Implementing Six Sigma: Smarter Solutions Using Statistical Methods [Hardcover]

Forrest W. Breyfogle III (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471296597 | ISBN-13: 978-0471296591 | Publication Date: June 7, 1999

Filled with excellent diagrams and examples, the book discusses the theories of Edward Deming and other quality gurus, as well as the history of the Six Sigma program. It helps you lay the foundation for a Six Sigma program and discusses how to get upper management involved in the process.

But the heart of the book is the statistical tools used in Six Sigma. From FMEA (Failure Mode and Effect Analysis) to QFD (Quality Functional Deployment) and DOE (Design of Experiment), Implementing Six Sigma is your guide to understanding these powerful improvement techniques. Rather than just a brief overview, it breaks down each tool into a separate chapter and gives an in-depth analysis of each process. The chapters contain exercises that help you understand the tools and how to best utilize each one to achieve a minimum number of defects in the production process.

Written in an engaging style, this book is your guide to implementing a Six Sigma program. Contains appendices with numerous examples and copies of actual implementation guides used at Motorola.

Hardback / 1999 / 791 pages

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A must for any orangization interested in integrating the Six Sigma approach into their business strategy."

- Janice E. Shade
Kraft, NA

Review

2004 Crosby Medal Winner --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 832 pages
• Publisher: Productivity Press (June 7, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471296597
• ISBN-13: 978-0471296591
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,369,609 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The financial crisis of the day highlights the need for a 21st century management governance system that cannot be "gamed." The Integrated Enterprise Excellence (IEE) business system provides such a system, where scorecards, strategic planning, and process improvement are integrated so that organizations move toward achieving the 3 Rs of business; i.e., everyone doing the Right things, and doing them Right, at the Right time.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended Six Sigma resource, June 16, 2000

By 

Susan May (North Little Rock, Arkansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Implementing Six Sigma: Smarter Solutions Using Statistical Methods (Hardcover)

Statistical tools and methodologies used by Six Sigma are not new but generally have been reserved for Quality and Engineering functions. My training and experience with Six Sigma crossed paths with employees across all departments - Buyers, Supervisors, floor employees, Human Resources, Finance, as well as Quality and Engineering personnel.

What makes "Implementing Six Sigma" significant is you do not have to be an expert in statistics or even in the Quality field to understand and implement the tools of Six Sigma. Forrest details and further defines the tools in an easy to read format, plenty of exercises and examples, and a thorough appendix. I didn't discover this book until recently and have since replaced over a dozen reference books.

Depending on the problem at hand, tool usage varies and not all are applicable (to one's project) or taught in training. I had excellent Black Belt instructors but Forrest's book would have come in handy during my training and would have been an invaluable resource when facilitating Green Belt training. Recommended for those new, and not so new, to Six Sigma.

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 6 sigma explained, April 20, 2008

By 

Michael R. Chernick "statman31147" (Holland PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Implementing Six Sigma: Smarter Solutions Using Statistical Methods (Hardcover)

Six sigma is faddish and overhyped. However the use of six sigma ideas along with many other useful statistical methods for development of high quality products has had a positive influence on many manufacturing systems in the US and elsewhere. This falls under the umbrella of Total Quality Management which is a system that encourage engineers to learn and impliment statistical quality control techniques, design of experiments, statistical process control and other things in the black belt training program. Six sigma is an important part of that. This book is a very thick and detailed text on the use of six sigma methods to produce very high quality systems. Although it is a long text, it cuts through the smokescreens and hype to get to heart of the matter. I recommend either edition as a great reference text and learning tool.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good reference source for Six Sigma, October 18, 1999

By 

Keith Watt (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Implementing Six Sigma: Smarter Solutions Using Statistical Methods (Hardcover)

At 700+ pages, this is the equivalant of a college level text book on applying Six Sigma methods. I suggest it be used as a reference guide in conjunction with a formal six sigma training program, (The author includes this book in his Six Sigma training seminars) as it is an excellent tools and reference book. The book also gives a good introduction and walk through on how a six sigma program is typically implemented. The appendix contains an excellent glossary of six sigma terms and symbols.

The only criticism I have is that some of the explanations on relatively simple concepts (Cause & Effect diagrams, FMEA, etc.) are a little more verbose than they need to be.