All the three authors are from the international consulting firm Pivotal Resources, which provides Six Sigma implementation, training, and management development services in industries from financial services to high technology. The authors have had hands‐on experience of the Six Sigma quality system based on their experience at GE, Allied Signal and other companies in a variety of industries.
This book contains non‐technical information on Six Sigma and practical tips to implementing the Six Sigma system. The book comprises 18 chapters grouped into three parts. The first part consists of five chapters (79 pages), which give an overview of Six Sigma. The second part comprising six chapters (72) is entitled “Gearing up and adapting Six Sigma to your organization”. In the final part (230 pages), the authors provide the roadmap and tools for implementing the Six Sigma system. The part is concluded with 12 keys to success. The authors recognize that they could not cover every aspect in detail when they point out that “In some ways, this book has just scratched the surface in outlining the ideas, tools, and disciplines that make up the system for management” (p. 379).
In Part I, they provide a thorough overview of the essentials of Six Sigma. This includes key concepts, success stories in leading companies that have adopted the system, the core improvement and management methodology of DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control). Also given is a comparison between Six Sigma and total quality management (TQM) systems, and why Six Sigma is succeeding while TQM has failed. One chapter is devoted to explaining the differences between manufacturing and services and the keys to making Six Sigma work well in service organizations.
In Part II, they turn their attention to softer issues of launching, leading and preparing people for the Six Sigma. The key questions considered are whether the organization is ready to launch, and can benefit from, Six Sigma effort, how and where to begin the effort, and what are the key responsibilities of organizational leaders in guiding the launch. Also covered are issues to be resolved in selecting and training the corps of process measurement and improvement experts such as the “Master Black Belts”, “Black Belts”, etc. and the critical role of selecting initial projects to ensure success.
In Part III, they focus on explaining in some depth the five‐Step Six Sigma Roadmap. A chapter each is devoted to explaining the first three steps: identifying the core processes and key customers; defining customer requirements; and measuring current performance. The fourth step comprising prioritizing, analyzing, and implementing improvements is covered in two chapters (chapters 15 and 16). The first deals with Six‐Sigma process improvement steps (define, measure, analyze and improve) and the second deals with creating new or wholly renewed process, a “core‐competency” for 21st century organizations. Topics covered in chapter 15 include an overview of the circular nature process improvement, defining problems, identifying and listening to customers, identifying and documenting the process, analyzing root causes, identifying, synthesizing and selecting solutions. For all of the above steps the authors deal with the basic tools used and briefly explain when each can be used effectively and the obstacles to bear in mind. A number of exhibits from real case studies are used to emphasize the essential points.
In chapter 16, using a similar structure, the authors explain how to use Six Sigma process design/redesign to bring about large‐scale changes. Explanations are based on how an insurance company (Computer Outage Liability Assurance) redesigned its approach to shorten the policy completion process from 10.4 weeks to 1.5 weeks within a year, to enhance a company’s strength and profitability, and set a new performance standard for our industry. A comparison of the “before and after” results report shows dramatic improvement: total cycle time reduced from 10.4 weeks to 8.2 days, average pages per contract reduced from 26.3 to 9.2, in‐process revisions/contract reduced from 7.1 to 0.4, and defects per million opportunities reduced from 321,000 to 75,000. The chapter concludes with “do and don’ts” of process design/redesign process.
Chapter 17 deals with issues involved in measuring and consolidating the gains made through Six Sigma improvement projects: methods and tools of process control, and process owners’ specific responsibilities. The final chapter comprises an overview of the following advanced Six Sigma tools: statistical process control and control charts, tests of statistical significance (Chi‐square, t‐test, ANOVA), correlation and regression analysis, design of experiments, failure mode effect analysis, mistake‐proofing, and quality function deployment.
The authors conclude each of the chapters in Part III with a summary of “do and don’ts”. In the appendices checklists for different steps of Six Sigma implementation are provided along with a Six Sigma conversion table and a Six Sigma calculation worksheet. Also provided are a useful glossary of terms and a short list of references.
The text is well written, and easy to read as jargons are explained and ample examples are given. I also found the book informative. The book is a useful addition to the small band of other books on this emerging theme. Managers intending to learn about this latest quality system found to be useful by leading companies will find this book useful.
