Discusses the need for Root Cause Analysis in the context of healthcare Describes how to construct an effective action plan to eliminate errors that may cause healthcare patients harm and eliminate repeat events Provides practical applications for Root Cause Analysis facilitation in the healthcare sector Includes practical strategies on how to use Root Cause Analysis in healthcare systems and to increase patient safety Offers a demonstrated training curriculum with real-life healthcare examples and exercises

- Sidney Dekker examines how decades of deregulation and privatization have only led to a greater burden of compliance, and why, with so many rules to ensure safety, things can still go spectacularly wrong. - Written for all those with a vested interest in understanding the actual nature of organizational safety and performance, and in doing so make tangible improvements. - The first in a unique trilogy, this book complements Dekker's many best-sellers while broadening his appeal way beyond safety-critical industries.

- Sidney Dekker examines how decades of deregulation and privatization have only led to a greater burden of compliance, and why, with so many rules to ensure safety, things can still go spectacularly wrong. - Written for all those with a vested interest in understanding the actual nature of organizational safety and performance, and in doing so make tangible improvements. - The first in a unique trilogy, this book complements Dekker's many best-sellers while broadening his appeal way beyond safety-critical industries.

In 2019, ISO Technical Committee 279 released a new international standard on innovation management system called ISO 56002:2019. The objective of this standard is to provide a framework on how to build an innovation ecosystem that can be sustained over time. Similar to the quality management system that ISO established decades ago, this standard provides instructions related to best practices on how to manage innovation activities, projects, and programs. It does not describe detailed activities within the organization, but rather provides guidance at a general level. It does not prescribe any requirements or specific tools or methods for innovation activities. Essentially, the standard does not provide guidance on how to implement and/or use the standard. The standard basically tells you what to do and document - this powerful book tells you how to do it. The techniques in this book are directed at key tasks across the innovative process, such as maximizing quality, productivity, maintainability, usability, and reliability, while focusing on reducing the product cycle time and costs within the innovative process. Currently, there are no other comprehensive books available on how to fully implement this standard in companies. This book is crucial for managers, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and consultants looking for help to reap the benefits of an innovation management system. This book takes you step by step through the process of developing an innovation ecosystem. In addition, it provides frameworks, tools, methodologies, cases, and best practices so your organization can experience the full value of the standard.

Achieve Technological Advancements in Applied Science and Engineering Using Efficient Experiments That Consume the Least Amount of Resources Written by longtime experimental design guru Thomas B. Barker and experimental development/Six Sigma expert Andrew Milivojevich, Quality by Experimental Design, Fourth Edition shows how to design and analyze experiments statistically, drive process and product innovation, and improve productivity. The book presents an approach to experimentation that assesses many factors, builds predictive models, and verifies the models. New to the Fourth Edition Updated computer programs used to perform simulations, including the latest version of Minitab (R) Four new chapters on mixture experiments: Introduction to Mixture Experiments, The Simplex Lattice Design, The Simplex Centroid Design, and Constrained Mixtures Additional exercises and Minitab updates A Proven, Practical Guide for Newcomers and Seasoned Practitioners in Engineering, Applied Science, Quality, and Six Sigma This bestselling, applied text continues to cover a broad range of experimental designs for practical use in applied research, quality and process engineering, and product development. With its easy-to-read, conversational style, the book is suitable for any course in applied statistical experimental design or in a Six Sigma program.

Lean Systems: Applications and Case Studies in Manufacturing, Service, and Healthcare details the various Lean techniques and numerous real-world Lean projects drawn from a wide variety of manufacturing, healthcare, and service processes, demonstrating how to apply the Lean philosophy. The book facilitates Lean instruction by supplying interactive case studies that enable readers to apply the various Lean techniques. It provides an in-depth discussion of the Lean tools (i.e., VSM, standard work, 5S, etc.) and several real-world case studies and applications of Lean that have shown significant improvement in meeting customer requirements. The case studies follow the Six Sigma framework of Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control (DMAIC) structure for process improvement. The authors include detailed descriptions of each Lean tool and examples of how each Lean technique was applied to a wide variety of manufacturing, service, and healthcare processes. These in-depth descriptions and cases studies can be used by industry professionals and academics to learn how to apply Lean. They provide a detailed, step-by-step approach to Lean and demonstrate how to integrate Lean tools for process improvement and to sustain improvements. But more than this, the approach taken in this book gives readers the tools to effectively apply Lean techniques.

