!

Philip Crosbey can not read a dictionary
Lets look at three words from the Webster's Ii, New Riverside University Dictionary ISBN: 039533957X.

Quality is 1. Essential character: nature. 2 a. Inherent or distinguishing attribute. b. Degree or grade of excellence. (There are more definitions that follow this train of thought.)

Conformity is 1. Likeness in form or character

Require is 1. To have as a requisite: need

Philip Crosby is attempting to push "New Speak" 1984 ISBN: 0451524934, on us by usurping a word for his own purpose and negating its intended meaning. On page 15 he describes quality as "conformances to requirements" It is easy to conform to inappropriate specs. Is that quality? Is that free?

However this book is considered a classic. It was written in the days of typewriters. He refers to giving women a chance. He gets zero defects mixed up with quality. It is fun to play games with his "Maturity Grid" however too much time with it can put you out of business.

The one innovative part of this book is the Guidelines for Browsers. It is useful even after you have read the page. This tells you what he considered important on that page. ... Read more

Book Description

This revised, expanded best-seller is a powerful new tool kit for the 21st century.The book that crowned the quality revolution (with over 100,000 copies sold since 1991) is poised to make it happen all over again.

This new and expanded edition of the widely influential WORLD CLASS QUALITY not only provides more techniques and case studies, but also extends them into new areas (such as the service sector) and shows how to use them in a wider variety of applications. A new coaching emphasis makes it easy for managers to make these tools available at all levels of a company and even to customers and suppliers. The book also offers: * A practical way to secure top management commitment and make "Design of Experiments" a way of life at any company * A new reliability technique that simulates field failures at the design stage so they can be prevented before production * A new chapter summarizing related quality management and control techniques, making this an essential book for managers concerned with quality. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Apples and Oranges
The methods highlighted in this book are cheapened by the constant slamming of other methods. Constant references to fractional factorials leading to "downright wrong results" and similar comments indicate either a profound lack of knowledge (which I doubt), or an ulterior motive. ANY methods that are misused, or used with your brain checked at the door will lead to downright wrong results! Bhote makes contrasts & compares his tool set (all of which he calls "DoE") to the stand-alone classical DOE techniques. This comparison is apples to oranges. It is rarely appropriate to launch into a stand-alone DOE without understanding the process and product through use of other tools. So, many of the conclusions drawn are valid only if you want to compare "apples to oranges". A more appropriate comparison would have been Bhote's methods to the full Six Sigma methodology.

Beyond that, there appear to be numerous typos in the examples which were distracting, and made it a challenge to follow the solutions.

In spite of the one-sided comparisons and poor editing, I enjoyed reading the book and learning about the methods.

Applies common sense to solving tough quality problems.
As a practitioner of the Shainin techniques, I found the book to be a very basic primer of what kinds of gains can be made by using Dorian's techniques. Many mainstream quality practitioners dismiss Dorian Shainin's techniques as not following "the rules," or not using "rigorous" methods, or even worse, not understanding variation. What many of them don't understand is that as a quality professional in an industrial setting, our goal is NOT to understand the theoretical implications of variation. Top management wants their problem FIXED! Mr. Bhote clearly understands this and offers Dorian's techniques as a way to achieve this. He elucidates clearly on the advantages of "talking to the parts" to gain an understanding of exactly how they vary, and then using that understanding to leverage differences between parts found at the extremees of the distribution to understand WHY they are the way they are. If you want to learn how to use simple and effective techniques to solve those problems that everyone says can't be solved, this is the book for you. Highly recommended.

Good book - but foul attitude...
Excellent material, marred by an attitude towards other quality gurus. The author does a good job of presenting sound and fast methodologies in product quality. These techniques can be of value to every professional engaged in manufacturing and quality fields. A must read, but ignore the pungent remarks on other methods.

Taguchi techniques also work well, I have used them often.

not too too bad
I guess i liked the book because the technical writing was nice and easy to understand. I really haven't read this book, but i would like to know who this other ben cromwell is... especially since he lives in Gilbert. I live in scottsdale, and i'm intrigued that there is another ben cromwell in the world and so close to me. What's your middle name by the way? anyway, i just wanted to get that off my chest.

