Statistics for Six Sigma Made Easy [Paperback]

Warren Brussee (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0071433856 | ISBN-13: 978-0071433853 | Publication Date: May 1, 2004 | Edition: 1

The first plain-English guide to solving real-world problems with Six Sigma

So you're ready to improve your processes and products and satisfy your customers through Six Sigma--but you're not looking forward to navigating complicated statistics in order to get results. Now, Warren Brussee, a veteran Six Sigma manager who helped his teams generate millions of dollars in savings, explains how to use the powerful statistical tools of Six Sigma in easy-to-understand language.

In this step-by-step guide, you get a thorough overview of the Six Sigma methodology and techniques for successful implementation, as well as a clear explanation of DMAIC--the problem solving method used by Six Sigma Greenbelts for projects and process improvements. You'll see how to plot, interpret, and validate data for a Six Sigma project. You will use Excel to make Six Sigma problem-solving calculations in a wide range of areas, from sales and marketing to manufacturing, process work, equipment design, and more. Each chapter also features a brief review of what you've learned. Plus, you get:

• A simplified form of the most common Six Sigma tools
• All the basic Six Sigma formulas and tables
• Dozens of Six Sigma statistical problem-solving case studies
• A matrix for finding the right statistical tool to meet your needs
• Basic Greenbelt training in one concise reference

Best of all, no background in statistics is required--you can start improving quality and initiating cost-saving improvements right away. With all these benefits and authoritative guidance, Statistics for Six Sigma Made Easy is the only reference you need to facilitate real-world application of Six Sigma tools.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Warren Brussee (Columbia, SC) spent 33 years at General Electric as an engineer, plant manager, and engineering manager. He has taught Six Sigma classes to both engineering and manufacturing teams.

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071433856
• ISBN-13: 978-0071433853
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,972 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > Business & Investing > Management & Leadership > Quality Control

More About the Author

I first started to write books after I retired from GE, where I had managed an engineering team. My motivation for writing was a frustration with both the available books on Six Sigma and the way Six Sigma was taught. I felt Six Sigma was a valuable methodology whose use was being restricted by its being made unnecessarily difficult and bureaucratic. When I was at GE, I taught a simplified version to my teams, and I applied that philosophy to my first book, Statistics for Six Sigma Made Easy. McGraw-Hill agreed to publish it, and when that book started to sell well, McGraw-Hill asked me to write a second book on Six Sigma as part of their All About series. All About Six Sigma was the result.

I discovered I loved writing. I had a strong interest in the economy, and I believed that the 2004 economy was not as healthy as being publicly presented and that we were headed for a severe downturn. Using the same data discipline that is taught in Six Sigma, I went to work researching our economy. This research resulted in my book The Second Great Depression, published by a small publisher. The book sold well and John Wiley decided to publish an updated version "The Great Depression of Debt. I also published an illustrated children's book Laoch the Guide Dog Puppy, based on my experience in raising a guide dog puppy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

99 of 99 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Truly Unique and Friendly Six Sigma Book, February 26, 2006

By 

Dedicated Black Belt - See all my reviews

This review is from: Statistics for Six Sigma Made Easy (Paperback)

I am a Black Belt and program manager at a Fortune 100 company. I use and teach Six Sigma regularly, and I strongly believe in the power of this methodology. However, Six Sigma can be complex, bureaucratic, and confusing. This sometimes makes it difficult to get buy-in from others.

I constantly search for books that make Six Sigma easier to use and understand. I have used Brussee's Statistics for Six Sigma Made Easy for over a year and have found no other book as successful in making Six Sigma truly useable for those who don't plan to make Six Sigma their life's major undertaking. Not everyone wants to be a Six Sigma Black Belt!

The author has simplified many of the Six Sigma tools, with no reduction in their usefulness. In fact, the simplification on the QFDs and the FMEAs make them MORE useful, because they aren't so tedious and boring. And the Simplified Gauge Verification, which incorporates aim into the formula, makes the output far more meaningful.

Testing for statistical significance, which in most Six Sigma books is either skipped completely or treated with the same complexity as in a high-level statistics book, is incorporated as a straight-forward test, with no unnecessary jargon. And all calculations can be done with Excel. Although I feel comfortable using Six Sigma specific software, I find that most people who are not doing Six Sigma calculations on a daily basis are much more comfortable using Excel.

The included Six Sigma case studies seem to indicate that the author has truly lived through Six Sigma projects, not just observed them as a consultant. As someone who has to live with the results of their work for many years, I appreciate this difference.

I think that Brussee's approach to Six Sigma will become the standard as this valuable methodology continues to be incorporated into more industrial and non-industrial processes. I highly recommend this book.

Dedicated Black Belt

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended!!, August 6, 2006

By 

dolcetta (VA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Statistics for Six Sigma Made Easy (Paperback)

Brussee's Statistics for Six Sigma Made Easy is a wonderful "how to" text for six sigma stat tools that is very readable, and usable, by anyone with at least a high school level background in mathematics. He has done a great job of simplifying much of what a Green Belt would use from the Six Sigma toolkit, and he presents the material in a format highly conducive to application. The result is a valuable statistics manual for the Six Sigma implementer.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Is Worth The Money, April 21, 2008

By 

F. Carlsen "Silver Smith" (Belmont, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Statistics for Six Sigma Made Easy (Paperback)

Warren Brusee gets right into the thick of Six Sigma from the very beginning. The author discusses shortcuts and simpler methods than traditional Six Sigma processes that are equally as effective.

Statistics and Quantitative Methods have never been particularly friends of mine. This book is approachable, reads well, has very clear examples, and sample problems.

If you are looking for a book to introduce you to Six Sigma, and teach some very useful tools, make this the first book on the subject you buy.