This book introduces the Look Forward approach to continuous improvement (CI). Look Forward is a management approach to CI that fosters an environment that infuses CI into the very fabric of the organisation. As a result, improvement is not an initiative or a project but rather a naturally occurring event that is anticipated, expected and prevalent. Look Forward is not a substitute for Six Sigma, Lean or Theory of Constraints (TOC), but rather is a necessary complement to each of these in order to assure self-perpetuating improvement that is ingrained in the corporate culture. Any business serious about improvement is going to consider these methodologies in the overall scope of their operations and the unique benefits they bring to the table. This book shows that for unbeatable sustained improvement they need to be intertwined with the Look Forward methodology.

Six Sigma is a data-driven management system with near-perfect performance that is a statistical target of operating with no more that 3.4 defects per one million chances. Six sigma has both created avid interest and raised concerns among executives and its practioners. This is all very well for multinationals like Motorola or General Electric but how can it help small and medium-sized enterprises or the service industry? How do you ensure that solutions stick? Quality Beyond Six Sigma responds to this challenge and provides a practical implementation of the issues of Six Sigma, Lean Enterprise and Total Quality and aligns the 'hard' sigma message with the softer sustainable 'strategic issues'. The result is FIT SIGMA. The authors utilize major and minor case studies to support principles and learnings of FIT SIGMA and include review examples and self-assessment that underpin the sustainable process. The three major case studies are contributed by General Electric, Dow Chemical and Seagate Technology. Senior Executives and Managers of organizations of all types and sizes, Management Consultants and Students of all disciplines will find this book a stimulating guide to quality and operational excellence.

Bring the miracle of Lean Six Sigma improvement out of manufacturing and into services Much of the U.S. economy is now based on services rather than manufacturing. Yet the majority of books on Six Sigma and Lean--today's major quality improvement initiatives--explain only how to implement these techniques in a manufacturing environment. Lean Six Sigma for Services fills the need for a service-based approach, explaining how companies of all types can cost-effectively translate manufacturing-oriented Lean Six Sigma tools into the service delivery process. Filled with case studies detailing dramatic service improvements in organizations from Lockheed Martin to Stanford University Hospital, this bottom-line book provides executives and managers with the knowledge they need to: Reduce service costs by 30 to 60 percent Improve service delivery time by 50 percent Expand capacity by 20 percent without adding staff

This volume thoroughly documents Integrated Enterprise Excellence (IEE) benefits and measurement techniques and provides a step-by-step Project Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control (P-DMAIC) roadmap, enabling a true integration of Six Sigma and Lean tools.

This book presents some definitions and concepts applied in Latin America on lean manufacturing (LM), the LM tools most widely used and human and cultural aspects that most matter in this field. The book contains a total of 14 tools used and reported by authors from different countries in Latin America, with definition, timeline with related research, benefits that have been reported in literature and case studies implemented in Latin American companies. Finally, the book presents a list of softwares available to facilitate the tools' implementation, monitoring and improvement.

Competitive advantage is a key factor to the success of any business in modern society. To achieve this goal, effective strategies for process improvement must be researched and implemented into an organization. The Handbook of Research on Managerial Strategies for Achieving Optimal Performance in Industrial Processes examines optimization techniques for improved business operations and procedures in the industrial sector. Highlighting management techniques, innovative approaches, and technological tools, this publication is an essential reference source for professionals, researchers, consultants, upper-level students, and academicians interested in the advancement of knowledge in industrial communities.

One of Six SigmaOCOs founding fathers shares his trademarked process for ensuring total quality."