Finding the Root Cause
First, let's get the negative stuff out of the way. The first 1/4 of the book contains a lot of comparisons between the author's methods and everyone else's. Not surprisingly, his consistently rates highest. Included are tables with numerical ratings of the different experimental design strategies but no explanation is given for where the numbers come from. Skip it.
The meat of the book is its exposition of Dorian Shainin's DOE methodology. I am not claiming to have made an exhaustive survey of the literature on this subject, but he is the only one I have read to offer a workable strategy for sorting through a large number of variables in order to arrive at those that truly control the response of interest without the confounding of main and interaction effects that results from the use of fractional factorials, Taguchi orthogonal arrays and other methods. I have just four more words on this book: try it, it works. ... Read more

Book Description

This unique manual is a comprehensive, easy-to-read overview of hazards analysis as it applies to the process and allied industries. The book begins by building a background in the technical definition of risk, past industrial incidents and their impacts, ensuing legislation, and the language and terms of the risk field. It addresses the different types of structured analytical techniques for conducting Process Hazards Analyses (PHA), provides a "What If" checklist, and shows how to organize and set up PHA sessions. Other topics include layout and siting considerations, Failure Modes and Effect Analysis (FMEA), human factors, loss of containment, and PHA team leadership issues. ... Read more

Book Description

It's one of the hot topics for the 1990s--how to apply quality improvement techniques originally developed for the manufacturing sector to service industries. How to Take the Lead in Business Process Management details how to do it, providing a step-by-step formula that helps companies improve quality and productivity in the support areas. Here in one comprehensive volume is all the information an organization needs to start the improvement process right away: how to determine customer needs and expectations and deliver the best service; how to establish which processes drive your business; how to create process improvement teams and train team leaders; how to eliminate bureaucracy, simplify the process, and reduce processing time; how to measure progress and provide feedback to participants; how to document the levels of improvement and certify operations and activities; and how to ensure ongoing improvement. Two special features further enahance the value of this highly practical guide: (1) a chapter of case histories, showing the results of business process improvement, and (2) an exhaustive section that guides readers in the application of problem-solving methods, value analysis and process analysis techniques, perfection analysis, work simplification programs, and more. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

More Info.
I rate it a 2 because it didn't give that much information. Some people just don't have enough money to go out and buy books. Especially young adults on a fixed income. When I come to the internet I expect to learn and read, not spend my money. Thank You

This is the essential Quality book.
This book is a great investement. This book explains much more than Business Process Improvement, it also breaks down the sub categories of Quality management into easy to digest pieces. Harrington makes the complex/theoretical Quality "mechanics" easy to understand. He explains today's business trends which can help any business become more productive.

Manufacturing Industries have been using these Quality techniques for years and Harrington helps any business adopt these "tried & true" measures. I recommend this book to anyone who is in the Quality field, or for anyone who is embarking in TQM. ... Read more

Book Description

Responsible For Reliability? Look No Further! Finally, a working tool that delivers expert guidance on all aspects of product reliability. W. Grant Ireson and Clyde F Coombs, Jr.'s new Second Edition of Handbook of Reliability Engineering and Management gives you the specific engineering, management, and mathematics data you need to design and manufacture more reliable electronic and mechanical devices as well as complete systems. You'll find proven industry practices for defining and achieving reliability goals--real how-to information, not theoretical generalities. You also get new methods for determining overall product reliability. . .the latest design techniques for extending a product's life cycle. . .tested strategies for incorporating reliability into new product development. . .and more. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Wait for the NEXT Edition.
"Handbook of Reliability Engineering and Management", Second Edition, Edited by W. Grant Ireson, Clyde F. Coombs, Jr. and Richard Y. Moss, McGraw Hill, 1996.

This is the second edition of the Handbook, which first appeared in 1988. There are individual contributing authors for each of the 27 chapters; the resultant is already out of date. The current "Limbo" status of military documents, such as Military Standard 105 and Military Handbook 217F, makes this present edition of the Handbook out of date in 2000. Will Military Handbook 217F ever be revised to provide up-to-date models for the failure rates of modern electronic components?

