Historically, the integration of manufacturing methodologies into the office environment has proven to be problematic. Part of the difficulty lies in the fact that process workflows tend to be globally dispersed and thus rely heavily on information technology. But in complex service systems that contain a mix of employees, consultants, and technology, standardized protocols have been shown to reduce cycle time and transactional cost as well as improve quality. The successful application of Lean methodologies to improve process workflows is an efficient way to simplify operations and prevent mistakes. In Lean Six Sigma for the Office , Six Sigma guru James Martin presents proven modifications that can be deployed in offices, particularly those offices involved with global operations. Making use of Kaizen and Six Sigma concepts, along with Lean manufacturing principles, this book instructs managers on how they can improve operational efficiency and increase customer satisfaction. The author brings experience gleaned from his application of these methodologies in a myriad of industries to create a practical and hands-on reference for the office environment. Using a detailed sequence of activities, including over 140 figures and tables as well as checklists and evaluation tools, he demonstrates how to realize the rapid improvement of office operations, and how to eliminate unnecessary tasks through value stream mapping (VSM). The book also emphasizes the importance of strategic alignment of Kaizen events and the impact of organizational culture on process improvement activities. Latter chapters in the book discuss key elements of a change model in the context of transitional improvements as they relate to the process owner and local work team. By applying the proven principles found in this book, effective and sustainable organizational change can be accomplished, efficiency can be improved, and mistakes can be eliminated. This 2nd edition provides insight into the new tools and methods Lean Six Sigma process improvement professionals need to improve customer experience and increase productivity within high transaction processes across complex information technology ecosystems. It is one-stop self-contained reference for the application of Lean Six Sigma methods enhanced by powerful approaches for process improvement in highly complex service processes. Several new leading-edge topics are integrated into this new edition, such as: * The "voice of" customers, suppliers, employees and partners * Design Thinking Alignment * Ecosystems in Information Technology * Metadata Definition and Lineage * Information Quality Governance * Big Data Collection and Analytics * Mapping High Volume Transactions through Systems * Robotic Process Automation Applications * Automating for Solution Sustainability * Governing Organizations * Data Privacy (General Data Protection Regulation)

This book helps business leaders see how employees, companies, and missions all interact with each other, as well as with society at large, in systems and subsystems at various levels. It helps leaders learn how to connect the dots, becoming customer-centric in everything they do and then spreading the same goals down to their supply chains. The book discusses what is, and what is not, leadership, covering such topics as statistics-based management, process-improvement, and human resources. The author accomplishes this through a blend of Lean culture and managerial theory, as well as his military experience. In addition, the author contrasts many opposing subjects, such as efficiencies of scale versus efficiencies of build, automation versus process improvement, process innovation versus product innovation, technical versus tactical proficiency, and pull versus push production. With most books focused on Lean initiatives, there is a tremendous amount of benefit involved in creating customer value while reducing waste, but this book takes a holistic approach, blending in modern managerial theory, team leadership skills, and economics. The result is a book that changes how the reader approaches business. Essentially, the purpose of this book is to blend modern management theories with the culture of Lean (and perhaps a sprinkling of economics) to show current business leaders how to create organizations that are as customer-oriented and highly efficient in delivering value as possible. If one thinks of each role in an organization as a spot on an assembly line, where everything each person does creates output someone else uses, the question becomes whether or not each person's activities maximize the effectiveness of others. Do we, as organizations, set ourselves up for success or for failure? Most companies, if they answer honestly, would say, "A little bit of both." This book is about helping those companies improve.

