Process Improvement Simplified: A How-To Book for Success in Any Organization

62 QMJ VOL. 21, NO. 3/© 2014, ASQ Quality Management for Organizations Using Lean Six Sigma Techniques. 2014. Erick C. Jones. Boca Raton, FL: Taylor and Francis (CRC Press). 591 pages. This book aims to “establish the concepts and principles by which students ... practitioners, and quality managers will learn about Lean Six Sigma (LSS) and its origins ... and how it can be integrated into manufacturing, logistics, and healthcare operations.” Despite its broad goal, in 29 chapters, this book delivers. Section I provides an overview of quality management, quality awards, and key standards. The highlight is chapters 4 through 6, which describe lean and Six Sigma separately, followed by a very nice and concise articulation of the “real difference” that characterizes LSS, and encourages practitioners to find the appropriate balance for each project, given its particular context. Section II examines LSS from the level of the organization as a whole. Chapters within this section explain how to qualitatively and economically justify an LSS project, data-driven approaches for how an organization can decide which projects to resource, how to assess the relationship between LSS efforts and firm performance, benchmarking at the organizational level, and considerations for human resources policies to ensure that the right people are recruited to perform key LSS activities. Section III starts by covering basic concepts of statistics, but then moves on to describe each phase of the define, measure, analyze, improve, and control (DMAIC) methodology in detail. There is enough information provided in each of these areas to easily navigate a Six Sigma project in practice. Sect ion IV i s unique and powerful, focused entirely on comprehensive case studies, many of which include using radio frequency identification (RFID). Section V covers roles and responsibilities of Six Sigma professionals, descriptions of certifications and belt levels, and how these individuals typically interact as a project is chartered and executed. Limited case studies are provided throughout the text that effectively supplement the material. Although the case studies do not provide extensive technical detail, they are still instructive and very useful. There are also appendices scattered throughout the book, which vary in content and quality. For example, Appendix 3B starts out by stating that its purpose is to compare quality management practices in the United States and Mexico. However, even though testable hypotheses are presented along with data, there is no connection made between analysis of the data and what insights it provides regarding the hypotheses. Against the backdrop of the rest of the book, though, such minor issues should not be a concern. In this reviewer’s opinion, this is the most comprehensive book to date covering LSS in a completely integrated fashion, with material that will be equally valuable to managers, practitioners, and instructors who teach quality management or quality engineering. This is a useful guidebook for certification as well, comparable to Kubiak and Benbow’s (2009) book, The Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Handbook. It is sure to have lasting value on many bookshelves.