This Handbook would benefit from better editing. For example, as a Handbook, it is expected that the index in the back of the physical book would contain page references to pertinent reliability terms and techniques. Today's technology emphasizes Environmental Stress Screening, ESS. The term, ESS, has been around for at least 15 years (or so: I recall doing an IEEE paper on ESS in 1988). It is expected that ESS and related terms such as HALT (Highly Accelerated Life Testing) and HASS, would be readily found in the Handbook's index. They are not.

Same thing holds true for Software Reliability, where the chapter's author uses the cute term, "SMERFS Model" (p. 22.15), but this term will not be found in the index. (SMERFS = Statistical Modeling and estimation of reliability functions for software.) By the way, from a technical point of view, this chapter's half page on the various models for software reliability is very skimpy. For example, Dr. Michael Elbert has written an entire IEEE paper on the selection of the proper model for software reliability. It would be expected that a Handbook would be more complete than just a small portion of a page. In Chapter 22, on Software Reliability, the author references a paper on the Rayleigh curve by "Gaffney" (p. 22.13). The reference at the back of Chapter 22 gives the reference's name as "John Gafney". This is a discrepancy that should have been caught by the editors. I suspect that the correct spelling is "Gaffney", but both can not be correct.

There are other editorial lapses: on page 16.24, Bellcore failure rates are compared to MIL-HDBK-217, and it is state that Bellcore "... provides generally better failure rates than does MIL-HDBK-217F, which is supposedly based on field experience in communications equipment." The way this sentence is presented implies that MIL-HDBK-217F is based upon experience in communications equipment, when, as most reliability practitioners know, MIL-HDBK-217F failure rates are based on environments from Ground, Fixed, to Ground, Benign, to Naval Sheltered and Airborne, etc, and on equipment from radios to radars to sonars, air data computers and fire control units. This inconsistency in the use of the language ought to have been caught by the editors.

On page 16.6, there is a nice comparison of FITs to failures per million hours to %failure per 1000 hours. The Editors should make the reader aware that a billion in American usage (1 with nine zeroes after it) is not the same as European usage. Chapter 6, on FMEAs is totally into the Risk Priority Number method where "gray beards" sit around and use the "Delphi" approach to ascertain the probability of an event, the severity of that failure and whether or not the failure can be detected. This is a very subjective method, and, in my humble opinion, RPN is being superceded by more objective, quantitative methods (see IEC 61508).

In summary, prudent purchasers should await the next edition of this Handbook, if that edition considers all the changes taking place in the availability of military standards and the new leadership role of international standards in the reliability arena. For example, IEC 300, on "Dependability" is not even mentioned.

John Peter Rooney, ASQ Certified Reliability Engineer #2425. ... Read more

Book Description

This is a focused and well-organized book with in-depth interpretation of ISO 9001:2000 requirements. It identifies and explains 92 distinct, auditable requirements that must be implemented to pass the certification audit. Every requirement is systematically explained with regard to interpretation, procedures and records, and the way certification auditors will verify conformance. In essence, the book reinterprets the standards into a list of specific actions that need to be taken to achieve conformance, and explains how to implement them in the organization. The list of all requirements discussed in the book is provided under the Table of Contents in the Book Information menu on the left side of this page. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Successfully Certified
This book is wonderfully written and the author really does a nice job presenting the information clearly. Our company also purchased the software documentation quality manual and procedure package that really complemented the book and its information. The author presents and suggests information throughout the software presentation that is all within the ISO standard. This approach allowed our company to be as flexible in editing the manual and procedures as necessary. During our assessment process, how well written and the structure of our documentation was specifically noted. Jack Kanholm is a foremost authority in the area of ISO standards and their structured approach to organizational improvement. He has several books on the subject to his credit. We were certified to the new standard thanks in part to Jack Kanholm's book, software, and his organization.

A clear explanation of the requirements of ISO 9001:2000
This is a must read for anyone charged with ensuring the success of the changeover to the new ISO standard. Kanholm identifies each auditable requirement of the 2000 standard, explains how those requirements should be satisfied on the level of documentation, implementation and records and offers insight as to how auditors might verify compliance with each requirement. The book is filled with examples which pertain to both large and small organizations. It is well-written, easily understood, and should be on the shelf of every ISO quality professional. If you have any doubt about the ability of your organization to re-certify, you need to order this excellent book today. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Good intro...and value for money!
No frills, direct to the point. If you are looking for a simple to read, short, and to the point book, this is it. Priced very reasonable, it is a good buy.