Maintaining the reader-friendly features of its popular predecessor, the Second Edition illustrates fundamental principles and practices in statistical quality control for improved quality, reliability, and productivity in the management of production processes and industrial and business operations. Presenting key concepts of statistical quality control in a simple and straightforward manner, this reference will provide a solid foundation in statistical quality control theory, background, and applications.
Moving from elementary topics to sampling by variables, sound tolerancing, and relationships between variables, this reference

Lean is about building and improving stable and predictable systems and processes to deliver to customers high-quality products/services on time by engaging everyone in the organization. Combined with this, organizations need to create an environment of respect for people and continuous learning. It's all about people. People create the product or service, drive innovation, and create systems and processes, and with leadership buy-in and accountability to ensure sustainment with this philosophy, employees will be committed to the organization as they learn and grow personally and professionally. Lean is a term that describes a way of thinking about and managing companies as an enterprise. Becoming Lean requires the following: the continual pursuit to identify and eliminate waste; the establishment of efficient flow of both information and process; and an unwavering top-level commitment. The concept of continuous improvement applies to any process in any industry. Based on the contents of The Lean Practitioner's Field Book, the purpose of this series is to show, in detail, how any process can be improved by utilizing a combination of tasks and people tools and introduces the BASICS Lean (R) concept. The books are designed for all levels of Lean practitioners and introduce proven tools for analysis and implementation that go beyond the traditional point kaizen event. Each book can be used as a stand-alone volume or used in combination with other titles based on specific needs. Each book is chock-full of case studies and stories from the authors' own experiences in training organizations who have started or are continuing their Lean journey of continuous improvement. Contents include valuable lessons learned and each chapter concludes with questions pertaining to the focus of the chapter. Numerous photographs enrich and illustrate specific tools used in Lean methodology. Assess and Analyze: Discovering the Waste Consuming Your Profits explores the tools used to assess and analyze the process. It starts off with Learning to See waste and follows with the three analysis tools: mapping the product flow, documenting the full work of the operator, and implementing SMED or changeover reduction and closes with exploring Lean and change management.

Lean is about building and improving stable and predictable systems and processes to deliver to customers high-quality products/services on time by engaging everyone in the organization. Combined with this, organizations need to create an environment of respect for people and continuous learning. It's all about people. People create the product or service, drive innovation, and create systems and processes, and with leadership buy-in and accountability to ensure sustainment with this philosophy, employees will be committed to the organization as they learn and grow personally and professionally. Lean is a term that describes a way of thinking about and managing companies as an enterprise. Becoming Lean requires the following: the continual pursuit to identify and eliminate waste; the establishment of efficient flow of both information and process; and an unwavering top-level commitment. The concept of continuous improvement applies to any process in any industry. Based on the contents of The Lean Practitioners Field Book, the purpose of this series is to show, in detail, how any process can be improved utilizing a combination of tasks and people tools and introduces the BASICS Lean (R) concept. The books are designed for all levels of Lean practitioners and introduces proven tools for analysis and implementation that go beyond the traditional point kaizen event. Each book can be used as a stand-alone volume or used in combination with other titles based on specific needs. Each book is chock-full of case studies and stories from the authors' own experiences in training organizations that have started or are continuing their Lean journey of continuous improvement. Contents include valuable lessons learned and each chapter concludes with questions pertaining to the focus of the chapter. Numerous photographs enrich and illustrate specific tools used in Lean methodology Check: Identifying Gaps on the Path to Success Transactional Processes contains chapters on implementing Lean, Kanban systems, line balancing, Heijunka-leveling, and the +QDIP process plus case studies of machine shop and transactional implementations. The implementation model describes the different approaches to Lean, compares them to Toyota, and explains each implementation model.

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a method for satisfying customers by translating their demands into design targets and quality assurance points. For a thorough "how-to" on the implementation of QFD, we went directly to the source -- Yoji Akao, the creator of QFD and one of the foremost leaders of the Japanese Total Quality Control movement.

In this unprecedented book he explains the concepts and methods of this remarkable systems engineering approach. Filled with case studies, detailed charts, and over 100 diagrams, this book is a complete reference tool for QFD implementation.

It includesa " Use of the demanded quality deployment chart. Using and promoting quality charts. Using quality control process charts: QFD at the pre-production. Quality deployment and reliability deployment. Quality development in the construction industry. QFD for the service industry. QFD for software development.

