This is the list of books that will drive you to System excellence
Arthur, J. 2016 Lean Six Sigma for Hospitals, Second Edition. New York, NY., McGraw-Hill Education
Key Takeaways:
Firstly, Hospitals like any other system, can utilize Lean Six Sigma. For example, reach for the Malcolm Baldridge Award of excellence.
Cudney, E., Agustiady, T. 2017 Design for Six Sigma – A Practical Approach through Innovation. Boca Raton, FL: Taylor and Francis, CRC Press
Key Takeaways:
Design for Six Sigma or DFSS is a methodology used in Lean Six Sigma when you need to implement a new process, rather than improve an existing process.
Kubiak, T., Benbow, D. 2014 The Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Handbook, Second Edition.ASQ Quality Press
Key Takeaways:
This 620-page reference manual is a slow read but important as it contains much of what a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt is responsible for. Consequently, as a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, it opened my eyes to the breadth of what a Black Belt can deliver.
George, M. 2003 Lean Six Sigma for Service – How to Use Lean Speed& Six Sigma Quality to Improve Services and Transactions. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
Key Takeaways:
Above all, Lean Six Sigma is a powerful tool for any system, even Businesses in the Service industry.
King, P. 2009 Lean for the Process Industries – Dealing with Complexity. New York, NY: CRC Press
Key Takeaways:
This is a very good summary book. There is nothing new in this book vs. the other books mentioned but it is relatively concise. It was published before the book on KATA, which is Toyota’s continuous improvement program. King has a chapter on Kaizen Events which was made obsolete by Toyota’s KATA.
Lean Six Sigma Bibliography Reference Book
Kubiak, T. 2012 The Certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt Handbook. Milwaukee, WI: ASQ Quality Press
Key Takeaways:
To summarize, this is 645 pages of Lean Six Sigma. A very thorough reference book.
Consequently, a Strong Lean Six Sigma Bibliography Includes Education (Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt), Visit the “University of Villanova”
- Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt,
- As well as Lean Innovation & Management,
- Lean Six Sigma Sensei, and
- Design for Six Sigma.
Other Books of Interest
Miller, J., Wroblewski, M., Villafuerte, J. 2014 Creating a Kaizen Culture, Align the Organization, Achieve Breakthrough Results, and Sustain the Gains. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education
Key Takeaways:
Above all, this may be my most bookmarked book in my library. Certainly, I believe every Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt should read this book. Kaizen is Japanese for continuous improvement. That is to say, Toyota’s continuous improvement methodology is called Kata and is a competitive advantage for Toyota. Just to give you one quote from the book: “Kaizen culture demands management by fact. This means that decisions must be underpinned by evidence, results of decisions require personal process confirmation by leaders, and time is made to reflect and learn from the results of these decisions, even when the results challenge our beliefs. Beliefs are inherently difficult to change because we hold them to be true in our mind regardless of the evidence and veracity of those beliefs.” This book encompasses the wisdom of the Toyota Production System.
Rother, M. 2010 Toyota Kata – Managing People for Improvement, Adaptiveness, and Superior Results. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education
Key Takeaways:
Subsequently, this is one of the most impactful books I have read on the Toyota Production System. This was a secret until this book was published. Toyota improves at a phenomenal rate and all in a managements defined improvement direction. Because of this, no competitor will ever catch Toyota. This generates so much change in an organization’s system that it alleviates the need for Kaizen Events.
Rother, M. 2018 The Toyota Kata Practice Guide. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education
Key Takeaways:
To clarify, this is a companion guide to the book above. Consequently, it contains a summary of every step mentioned in the book in an easy-to-read manner. To sum up, its 302 pages are a nice summary of the 306 pages of the above book. The book focuses on the how-to part of implementing KATA.