Operational excellence, as a quest in the prevailing digital era, is predicated on a systems view of the operating environments in business, industry, government, academia, and other organizational entities. This book uses a systems-based approach to show how operational excellence can be pursued, achieved, and sustained. It offers a systems perspective for operational excellence and discusses the evolution of products from the classical operation era to present day digital operations. It covers the role of global markets on domestic operations, presents operational work design and ergonomics, and combines industrial engineering, advanced research, and practical experience. This book is a useful guide for scholars, practitioners and those involved in engineering, management, and business fields.

This book explores China's global competitiveness in the building of infrastructures with a particular interest in the resource-rich African countries. The book begins with a comprehensive literature review on total quality management (TQM) and national culture, followed by reviews of the construction industries in China and Nigeria. This provides better understanding of the linkages between TQM, based on the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 9000 quality management systems (QMS), and national culture, based on Emeritus Professor Geert Hofstede's national cultural dimensions. Premised on the culture-specificity and bi-directionality relationships between TQM and national culture, this book investigates the construction industries in China and Nigeria including their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) as well as an appraisal of their historical and emerging relationships. In its conceptual approach, this book presents different models in the lead up to its primary theoretical contribution of a quality management assessment model (QMAM) that was adopted during the study's field work. The book also presents relevant lessons relating to cross cultural management and quality performance not only to the Nigerians but also other foreign players in Nigeria's construction industry.

This is a self-study guide for facilitators of rapid process improvement workshops that helps anyone who feels like they aren't truly gaining the full results of improvement initiatives and kaizen events. They know they can do better, but don't know how. The author, an experienced facilitator in government and nonprofits, speaks to the facilitator through coaching notes and actual workshop documents and techniques so the reader can fully understand how greater results are achieved. This guide takes the reader through a step-by-step path of a newly created workshop agenda. The author has parsed the workshop path into more manageable parts, easier for both the facilitator and the team. These parts split the improvement work into two sections: "removing the unnecessary" and "smoothing out the flow." "Smoothing out the flow" is divided further into: When the work is coming in When the product/person is going through the process How the work is performed In addition, the author includes newly created tools and training content. For example, a data-gathering table points the facilitator to what data need to be collected when. Training for the team includes making sure they understand the structure of a process as well as to instruct them and define how a Lean process actually functions. This distinction is important because all improvements are not necessarily Lean improvements. Several bodies of knowledge are incorporated into this guide--not only Lean and Six Sigma, but internal auditing, organizational development, and statistics. Essentially, this guide includes tips, nuances, and original tools that are missing from the traditional training of facilitators of kaizen events. It provides enough information for the facilitator to think in a creative way.

This is a self-study guide for facilitators of rapid process improvement workshops that helps anyone who feels like they aren't truly gaining the full results of improvement initiatives and kaizen events. They know they can do better, but don't know how. The author, an experienced facilitator in government and nonprofits, speaks to the facilitator through coaching notes and actual workshop documents and techniques so the reader can fully understand how greater results are achieved. This guide takes the reader through a step-by-step path of a newly created workshop agenda. The author has parsed the workshop path into more manageable parts, easier for both the facilitator and the team. These parts split the improvement work into two sections: "removing the unnecessary" and "smoothing out the flow." "Smoothing out the flow" is divided further into: When the work is coming in When the product/person is going through the process How the work is performed In addition, the author includes newly created tools and training content. For example, a data-gathering table points the facilitator to what data need to be collected when. Training for the team includes making sure they understand the structure of a process as well as to instruct them and define how a Lean process actually functions. This distinction is important because all improvements are not necessarily Lean improvements. Several bodies of knowledge are incorporated into this guide--not only Lean and Six Sigma, but internal auditing, organizational development, and statistics. Essentially, this guide includes tips, nuances, and original tools that are missing from the traditional training of facilitators of kaizen events. It provides enough information for the facilitator to think in a creative way.