The Routledge Handbook of Urban Logistics offers a state of the art, comprehensive overview of the discipline of urban and city logistics. The COVID-19 pandemic and the rise in internet shopping in particular has placed new demands on urban logistics which require innovative technological and policy responses. Similarly, the necessity for sustainable urban logistics offers both a challenge and opportunity for development and seeks to address traffic congestion, local air quality, traffic related degradation, the use of energy, safety aspects and noise. Featuring contributions from world-leading, international scholars, the chapters examine concepts, issues and ideas across six topic areas that reflect the increasingly diverse nature of current research and thinking in urban logistics: key features of urban logistics, freight transport, sectors in urban logistics, technical aspects, policy, and environmental and social sustainability. Each chapter provides an overview of current knowledge, identifies issues, discusses the relevant debates in urban logistics and the future research agenda. This handbook offers a single repository on the current state of knowledge, written from a practical perspective, utilising theory that is applied and developed using real-work examples. It is an essential reference for researchers, academics and students working in all areas of urban logistics, from policy and planning to technology and sustainability, in addition to industry practitioners looking to develop their professional knowledge.

* A fully comprehensive guide to the entire supply chain management process as applied specifically to the fashion industry * Each chapter is complemented by an in-depth case study from a relevant global organization, alongside pedagogy to aid student comprehension, including quizzes, end-of-chapter activities, and role play scenarios. Online resources include chapter-by-chapter PowerPoint slides and a test bank. * Designed as a core textbook for Fashion Supply Chain and Operations Management modules at advanced undergraduate and postgraduate level.

The book presents a new type of leadership focused on sustainable human development and organizational sustainability, which is based on the self-realization of the person of the leader, which means the satisfaction of their needs, according to the scale of Abraham Maslow, through integral human development in all aspects of life. Because speaking of a leader would seem to cite any person with the authority that confers a position that has subordinates, but the reality within organizations has shown that a leader goes further, requires commitment, awareness and concern for the good. common. What person has these haracteristics? People who have had more opportunity to develop in different areas of their being, which conceives them as more educated. The person is the basis of leadership. Education and exercise are much more important than all heredity and the genetic code. This volume explores the various ways of making explicit the dimensions of social, economic, and environmental sustainability through knowledge management that addresses the identification, collection, processing, circulation, use, exchange, and preservation of knowledge within operating systems and the context of organizations. considering issues that contribute to sustainability: human and organizational, where the leader is the main actor and the means is knowledge management.

This book discusses and chronicles various types of manufacturing processes, including casting and molding, machining, joining, shearing, and forming. It refers to repetitive, discrete, job shop, process manufacturing (continuous), and process manufacturing (batch). It also offers detailed examples from the nuclear, electronic, plastics, adhesives, inks, packaging, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries. Advanced Manufacturing Operations Technologies: Principles, Applications, and Design Correlations in Chemical Engineering Fields of Practice fills the gap in the connection between production and regulated applications in several industries. It highlights established concepts and provides a new fresh outlook by concentrating on and creating linkages in the implementation of practices in manufacturing and safe clean energy systems. Case studies for the overall design, installations, and construction of manufacturing operations in various industries as well as the standard operating procedures are offered. The book also discusses the correlation between design strategies including step-by-step processes to ensure the reliability, safety, and efficacy of products. The fundamentals of controlled techniques, quality by design, risk assessment, and management are covered in support of operations applications and continuous improvement. This comprehensive book is helpful to all professionals, students, and academicians in many scientific disciplines that utilize fundamental principles of chemical engineering. It is engineering-driven and will be of use to those in industrial and manufacturing, chemical, biochemical, mechanical engineering, and automated control systems fields.

