Of the 100 companies named to Fortune magazine’s list of the world’s largest companies in 1956, only 29 of those companies remain on that list. Many lost their way because they failed to recognize the changes taking place, or were too big to react quickly enough to shifting market conditions. Supplying Lean practitioners with a formal process for keeping up with technological advancements and shifting business requirements, The Future of Lean Sigma Thinking in a Changing Business Environment provides the tools to survive and prosper through the current business environment. It introduces cutting-edge business solutions from the fields of chemical engineering, aircraft production, and business psychology, and explains how to integrate these concepts with proven Lean principles. The book begins by providing a foundation in essential Lean concepts, including Deming and Juran, Six Sigma, Total Quality Management, the Toyota Production System, and New Six Sigma. Next, it reports on the latest advances in process understanding. By analyzing changing attitudes within the system, it illustrates how new products are being developed using updated Lean thinking. In addition, it provides examples that demonstrate the impact of e-commerce on Lean production systems. Incorporating the green agenda to Lean thinking, the text supplies the insight to safely navigate your company through a shifting business landscape while reducing your impact on raw materials and the environment. By following the principles discussed in this book, you will not only increase your company’s chances of achieving long-term survival but will position your organization to capitalize on the economic upturn on the horizon.

Of the 100 companies named to Fortune magazine’s list of the world’s largest companies in 1956, only 29 of those companies remain on that list. Many lost their way because they failed to recognize the changes taking place, or were too big to react quickly enough to shifting market conditions. Supplying Lean practitioners with a formal process for keeping up with technological advancements and shifting business requirements, The Future of Lean Sigma Thinking in a Changing Business Environment provides the tools to survive and prosper through the current business environment. It introduces cutting-edge business solutions from the fields of chemical engineering, aircraft production, and business psychology, and explains how to integrate these concepts with proven Lean principles. The book begins by providing a foundation in essential Lean concepts, including Deming and Juran, Six Sigma, Total Quality Management, the Toyota Production System, and New Six Sigma. Next, it reports on the latest advances in process understanding. By analyzing changing attitudes within the system, it illustrates how new products are being developed using updated Lean thinking. In addition, it provides examples that demonstrate the impact of e-commerce on Lean production systems. Incorporating the green agenda to Lean thinking, the text supplies the insight to safely navigate your company through a shifting business landscape while reducing your impact on raw materials and the environment. By following the principles discussed in this book, you will not only increase your company’s chances of achieving long-term survival but will position your organization to capitalize on the economic upturn on the horizon.

The quality inspector is the person perhaps most closely involved with day-to-day activities intended to ensure that products and services meet customer expectations. The quality inspector is required to understand and apply a variety of tools and techniques as codified in the American Society for Quality (ASQ) Certified Quality Inspector (CQI) Body of Knowledge (BoK). The tools and techniques identified in the ASQ CQI BoK include technical math, metrology, inspection and test techniques, and quality assurance. Quality inspectors frequently work with the quality function of organizations in the various measurement and inspection laboratories, as well as on the shop floor supporting and interacting with quality engineers and production/service delivery personnel. This handbook supports individuals preparing to perform, or those already performing, this type of work. It is intended to serve as a ready reference for quality inspectors and quality inspectors in training, as well as a comprehensive reference for those individuals preparing to take the ASQ CQI examination. Examples and problems used throughout the handbook are thoroughly explained, are algebra-based, and are drawn from real-world situations encountered in the quality profession. To assist readers in using this book as a ready reference or as a study aid, the book has been organized to conform explicitly to the ASQ CQI BoK. Each chapter title, all major topical divisions within the chapters, and every main point has been titled and then numbered exactly as they appear in the CQI BoK.

The New and Definitive User’s Guide to Lean Six Sigma If you’re a business manager, you already know that Lean Six Sigma is one of the most popular and powerful business tools in the world today. You also probably know that implementing the process can be more than a little challenging. This step-by-step guide shows you how to customize and apply the principles of Lean Six Sigma to your own organizational needs, giving you more options, strategies, and solutions than you’ll find in any other book on the subject. With these simple, proven techniques, you can: * Assess your current business model and shape your future goals * Plan and prepare a Lean Six Sigma program that’s right for your company * Engage your leadership and your team throughout the entire process * Align your LSS efforts with the culture and values of your business * Develop deeper insights into your customer experience * Master the art of project selection and pipeline management * Tackle bigger problems and find better solutions * Become more efficient, more productive, and more profitable This innovative approach to the Lean Six Sigma process allows you to mold and shape your strategy as you go, making small adjustments along the way that can have a big impact. In this book, you’ll discover the most effective methods for deploying LSS at every level, from the leaders at the top to the managers in the middle to the very foundation of your company culture. You’ll hear from leading business experts who have guided companies through the LSS process—and get the inside story on how they turned those companies around. You’ll also learn how to use the latest, greatest management tools like Enterprise Kaizen, Customer Journey Maps, and Hoshin Planning. Everything you need to implement Lean Six Sigma—smoothly and successfully—is right here at your fingertips. When it comes to running a business, there is no better way to improve efficiency, increase productivity, and escalate profits than Lean Six Sigma. And there is no better book on how to make it work than Innovating Lean Six Sigma.

Strength-based Lean Six Sigma is a new way of approaching process improvement that combines the best practices of two established methodologies to generate a new approach in order to help you develop and deliver increased high performance in any organization. It is the first book to use approaches in business improvement as well as organizational change for optimum organizational performance and improved agility. Combining the energy and motivation released through a strengths-based approach with the focus on quality and efficiency generated by lean six sigma, it offers practitioners from all disciplines the opportunity to understand each other and work successfully together to drive effective and powerful change programmes.

Lean Thinking was launched in the fall of 1996, just in time for the recession of 1997. It told the story of how American, European, and Japanese firms applied a simple set of principles called 'lean thinking' to survive the recession of 1991 and grow steadily in sales and profits through 1996. Even though the recession of 1997 never happened, companies were starving for information on how to make themselves leaner and more efficient. Now we are dealing with the recession of 2001 and the financial meltdown of 2002. So what happened to the exemplar firms profiled in Lean Thinking? In the new fully revised edition of this bestselling book those pioneering lean thinkers are brought up to date. Authors James Womack and Daniel Jones offer new guidelines for lean thinking firms and bring their groundbreaking practices to a brand new generation of companies that are looking to stay one step ahead of the competition.

It is no secret that Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is not as popular with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as it is with larger ones. However, many SMEs are suppliers to larger entities who are pushing for superior quality and world-class process efficiencies from suppliers. Lean Six Sigma for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises: A Practical Guide provides a roadmap for the successful implementation and deployment of LSS in SMEs. It includes five real-world case studies that demonstrate how LSS tools have been successfully integrated into LSS methodology. Simplifying the terminology and methodology of LSS, this book makes the implementation process accessible. Supplies a general introduction to continuous improvement initiatives in SMEs Identifies the key phases in the introduction and development of LSS initiatives within an SME Details the most powerful LSS tools and techniques that can be used in an SME environment Provides tips on how to make the project selection process more successful This book covers the fundamental challenges and common pitfalls that can be avoided with successful introduction and deployment of LSS in the context of SMEs. Systematically guiding you through the application of the Six Sigma methodology for problem solving, the book devotes separate chapters to the most appropriate tools and techniques that can be useful in each stage of the methodology. Keeping the required math and statistics to a minimum, this practical guide will help you to deploy LSS as your prime methodology for achieving and sustaining world-class efficiency and effectiveness of critical business processes.