* Details the specifics of how to combine the Theory of Constraints, Lean, and Six Sigma in a very simple format. * Many companies have tried implementing Lean or Six Sigma or a combination of the two, but when the Theory of Constraints is mixed in, the full impact of the improvement effort will be realized. * By introducing the Theory of Constraints version of accounting, known as Throughput Accounting, companies will be able to see that the secret to maximum profitability is not through how much money you can save, but rather through how much money can be made. * Many companies use what is known as the Min/Max system to control inventory -- this book introduces the Theory of Constraints version of inventory control, known as the Dynamic Replenishment Solution, which results in a fifty percent reduction of inventory with close to zero stock-outs. * Clearly demonstrates the power of combining the Theory of Constraints with Lean and Six Sigma in terms of profit enhancement. * Details a clear step-by-step methodology on how to combine these three initiatives into a single, powerful improvement method. * Demonstrates that no matter what type of manufacturing company it is, the combined methodology will drive profit to levels not seen before. * Because this book is based upon actual events by the author, the credibility of it is enhanced. * Demonstrates the concepts of focus and leverage that the reader will grasp early in the book.

* Details the specifics of how to combine the Theory of Constraints, Lean, and Six Sigma in a very simple format. * Many companies have tried implementing Lean or Six Sigma or a combination of the two, but when the Theory of Constraints is mixed in, the full impact of the improvement effort will be realized. * By introducing the Theory of Constraints version of accounting, known as Throughput Accounting, companies will be able to see that the secret to maximum profitability is not through how much money you can save, but rather through how much money can be made. * Many companies use what is known as the Min/Max system to control inventory -- this book introduces the Theory of Constraints version of inventory control, known as the Dynamic Replenishment Solution, which results in a fifty percent reduction of inventory with close to zero stock-outs. * Clearly demonstrates the power of combining the Theory of Constraints with Lean and Six Sigma in terms of profit enhancement. * Details a clear step-by-step methodology on how to combine these three initiatives into a single, powerful improvement method. * Demonstrates that no matter what type of manufacturing company it is, the combined methodology will drive profit to levels not seen before. * Because this book is based upon actual events by the author, the credibility of it is enhanced. * Demonstrates the concepts of focus and leverage that the reader will grasp early in the book.

Closed loop supply chains and their management have become mandatory for firms to stay competitive and profitable. This book provides insights into designing supply chain networks by understanding and incorporating key return parameters into the network design, which will affect profitability. The book discusses how customer categories and their acceptance behavior are incorporated into the network design. It also shows how to analyze the interaction of parameters on supply chain network design and profitability, offers modeling framework for incorporating uncertainties in the return product parameters, and shows how to design a robust network. Invaluable for managers in designing a sustainable, robust, and profitable supply chain network and ideal for managers, practitioners, and researchers in the area of supply chain network design and optimization.

This cross-disciplinary business book develops insight into the management of businesses operating in various economic sectors that take a proactive approach to the triple dimension of sustainability (economic, social and environmental), positioning itself as a key reference for both academics and practitioners in the wide area of business management. The concept of sustainability is today at the heart of international policies and debate, and plays a key role in deep changes to the organizational models of companies operating in a wide range of sectors of economic activity. In particular, this book aims to gain a deeper understanding of how stakeholder engagement can contribute to value co-creation both in the company and along the supply chain, and what distinguishes the differing involvement of stakeholders, in particular between public involvement and stakeholder participation. Each chapter of this book presents different modalities of stakeholder involvement and develops the concept of value co-creation from organizational and marketing perspectives. This book is recommended reading for those interested in the fields of stakeholder engagement and theory, sustainability, business studies, and sustainable development.