Filling a gap in the literature, Practical Engineering Failure Analysis vividly demonstrates the correct methodology to conduct successful failure analyses, as well as offering the background necessary for these investigations. This authoritative reference covers procedures to reduce the occurrence of component failures due to errors in material selection, design, and manufacturing, as well as fatigue, stress, cracking, creep, and operating conditions. A single-source tool to help professionals avoid costly system failures, improve plant operation and system reliability, and prevent accidents related to component malfunction

Lean is about building and improving stable and predictable systems and processes to deliver to customers high-quality products/services on time by engaging everyone in the organization. Combined with this, organizations need to create an environment of respect for people and continuous learning. It's all about people. People create the product or service, drive innovation, and create systems and processes, and with leadership buy-in and accountability to ensure sustainment with this philosophy, employees will be committed to the organization as they learn and grow personally and professionally. Lean is a term that describes a way of thinking about and managing companies as an enterprise. Becoming Lean requires the following: the continual pursuit to identify and eliminate waste; the establishment of efficient flow of both information and process; and an unwavering top-level commitment. The concept of continuous improvement applies to any process in any industry. Based on the contents of The Lean Practitioners Field Book, the purpose of this series is to show, in detail, how any process can be improved utilizing a combination of tasks and people tools and introduces the BASICS Lean (R) concept. The books are designed for all levels of Lean practitioners and introduces proven tools for analysis and implementation that go beyond the traditional point kaizen event. Each book can be used as a stand-alone volume or used in combination with other titles based on specific needs. Each book is chock-full of case studies and stories from the authors' own experiences in training organizations that have started or are continuing their Lean journey of continuous improvement. Contents include valuable lessons learned and each chapter concludes with questions pertaining to the focus of the chapter. Numerous photographs enrich and illustrate specific tools used in Lean methodology. Baseline: Confronting Reality & Planning the Path for Success focuses on change management and how to manage and accelerate change. The authors also outline how to get ready to implement lean, how to baseline your processes prior to implementing Lean, and how to create a value stream map of processes. This book also discusses Lean accounting.

This book is specifically for working operations managers across the broad range of business types that deploy fleet and product via a myriad of service types. It is applicable to businesses with small medium to large fleets in haulage, 3PL, and any service business operating a depot structure. The book is less about theoretical concepts - although specific references point to theories including Lean, continuous improvement, net promoter score, and balanced scorecard - but is essentially a practical guide applying worked examples and generic templates regarding the core ten activities that are critical to achieving service and profit expectation in any depot, route-based business deploying fleet. Every working manager - front-line to COO - will identify with and grasp that these are fundamental areas and that, if improvement can be sustained, will deliver better service to customers and enhanced profit in both local and business levels. The key areas examined are: People management Fleet management Route scheduling Optimisation of non-productive (on-depot) time Driver debrief Customer service and complaint management and measurement Key performance indicators The operating rhythm Continuous improvement

When a $145 million IT project failure pushes Los Angeles to the edge of financial meltdown, the County CEO asks Max McLellan, a harried IT project manager, aka The Integrator, for help. The County Board gives Max 30 days to identify the problem and find a solution. At first Max finds the usual missteps, but something bigger and darker beckons, an explosive source of project failure. He must do something different, rattling ghosts of previous County IT failures, uncloaking crookedness, and exposing truths that shatter careers. With some people rooting for his failure, Max battles to fit all the pieces together with the County team, applying his proven framework to define the problem, plan a solution and execute it successfully. It's common knowledge that barely 50% of IT projects succeed, per a 2017 Project Management Institute report. Equally well-known, approximately 70% of large-scale change management initiatives fail according to a 2017 McKinsey & Co. report. Given the challenge to overcome these low success rates, The Integrator offers a proven narrative on the organizational change framework for achieving Agile IT project management success based on the author's 45+ year client experiences and published research. The Integrator defines change management as the single overarching methodology integrating Agile IT and project management. It does this because all projects are about change - significant organizational and personal change. The people involved - their participation in and understanding and support of these changes - ultimately determine IT projects success or failure. In fact, while all IT projects are about change, successful projects change human behavior. The methodologies included in the framework, described in The Integrator, include: * Change management as defined by AIM (Accelerating Implementation Methodology). * Project management as defined by the Project Management Institute (PMI) Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) standard. * IT management as derived from the Institute of Electrical Engineers (IEEE) Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK) standard. * Agile as defined by the Agile Alliance's Agile Manifesto. Written by a certified Project Management Professional and accredited change management practitioner, The Integrator chronicles the challenges involved in applying this framework in a real-world setting to achieve successful project implementation.