The authors would have done well to include more examples, and also explain the Tops Down, and Bottoms Up approaches to doing FMEA.

I suggest you look past the few errors in the book, and learn the essence of doing FMEAs. It can get you started in a very short time.

Excellent coverage of the essentials
Great little book which I, as a Quality Engineer, found useful and which I would be happy to distribute to busy people at all levels of a company knowing there is a good chance it will be read.

This books covers the essentials required to get people started and productive on an FMEA team.

Only complaint is the cost to get it down here in Australia!

Simple and easy
This book provides simple, easy to read and understand of the concept of FMEA. Although it is use to determine the possibility of a failure and the consequence but it is also useful for risk assessment.

The step-by-step examples bring the readers to the final picture on how to complete the FMEA cycle will surely benefit all of us!

Most important that you need know of FMEA in your pocket
En la actualidad la industria requiere la aplicación de esta metodologia con la finalidad de planificar y programar la ejecución de servicios en función a los requerimientos del sistema, por lo cual es muy importante conocer la aplicación de esta herramienta, esto ya que el FMEA ayuda prevenir, detectar fallas, defectos en el proceso, ya que el FMEA sirve para determinar las causes de las variaciones que pueden ocurrir y lo más importante es que es una herramienta de bolsillo.

The application of this methodology is fundamental in our industries, because it's a functional tool for the services execution plain and program, this helps you for prevent, detect fails or process defects, FMEA helps you to see what would happend, too. And it's a pocket tool.

Truly Basic
This book is a good primer for the application of FMEA tools. Particularly interesting are the sections on application of the FMEA process to non-manufacturing disciplines such as purchasing and human resources. However, the book is not a thorough enough treatment of the subject to enable an inexperienced person to perform an FMEA. It does serve a purpose to an experienced user, by walking you through the process and providing a structured approach to keep development of the FMEA on track. ... Read more

Book Description

Toyota's world-renowned success proves that with kanban, theJust-In-Time production system (JIT) makes most other manufacturingpractices obsolete. This simple but powerful classic is based onseminars given by JIT creator Taiichi Ohno to introduce Toyota's ownsupplier companies to JIT. It shows how to implement the world's mostefficient production system. A clear and complete introduction. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Where is KANBAN
Lack of information, I didn't find what I was looking, how to calculate KANBAN.

An absolute farce of a review on Toyota
This book failed to capture the essence behind the workings of Toyota. Whether it was through poor research or a simple lack of understanding this book should be avoided at all costs. ... Read more

Book Description

Praise for Performance Management

" We are witnessing a convergence among advanced management concepts and practices.Performance management is a means to pull it all together, to understand the strengths and limitations of each management practice and leverage it for competitive advantage. Cokins’ book walks us through all this in a manner that makes something confusing much less so.
" There is no one right answer for any situation.The answer lies in a balance of concepts and the integration of them. Performance Management is the glue that holds them all together.
" This book helps the reader understand the breadth of PM.It’s not just about measuring!"
–– John F. Morrow, CPA, AICPA Vice President, The New Finance

"Gary Cokins has articulated the ‘411’ of performance management.His combination of personal anecdotes with fundamental cost and performance management theories provides business leaders at all levels, in any industry or profession, a solid resource for practicing their work.
"This book is not only an invaluable resource for those new to performance management but provides guidance, wisdom, support, and insight to all industry leaders and managers. Cokins has organized and simplified the many complex performance management theories, associated tools, and infrastructure for the reader.
"Buy it, read it, and give it to your colleagues–– then celebrate your successes!"
–– Sue Swertfeger, Senior Manager, Owens & Minor ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Great addition to ABC and Performance Improvement
From TQM to Balanced Score Cards - this is the book that provides a practical synthesis. Focus on cause and effect relationships and away from abstractions. Must have book.