Adiabatic shear localization is a mode of failure that occurs in dynamic loading. It is characterized by thermal softening occurring over a very narrow region of a material and is usually a precursor to ductile fracture and catastrophic failure. This reference source is the revised and updated version of the first detailed study of the mechanics and modes of adiabatic shear localization in solids. Building on the success of the first edition, the book provides a systematic description of a number of aspects of adiabatic shear banding. The concepts and techniques described in this work can usefully be applied to solve a multitude of problems encountered by those investigating fracture and damage in materials, impact dynamics, metal working and other areas. Specific chapters focus on energetic materials, polymers, bulk metal glasses, and the mathematics of shear banding as well as the numerical modeling of them. With its detailed coverage of the subject, this book is of great interest to academics and researchers into materials performance as well as professionals.

The key to success and reaching peak performance is integrating three processes to optimize business through the use of human performance improvement tools, lean thinking, operational excellence, along with a strong organizational culture as the underpinning. These components form the basis of the Peak Performance Model. The tools presented in this book, along with the case studies, demonstrate how the model is applied and integrated into company practices. Companies and organizations want to improve their performance, but many have not integrated the right tools and processes. Through the application of the Peak Performance Model, every company can achieve and sustain Peak Performance.

This book defines, develops, and examines the foundations of the APQP (Advanced Product Quality Planning) methodology. It explains in detail the five phases, and it relates its significance to national, international, and customer specific standards. It also includes additional information on the PPAP (Production Part Approval Process), Risk, Warranty, GD&T (Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing), and the role of leadership as they apply to the continual improvement process of any organization. Features Defines and explains the five stages of APQP in detail Identifies and zeroes in on the critical steps of the APQP methodology Covers the issue of risk as it is defined in the ISO 9001, IATF 16949, the pending VDA, and the OEM requirements Presents the role of leadership and management in the APQP methodology Summarizes all of the change requirements of the IATF standard

In the past, company success was typically measured by financial indicators. Lately though, non-financial measures such as employee morale have become popular. Although there are approaches that look into quantitative and qualitative performance measures affecting company success, none of them characterize it in a holistic way, combining all the critical performance measures. This book presents a multifaceted approach that prepares engineers and future organizational leaders/managers to measure, monitor, and predict company success in a more meaningful way.

Designing new products and improving existing ones is a continual process. Industrial design engineering is an industrial engineering process applied to product designs that are to be manufactured through techniques of production operations. Excellent industrial design engineering programs are essential for the nation's industry to succeed in selling useful and ecologically justifiable and usable products on a market flooded with goods and services. This unique text on industrial design engineering integrates basic knowledge, insight, and working methods from industrial engineering and product design subjects. Industrial Design Engineering: Inventive Problem Solving provides a combination of engineering thinking and design skills that give the researchers, practitioners, and students an excellent foundation for participation in product development projects and techniques for establishing and managing such projects. The design principles are presented around examples related to the designing of products, goods, and services. Case studies are developed around real problems and are based on the customer's needs.

It is no secret that Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is not as popular with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as it is with larger ones. However, many SMEs are suppliers to larger entities who are pushing for superior quality and world-class process efficiencies from suppliers. Lean Six Sigma for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises: A Practical Guide provides a roadmap for the successful implementation and deployment of LSS in SMEs. It includes five real-world case studies that demonstrate how LSS tools have been successfully integrated into LSS methodology. Simplifying the terminology and methodology of LSS, this book makes the implementation process accessible. Supplies a general introduction to continuous improvement initiatives in SMEs Identifies the key phases in the introduction and development of LSS initiatives within an SME Details the most powerful LSS tools and techniques that can be used in an SME environment Provides tips on how to make the project selection process more successful This book covers the fundamental challenges and common pitfalls that can be avoided with successful introduction and deployment of LSS in the context of SMEs. Systematically guiding you through the application of the Six Sigma methodology for problem solving, the book devotes separate chapters to the most appropriate tools and techniques that can be useful in each stage of the methodology. Keeping the required math and statistics to a minimum, this practical guide will help you to deploy LSS as your prime methodology for achieving and sustaining world-class efficiency and effectiveness of critical business processes.