As the controversies surrounding performance related pay have demonstrated, reward management is a key issue. Collecting the results of "fieldwork" investigations in factories and retail outlets, this book measures output before and after a change in methods of remuneration. The link between productivity and stress is explored and conclusions drawn. An introductory chapter, by the eminent economist P. Sargant Florence summarizes previously published productivity studies.

Lean is about building and improving stable and predictable systems and processes to deliver to customers high-quality products/services on time by engaging everyone in the organization. Combined with this, organizations need to create an environment of respect for people and continuous learning. It's all about people. People create the product or service, drive innovation, and create systems and processes, and with leadership buy-in and accountability to ensure sustainment with this philosophy, employees will be committed to the organization as they learn and grow personally and professionally. Lean is a term that describes a way of thinking about and managing companies as an enterprise. Becoming Lean requires the following: the continual pursuit to identify and eliminate waste; the establishment of efficient flow of both information and process; and an unwavering top-level commitment. The concept of continuous improvement applies to any process in any industry. Based on the contents of The Lean Practitioners Field Book, the purpose of this series is to show, in detail, how any process can be improved utilizing a combination of tasks and people tools and introduces the BASICS Lean (R) concept. The books are designed for all levels of Lean practitioners and introduces proven tools for analysis and implementation that go beyond the traditional point kaizen event. Each book can be used as a stand-alone volume or used in combination with other titles based on specific needs. Each book is chock-full of case studies and stories from the authors' own experiences in training organizations that have started or are continuing their Lean journey of continuous improvement. Contents include valuable lessons learned and each chapter concludes with questions pertaining to the focus of the chapter. Numerous photographs enrich and illustrate specific tools used in Lean methodology. Implementing Lean: Converting Waste to Profit explores implementation methods, line balancing methods, including baton zone or bumping, and implementing Lean in the office and machine shops. The goal of this book is to introduce the balance of the tools and how to proceed once the analysis is completed. There are many pieces to a Lean implementation and all of them are interconnected. This book walks through the relationships and how the data presented can be leveraged to prepare for the implementation. It also provides suggest solutions for improvements and making recommendations to management to secure their buy-in and approval.

Pulling aside the curtain of 'Big Data' buzz, this book introduces C-suite and other non-technical senior leaders to the essentials of obtaining and maintaining accurate, reliable data, especially for decision-making purposes. Bad data begets bad decisions, and an understanding of data fundamentals - how data is generated, organized, stored, evaluated, and maintained - has never been more important when solving problems such as the pandemic-related supply chain crisis. This book addresses the data-related challenges that businesses face, answering questions such as: What are the characteristics of high-quality data? How do you get from bad data to good data? What procedures and practices ensure high-quality data? How do you know whether your data supports the decisions you need to make? This clear and valuable resource will appeal to C-suite executives and top-line managers across industries, as well as business analysts at all career stages and data analytics students.

Examining the negative consequences that arise from supply chain risks, such as production interruption and profit shrinkage, this book systematically explores firms' responses to these risks in different practical situations. In particular it focuses on sourcing strategies of firms under supply chain risks and the different mitigation tools they use, such as supplier development and multisourcing. Supply chains have expanded extensively as firms attempt to find new markets and cheap resources all over the world. Under the pressure of cost reduction, many firms try to take advantage of outsourcing of their raw materials and critical components. Though firms can reap significant benefits due to the globalization of supply chains and the widespread use of outsourcing, they have to deal with increasing and intensifying supply chain risks. In general, supply chain risks are various and may be originated from natural disasters, machine breakdowns, labor strikes, fires, etc. These risk incidents can cause serious damage to firms' profit performance. The analysis and insights from this book can be utilized by firms to alleviate the impact of supply chain risks in the sourcing process. It will also be of interest to researchers and students studying supply chain management.

