Customer Reviews

Six Sigma for the Office: Spiral

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is easy to read. It does not go into any depth. It is 'dummies approach' in Six Sigma. It contains the standard 7 tools that Juran developed. Has `kindergarten' explanations of Variation, Fishbone Diagrams, Control Charts, Check sheet, Histograms, Quality Teams and QC circles. Pluses: I have found it useful for training managers that have little to no clue. Minuses: Not so useful for anyone that having knowledge of Six Sigma.

I am an office manager in Kansas and have ordered this book for my rntire staff. I am already a Green Belt and have found this book an excellent tool in working with staff level people to get them moving in the direction of Six Sigma. It helps during my staff meeting to give a framework of our next steps in process improvement and through the use of this book, my team starts coming up with ideas in their areas to find innovative ways of improving. I especially like the way the author keeps things in simple terms for the average person. Too many of the things that I have looked at on the market today seem to be written for people with advanced degrees or are Master Black Belts! I highly recommend this book for continual improvement in office areas.

I have also shared this with the school principle where my kids are and my wife has taken this to her office at the local hospital. Both groups are interested and the managers are ordering some of these books for their staffs.

In purchasing this "book" (note that is a 3 1/2 by 5 1/2 inch, spiral bound), I was hoping to get a Six Sigma tool application guide for the office. What I got was a basic primer in Six Sigma (or quality programs) and its tools that quiet simply repeatedly points out that it can be used in the office setting. This approach may be fine for the office manager that has no knowlege of Six Sigma, but not so good for those people that already have knowledge of quality or Six Sigma. For example, one chapter is entitled "What is Variation?". In addition, there are beginner explanations of Fishbone Diagrams, Control Charts, DMAIC, Checksheet, Histograms, and Quality Teams to name a few. So I'd give a good recommendation for anyone that has very limited or no knowledge of Six Sigma. However, if you use quality tools or understand basic tenants of quality programs, this "book" will disappoint.

Munro has found a easy way for office personnel to understand and use the problem solving nature of six sigma. The book is concise and easy to use. It is a handly reference at my desk to understand both the tools as well as the methodology behind why the tools and processes should be used in six sigma. I recommend office managers, supervisors and personnel to have this little book handy for conducting work differently.