Norman Katz has secured a top spot as one of the Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Supply Chain 2020. Even the largest companies find managing vendors a daunting task. If you get it wrong then you risk inadvertently penalizing potentially valuable suppliers with misguided, overly bureaucratic or costly processes. Worse the burdens placed on the vendors backfires on the customer entity itself as the customer is subjected to the increased operational costs of managing the ramifications of the ill-conceived or poorly implemented requirement through the vendor community, driving up its own operational costs and increasing frustrations for all, straining the customer-vendor relationship. Effective compliance programs balance the requirements with the capabilities of their suppliers, striving to educate instead of just inform. A well-run program should help vendors self-implement and control costs, not force vendors to rely on constant communication and increase costs for all trading partners involved. Successful Supply Chain Vendor Compliance explains the technical, process and cultural elements that go into a successful compliance program. Norman Katz exposes the weaknesses in traditional programs and identifies the characteristics of well-managed programs that foster beneficial trading partner relationships. He shows how a well-executed vendor compliance program can control and decrease costs by reducing disruptions throughout the supply chain, from the distribution center to the data center to the corporate office. Competition is fierce, and the right vendor can help you define a business model, react quickly to changes, and differentiate between you and your competitors. See the latest Forbes article on Abusive Compliance Practices!

An in-depth introduction, Lean Six Sigma for Engineers and Managers: With Applied Case Studies presents a detailed road map and industry examples to help you understand and implement the LSS system. It discusses the LSS process to define improvement needs, measure current business performance, analyze performance results using statistical tools, improve business and financial results, and control peak business performance. It shows you how to realize the customer satisfaction benefits of Six Sigma and the cost reduction benefits of Lean manufacturing. A practical and technical guide to fully understanding and implementing LSS for any organization, from manufacturing to service facilities, this book is based on concepts related to total quality management, data analysis, and statistical process control. It details an LSS process that has been applied and refined during the past 10 years on more than 20 LSS projects around the globe. The book includes a framework for implementing LSS, discusses LSS strategies, and includes case studies from service and manufacturing organizations. The need for LSS has been brought on by increased global competition, sustained financial crises, and increased consumer expectations for higher quality and lower costs. Technologically complex products and processes combined with global supply chains have intensified the need for LSS. The benefits of focusing on LSS by individual organizations can lead to enhanced economic performance, strong levels of customer satisfaction, and higher market shares. With discussions of statistical analysis, training, implementation, common pitfalls, and best practices, this book gives you the edge in increasing your organization's competitiveness in the rapidly evolving global market.

In today's business world, competitiveness defines the industrial leading edge. Organizations and businesses of all sizes are adopting Lean manufacturing practices to increase efficiency and address worries about their bottom lines. In a detailed review of this staple of Lean manufacturing, Cellular Manufacturing: Mitigating Risk and Uncertainty outlines how cellular manufacturing can do just that. It demonstrates how this approach can help you and your teams build a variety of products with as little waste as possible. The book begins by presenting a survey of the current state of existing methods that can best be used in the handling of the bottleneck machines and parts problem, which results from the cellular manufacturing system design. It then explores how decision making under risk is used to help the designer select the best cell arrangement in case of probabilistic production volume and maximize the profit imposed by resource capacity constraints. The author then presents a method for the system design of a manufacturing cell that aims for profit maximization over a certain period of time. He also discusses robust design, illustrated with a real application. Put simply, cellular manufacturing integrates machinery and a small team of staff, directed by a team leader, so all the work on a product or part can be accomplished in the same cell eliminating resources that do not add value to the product. A concise yet unique reference, this book incorporates decision making under risk into cellular manufacturing. The text makes the link that ties cellular manufacturing to the bottom line. It helps you recognize savings opportunities from elimination of downtime between operations, decreased material handling costs, decreased work-in-progress inventory and associated costs, reduced opportunity for handling errors, decreased downtime spent waiting for supplies or materials, and reduced losses from defective or obsolete products.