Covers how product development, advancement, and international promotion are best accomplished through the practice of industrial engineering Illustrates how industrial engineering has a proven track record of aiding the survival of industry Discusses how new industries are more vulnerable to the adverse global developments in the global supply chain Includes “real world” case examples of managing products, services, and results Offers a range of industrial engineering tools for managing industry Presents templates for operational excellence in industry

The Spring Electric is a lower priced electrical vehicle from The Renault Group. It is the result of an impossible project that was a breakthrough in cultural innovation. The development of the Spring brought together a French company, a Japanese partner, an Indian project, and a Chinese developer to deliver a car for the European market. The Innovation Odyssey: Lessons from an Impossible Project examines four key issues central to this vehicle's development: The nature of the automotive industry itself and the actors involved in these "societal" innovations. The movement toward the electrification of vehicles is inseparable from public policies aimed at reducing carbon emissions. Without substantial subsidies or rigorous bans on internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs), the electric vehicle (EV) would not be developed. It is these public policies that create the conditions for an electrified vehicle market. Electrification is thus a three-way game, in which public actors play a central role alongside suppliers and customers. Therefore, an analysis of these policies is essential to understand manufacturers' strategies in this area. What are the differences between these policies? Do they introduce regional competitive advantages? How do firms in the globalized automotive sector adapt to or take advantage of these differences? How can they combine local adaptation. Product strategy. To what extent should this technological breakthrough at the heart of the car be associated with a more profound break in the definition of the automobile product? Is the answer an electrification of the dominant ICEV design (and if so, how?) or a complete redefinition of the vehicle? International cooperation. Automotive design is largely concentrated in the technical centers of the parent companies: Detroit, Guyancourt, Wolfsburg, Yokohama. How can the design processes and the European and Chinese skills and know-how be combined in a project designed far from the traditional European or Japanese bases and under time constraints? Can this original form of design inspire new forms of international cooperation, and under what conditions? Globalized innovation strategies. For multinational groups such as car manufacturers, competitive advantage depends on their ability not only to invent relevant products that find customers in local markets, but also to deploy them rapidly at the global level, harnessing economies of scale that a startup, however innovative, cannot achieve. How then to combine local adaptation of innovations with effective global deployment?

This handbook begins with the history of Supply Chain (SC) Engineering, it goes on to explain how the SC is connected today, and rounds out with future trends. The overall merit of the book is that it introduces a framework similar to sundial that allows an organization to determine where their company may fall on the SC Technology Scale. The book will describe those who are using more historic technologies, companies that are using current collaboration tools for connecting their SC to other global SCs, and the SCs that are moving more towards cutting edge technologies. This book will be a handbook for practitioners, a teaching resource for academics, and a guide for military contractors. Some figures in the eBook will be in color. Presents a decision model for choosing the best Supply Chain Engineering (SCE) strategies for Service and Manufacturing Operations with respect to Industrial Engineering and Operations Research techniques Offers an economic comparison model for evaluating SCE strategies for manufacturing outsourcing as opposed to keeping operations in-house Demonstrates how to integrate automation techniques such as RFID into planning and distribution operations Provides case studies of SC inventory reductions using automation from AIT and RFID research Covers planning and scheduling, as well as transportation and SC theory and problems

