This updated and expanded edition discusses many different tools for root cause analysis and presents them in an easy-to-follow structure: a general description of the tool, its purpose and typical applications, the procedure when using it, an example of its use, a checklist to help you make sure if is applied properly, and different forms and templates. The examples used are general enough to apply to any industry or market. The layout of the book has been designed to help speed your lear...

This best-seller is fully revised and updated! Its goal is still to give readers practical insight into how they can create a coherent business process improvement system. Author Bjørn Andersen works from the premise that consistently working on improving various aspects of how things are done, large and small, is the key to success for any organization.The first half presents an overall business process improvement model, with the ensuing chapters dealing with topics of understanding and...

This peerless best-seller is a hands-on, step-by-step workbook of instructions on how to create flowcharts and document work processes. No other book even comes close in teaching practitioners these crucial techniques. The most noticeable change in this second edition is the inclusion of several new types of process maps. While the basic, straightforward flowchart is still extensively used, it has been supplemented by a number of other types, all of which serve different purposes. The au...

Complex projects are often the most high-profile projects within an organization. How can early warning signs be identified and acted upon, so that problems are avoided and projects are successful in delivering the expected value for their owners and other stakeholders? What signals should we look for? Looking for early warning signs takes more than a keen eye. Collaborating with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim and the University of Southampton in the United...

All organizations experience unintended variation and its consequences. Such problems exist within a broad range of scope, persistence, and severity across different industries. Some problems cause minor nuisances, others leads to loss of customers or money, others yet can be a matter of life and death. The purpose of this pocket guide is to provide you with easily accessible knowledge about the art of problem solving, with a specific focus on identifying and eliminating root causes of pro...

Healthcare organizations and professionals have long needed a straightforward workbook to facilitate the process of root cause analysis (RCA). While other industries employ the RCA tools liberally and train facilitators thoroughly, healthcare has lagged in establishing and resourcing a quality culture. Presently, a growing number of third-party stakeholders are holding access to accreditation and reimbursement pending demonstration of a full response to events outside of expected practice....

The perfect prescription for any organization.Increasingly popular with large and mid-sized companies around the world, Lean Six Sigma is the new hybridization of Six Sigma and Lean methodologies, and there is no better approach for achieving operational excellence in an organization. But how do you implement Lean Six Sigma, and what does it entail?The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Lean Six Sigma answers this question with unprecedented clari...

Project Quality Management: Why, What and How, Second Edition demonstrates how to implement the general methods defined in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge—Fifth Edition (PMBOK® Guide) and augments those methods with more detailed, hands-on procedures that have been proven through actual practice. This edition presents case examples that illuminate the theory of quality planning, assurance, and control with real-world narratives, including situation, analysis, and lesson...

The fast and easy way to understand and implement Six SigmaThe world's largest and most profitable companies—including the likes of GE, Bank of America, Honeywell, DuPont, Samsung, Starwood Hotels, Bechtel, and Motorola—have used Six Sigma to achieve breathtaking improvements in business performance, in everything from products to processes to complex systems and even in work environments. Over the past decade, over $100 billion in bottom-line performance has been ...

How to manage any project on just one piece of paperThe New One-Page Project Manager demonstrates how to efficiently and effectively communicate essential elements of a project's status. The hands of a pocket watch reveal the time of day without following every spring, cog, and movement behind the face. Similarly, an OPPM template reduces any project—no matter how large or complicated—to a simple one-page document, perfect for communicating to upper manage...

Why does ISO 9001 have to be so confusing? It doesnt. Bestselling author Craig Cochran has translated ISO 9001 into plain English that anyone can understand. ISO 9001 in Plain English was written so that anyone at any level of the organization can get to the heart of the standards requirements and how they apply to the organization quickly and simply.This straightforward book is ideal for people who are new to ISO 9001, experienced ISO coordinators who want to get more out of an establish...

Take a crash course in boosting operational efficiency!Whether a business manufactures trucks, delivers packages, or sells coffee, it lives and breathes on its operations. Without exception. Ensuring smooth, efficient processes is a challenging task--but the rewards are immense. The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course: Operations Management puts you on the fast track to bolstering and managing the effectiveness of your organization’s operations. Complete with exercises, self-test...