Lean is a type of organizational change brought about through improvement methods based on cost reduction mechanism. The assumption is that by reducing costs, the organizations can work better and more efficiently. All changes in lean-based organizations are directed at reducing these costs by identifying and eliminating waste. The thinking is that cost reduction will increase efficiency since, basically, it removes process inefficiencies and decreases cycle time. Why are targets directed at cost reduction? Because costs are a crucial factor for sustainable business organization. Lean thinking cuts the value of scale production by looking at the existing waste in a process. Production remains the same, but the costs of goods production are reduced due to the elimination of waste in the process. As a result, companies do not have to increase their production if it is not required, giving companies an increase in average profits due to lean and the elimination of identified waste. The focus on cost reduction can be included in the overall lean concept since cost wasting is only a part of the existing waste. In other words, other waste can be converted into costs or perceived as a value. This book starts the mental process of organization change through lean thinking. It provides the background and history of lean, and then gets into how the lean process works. The author also discusses why an organization should implement lean as a method to increase quality and engage workers in the process, thereby increasing efficiency and, ultimately, profitability. Through case studies and examples from Indonesia, the author describes how to create a value stream to identify waste and discusses the concept of a pull system and its impact on the process.

This book presents a big-picture overview of the entire Shingo improvement process. It fully discusses the needs and benefits of the Shingo process, and what is required if you seek to execute the Shingo Model in your enterprise and focuses on creating an enduring organization-wide continuous improvement process. It gives the reader a discussion of the entire Shingo experience while the most existing books on the model are course specific. There are numerous discussions, conference talks, and webinars of why the Shingo process is beneficial, and what types of improvements can be achieved, but the crucial material has not been assembled in one concise book, giving the executive, manger, or supervisor an overview and understanding of what the Shingo experience entails. The main purpose of this book. It is for the executives who want to understand their role in supporting and leading middle management with its implementation. Many executives from developing countries all over the world are seeking a concise definition of what the Shingo model is, and this book functions as the perfect primer. Even those who have attended and implemented the lessons from the Shingo Institute's courses would find this book a benefit as it serves perfectly as backup and reference material. In addition, this book helps anyone who has started their journey with the Shingo model and may be confused about what to do and expect -- It gives them a vision of what the continuing journey will look like. The Shingo process is being taught at numerous universities and this book could indeed serve as the appropriate textbook or supplemental reading. Essentially, this book teaches an innovative and extremely successful approach to continuous improvement, referred to as the Shingo process. It is based on a set of universally accepted principles that are endorsed by improvement leaders such as Covey and companies such as Toyota. This book is not a detailed review or a replacement of the Shingo workshops. It is an overview of the entire Shingo process, starting with a discussion of the challenges that many of todays enterprises are experiencing. The author, in his role as a PhD in economics, has studied industries and has worked closely with many of them attempting to understand their weaknesses. Next, this book builds upon an understanding of these weaknesses. The book discusses how the over-all Shingo methodology fits into these organizations and highlights the benefits. The next step is then to discuss what requirements are necessary for an organization to get ready for a Shingo transformation. What are the steps that the organization needs to go through, and when will it know that it is ready to begin? The book briefly reviews the Shingo Insights and Principles and explains how the Shingo courses should be best utilized to facilitate the desired transformation. It suggests some alternative plans for over-all implementation based on the current state of the enterprise. It explains why there is no "one way" for successful implementation and how the implementation sequence needs to be customized. It also discusses the length of time needed for success and how this differs depending on the current enterprise environment. Lastly the book explains how the implementation and Shingo training is never finished. It is an on-going process and success is defined by internal improvements, not by some arbitrary external benchmark. The book is intended to be educational, thought provoking, entertaining in its stories and examples, and a guideline towards the development of a plan for continuous improvement. This book is filled with stories and examples, showing successful and not so successful implementations. The stories are used to highlight many of the pitfalls that have arisen and may arise for you and which can be avoided if the reader is aware of them and knows how to watch for them.