Six Sigma for Dummies

I work as a manager and Master Black Belt at a Fortune 100 company. This book has been very useful in my training of others. I just finished teaching a Six Sigma Black Belt course in which I referred students to this book to reinforce their learning and deepen their understanding. It has transformed the way I teach Six Sigma as well as the way my students learn it. Not only am I suggesting that BB's and BB's-in-training get this book, but I'm also recommending that leaders who have GB's and BB's on their staffs read this book. It gives enough information for leaders to understand what their Six Sigma staff are going through in the trenches. And it also provides leaders with enough education to ask meaningful questions. (Nothing is worse than an uninformed leader trying to lead Six Sigma resources!)

I am working my way through this book after becoming aware of the six sigma process and how it can apply to many non-technical areas. I want to use these ideas and principles to better organize and produce my work. Although a couple of the chapters are quite heady, I can follow the examples to get the main idea. I think just reading this is making me think in ways I never have before!

As a practicing physician, I have found this book to be helpful in increasing the efficiency of my staff and the overall performance of my office. The book's ease of use allowed for rapid implementation of some of the Six Sigma principles for problem solving. The user-friendly text made a complicated technical system realistic and accessible to this neophyte. I highly recommend this book for any professional who wants to improve the quality of the work environment.

Reaching six sigma simply says that in your production line you will produce fewer than 3.4 bad parts out of each million parts you make. Or to express it another way, if the automobiles you make are 99% good, you'll have 3 warranty defects per automobile. If your cars are six sigma, you can expect one warranty claim for every 980 new cars. This book is mostly about the analysis you need to make of your production line to eleminate errors. It's about the statistical analysis you need to do to be sure that you're operating at six sigma. This book is a great place to start learning about six sigma. It's enough to give you the background you'll need to really begin analyzing your process. I have to say that it probably isn't enough for you to get to a six sigma production line. You'll need more, more classes, more time, more software, more management support than you ever expected. As best I understand, Motorola pioneered the six sigma concept. And I don't believe they ever got most of their production lines to operate at that level. In fact I've heard that they were only able to get their diode line running that error free. Good Luck. Get Started.

This book is a long time in coming. Six Sigma has been shrouded in mystery far too long, and monopolized by big companies. It is about time that the average joe can read and understand the powerful concepts behind Six Sigma. Six Sigma is no longer just for the engineers, but is applicable to everything in our daily lives. We can now do everything better - from our jobs to planning a trip. For the most part this book is an easy read. There were sections that got too technical and dragged a bit. But overall, a must read for everyone!