The Executive Guide to Understanding and Implementing Lean Six Sigma

Book excerpt: This book provides a fundamental introduction to the concepts of lean enterprise and Six Sigma to executives, personnel new to quality, or organizations interested in introductory information on quality and process improvement. It is intended to be a helpful guide on implementing and optimizing an integrated Lean Six Sigma approach focused on realizing return value and bottom line impact. The principles of Lean and Six Sigma are introduced and discussed separately and through an integrated approach across the book’s three chapters.Manufacturing and non-manufacturing firms who are just getting started or contemplating a Lean Six Sigma initiative will find this book especially valuable. To aid in illustrating the application of these principles to diverse and global businesses, various case studies have been selected and included to demonstrate how the prescribed tools and techniques can accommodate and enhance a wide variety of customer relationships throughout the value chain. Examples taken from manufacturing, banking, and local government sectors demonstrate the broad spectrum across which Lean Six Sigma can be used as a framework to foster improved performance and ensure continued customer satisfaction and loyalty.