Business performance in context of today's environment
If execution is the goal these days, then this book brings an interesting perspective -- it's both big picture AND 'how to do it' at the same time. Cokins does a great job of putting the execution imperative into the larger context of "why." A good read for a reminder of basic performance management tools and for exploring how they work best in the context of today's tough business environment.

Great Graphics in Performance Management
Gary's book, on Performance Management published by Wiley, does an excellent job of pointing out there are no "Silver Bullets" or management tools that solve all problems. Combinations of the right techniques is an art. Bold graphics and flow charts in the book do much to stimulate the thought process. Business failure is often a result of inadequate performance management systems. Survival in today's global economy requires many of the better performance management techniques described in Gary's new book. A great addition to any business library. Bill Hass, Certified Turnaround Professional, wjhass@aol.com

Gary made a complete view of Performance Management
This not a common book about Performance Management. It integrates several methodologies like Activity Based Management, Balanced Score carding, Value Management and Customer Profitability Management.

If you want to know more about Performance Management roots, this book can be a practical guide to understand several aspects involved when you are working to implement successfully a PM initiative. ... Read more

Book Description

This long-awaited companion and update to H. James Harrington's best-selling Business Process Improvement is a hands-on implementation guide. It focuses on upgrading information distribution paths to optimize the many processes with which they come in contact. Filled with lists, charts, and appendices, this workbook tells how to document a company's processes, analyze current effectiveness, design new processes, use system enablers, and much more. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Not bad, could be better
I'll agree with users who feel this book is dry, dry, dry. I also have some issues with the design of the book. There were concepts that I found confusing until I drew my own flow charts -such aids could certainly have been included in the book. There were too many bulleted lists that probably should have been numbered for easier reference and ranking. Where this book shines is on the mechanics on BPI; how to organize the project and the teams (although a good project manager should know how to do this), the sequence of steps to go through, and how to organize all the collected information.

What is missing from this book, in my opinion, is discussion on Risk Management and Change Management. You can document processes and manuals and forms until you're blue in the face, but in the end, you'll have to get human beings to buy into the difficult task of changing processes to reach the future state, and there is little discussion of this.

Disappointing
I found that the title was a little bit misleading as well. The word "workbook" led me to believe that there would be examples, exercises and forms to work from. Instead, the entire book is broken down into tiny sections that only DESCRIBE how or why a particular analysis or technique should be performed.

Some of the information is purely common sense, and yet you are forced to read through a dry, overanalyzed, high-level description of it. For example, under the Project Documentation section, an explanation reads: "Communication. With the documentation, all those who were involved with the project can be informed about the development of the project from beginning to end." (Do you really need a book to tell you this?)

Some good suggestions and a few good examples do exist, but you must wade through time-wasting, frustrating, non-informative text before getting to them.

I think this book was nothing more than an ego booster and moneymaking scheme for a few E&Y consultants.

Excellent structure for end to end mechanics of BPR
Provides an excellent framework for organizing and planning for BPR. The orientation is at a high level and should be adapted to your specific needs, but the overall structure discussed can be applied to large, medium and small efforts.

Great "How To"
This is a good easy to read, reference for someone unfamiliar with BPR methodologies. I was a part of a major redesign project and it helped me clearly define the steps I needed to take as well as how to create usable documentation for team members up to sr. mgt. Excellent How-to. Good examples of documents. ... Read more

Book Description

Return on Investment (ROI) remains one of the most challenging and intriguing issues facing human resource development and performance improvement professionals.Drawing on their expertise in developing and implementing ROI programs in human performance and training, Jack J. Phillips, Ph.D., Timothy W. Bothell and G. Lynn Snead demonstrate how you can effectively apply ROI to project management.


Today, almost every industry requires employees to manage multiple projects with competing priorities, critical deadlines, and unexpected interruptions-rendering everyone a project manager in some respect. Most employees feel the pressure of juggling any number of key projects simultaneously. Organizations have responded by investing large amounts of both time and money to improve project management, and most strive to justify the efforts and resources dedicated to improving this goal.

'The Project Management Scorecard' is a welcome relief for anyone managing a project or multiple projects, as well as the trainers, human resource development staff, or supervisors charged with measuring, evaluating, and managing project managers.