Despite the astonishing technological developments in our times, it is surprising how little has changed in the way organizations are structured and managed. However, organizations are finally changing as they embark on agile transformations. Agility concepts emerged from the dynamics of project management and have evolved as they are being applied to organizational structure and operations. This phase of the agile evolution is known as enterprise agility. Filled with real-world scenarios and company case studies, Enterprise Agility: A Practical Guide to Agile Business Management covers the evolution of agility, including applied processes, lessons learned and realized outcomes. The book starts with the initial phase of the agile evolution, project agility and describes how waterfall project management is transformed into scrum, which can have positive effects on project timelines, scope and budget, as well as team motivation. The second phase of agility, organizational agility, is the evolution of the agile principles from temporary projects to permanent organizational structures. The book explains the main components of organizational agility, including structures, roles and ways of organizing work. It emphasizes the advantages of transitioning from traditional organizational management to agile. Finally, the latest phase, enterprise agility, transforms each function of the organization. The book acts as a guide and describes the change through the lens of each managerial domain (sales, marketing, HR, finance etc.) and by presenting the positive impact generated on the company's overall performance based on case studies. The last chapter illustrates the enablers of this transformation and how they can help the change to be internalized so that the enterprises realize improvements. The book is based on the author's over 15 years of experience of supporting more than 25 companies in varied sectors on their transformational journey, with the last 5 years concentrating on agility. By combining business management trends and principles of agile business development, it shows managers how to lead the transformation to enterprise agility by following the path from project agility to full enterprise agility.

This book focuses on digitalised talent management-the use of information technologies in talent management. The book affords theoretically, methodologically and empirically informed insights that are especially salient given the need for executives and organisations to balance the role of humans and technology, while ensuring competitiveness in this interconnected and increasingly digital world. In doing so, the book will shape and contribute to academic and industry-based conversations about the role of technological innovations in enabling organizations to transition towards digital ways of organising talent, as well as the associated implications for the who, what, where, when, and why of talent management as stakeholders decide which aspects of talent management can be delegated to technology, and those that require human agency. This book adds value by assembling subject matter experts currently siloed within traditional research domains whilst also highlighting the complexity of managing talent. By synthesising content from world-leading academics who herald from various backgrounds, the book will instigate, shape and contribute to conversations about both the promises and perils of digitalised talent management and the extent to which judgments and decisions about an organisations most valuable asset-it's talent-should be delegated to non-human agents. This book will be of interest to researchers, academics and students in the fields of talent management and organisational design, especially those interested in digital ways of working, managing and leading.

This volume addresses design improvement from the perspective of prevention by introducing readers to the tools of the Six Sigma design process. The author discusses the issues of designing for Six Sigma, covering the topics that any Shogun Six Sigma Master must be familiar with: customer satisfaction, quality function deployment, benchmarking, systems engineering, value engineering, reliability and maintainability, design for manufact`urability, mistake proofing, failure mode and effect analysis, project management, and financial concepts.

There are a number of distinctive features of this book that makes it different from other on Six Sigma. It recognizes that there are two diametrically opposing views expressed on Six Sigma, those that are strongly in favour, and those that are not, for various reasons. The book deals, head on, with the principle reasons for such hostility. It cuts through the hype associated with the brand name. It proposes simple remedies for certain defined frailties in the standard approach, particularly those related to the Sigma Measure that provides the brand name for the Six Sigma breakthrough strategy. The book is highly supportive of the Six Sigma continuous improvement process, provided it is tailored to the needs and expectations of a particular organization. The commitment and active participation of top management is emphasized, to ensure the necessary change in culture and priorities demanded, in most organizations. Practical guidance is given in the setting up, operating and developing the project by project approach across an organisation. The book also covers how to equip a critical mass of members in an organization with the core workforce competencies required to get the desired results. The book covers the realities of applying Six Sigma in a range of functions within an organization and also to various types of organizations from the manufacturing sector to commerce and public service. It demonstrates how statistical thinking, coupled with the application of technical and operational knowledge of processes and focus provided by Six Sigma, can considerably enhance quality, competitiveness, effectiveness and efficiency. Statistical process control is a tool, which enables both manufacturers and suppliers to achieve control of product quality by means of the application of statistical methods in the controlling process. This book gives the foundations of good quality management and process control, including an explanation of w