Project Management is one of the hottest topics in business management today, affecting nearly every individual in any organization across the globe. Let three HRD experts show you how to apply the hugely popular ROI process to the key organizational issue of successful project management including:

* Project management issues and challenges
* Measuring reaction and satisfaction
* How to calculate and interpret ROI
* Capturing business impact data
* Measuring skill and knowledge changes during the project
* Monitoring the true costs of the project solution
* Converting business measure to monetary values
* Forecasting ROI

The authors' step-by-step approach allows you to begin the ROI process immediately. Start measuring the success of your project management results today.

Three HRD experts show how to apply the hugely popular ROI process to the key organizational issue of successful project management.

Project Management is one of the hottest topics in business management today, affecting nearly every individual in any organization across the globe. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Essential for PMOs and mature project organizations
This book is ROI-focused and integrates the people and process elements of project management with a balanced scorecard approach. One of the authors, Jack J. Phillips, has extensive experience and a large published body of knowledge in the domains of HR, ROI and scorecard development. This book has his touch, and covers the essentials of a mature project organization, what to measure and how to measure it.

The approach is as follows:
1. Measure:
* reaction and satisfaction
* skill and knowledge churn during the project
* implementation and progress metrics throughout the project
2. From the metrics capture:
* business impact data
* ROI
3. Identify both tangible and intangible benefits and apply them to an aggregate 'true cost'.

The book also shows how to translate business metrics to dollar values, build a business case, and communicate status, based on the scorecard, to clients and stakeholders. This is essential for anyone who is setting up or managing a program management office or who wants to improve internal project managment processes. It also provides one of the best methods for communicating status to clients and upper management. ... Read more

Book Description

The successful first edition of HACCP: A PracticalApproach has established itself as the definitive text on HACCP forthe foodindustry.In an easy to read style, it gives a step-by-stepapproach to developing an effective HACCP system.In this newedition authors bring us up to date with current thinking, includingthe use of more modular HACCP systems and even generic HACCP in somesectors.Greater attention is paid to planning and implementation,and the theory is illustrated with a completely new set of casestudies from UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, South America and Asia. It isan invaluable text for everyone who needs to know what HACCP reallyis, what it can do for a food business, and the best way to build aneffective system. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Good source of reference, practical, simple text and example
Good source of reference for HACCP subject matter ... Read more

Book Description

Dr. Shingo reveals his unique defect prevention system, whichcombines source inspection and poka-yoke (mistake-proofing) devicesthat provide instant feedback on errors before they can become defects.The result: 100 percent inspection that eliminates the need for SQC andproduces defect-free products without fail. Includes 112 examples, mostcosting under $100. Two-part video program also available; call fordetails. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent book on making 100% inspection affordable
This is an excellent book on reducing the cost of 100% inspection so that product quality can be assured. The book is clearly written, filled with useful examples, and very well translated. This book does not deal specifically with methods of reducing the cost of inspecting precision parts. Most of the examples describe methods of assuring that assemblies are put together properly, by making incorrect assembly virtually impossible.

Learning from the master
Mr Shingo was the technical man behind Mr Ohno who was the manager in the implementation of the Toyota production system. He defined the how to methods of SMED and 0 defects Quality that support the non stock production system. This book is of the type for the hands on engineer who wants to understand and implement the concepts, directly from their creator. ... Read more

Book Description

These guidelines form a comprehensive overview of Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and examine why FMEA has become a powerful and respected analytical technique for effectively managing and reducing risks. Readers learn how to use FMEA throughout the life cycles of their product to improve customer satisfaction and ensure safety and regulatory compliance. They will obtain sound advice on selecting a study team, stetting up and conducting a study, and analyzing the results. Other topics include Failure Mode, Effects, and Criticality Analysis, Risk Management Planning, Advanced Quality Planning, Product Quality Control Plans, and Dynamic Control Plans. ... Read more

Book Description

Hayes is a founder of the Operations Strategy field, and all four authors are on the Harvard Business School faculty. In Operations, Strategy, and Technology: Pursuing the Competitive Edge--the long-awaited follow-up to the highly successful classic, Restoring Our Competitive Edge--Bob Hayes, Gary Pisano, Dave Upton, and Steve Wheelwright take a fresh loo