Page 21 - Lean six sigma demystified

xx LEAN SIX SIGMA DeMYSTiFieD

quality improvement, I have found that a handful of tools will solve most of the
quality problems haunting companies. In this book, you’ll spend most of your
time on the vital few. I’ve concentrated these methods and tools toward the
front of the book; the trivial many are toward the back.
Over the last couple of years, I’ve had Black Belts tell me that the First Edi-
tion of Lean Six Sigma Demystified brought unmistakable clarity and direction
to the crazy quilt of methods and tools they learned in training. And I’ve had
complete novices tell me that it made them comfortable with learning Lean Six
Sigma. It will for you too.
One of the principles of Lean is to change things immediately. Here’s what I do
when I’m reading a book: If something strikes me as applying to me or my busi-
ness, I test-drive it immediately. I’d recommend you do the same. If the thought
of using a pad of Post-its to create a spaghetti diagram of your work area seems
like an exciting idea, put the book down and just do it. If one of the Pareto chart
examples makes you wonder what a Pareto chart of your production or service
defects would look like, put the book down and just do it! This is how adults learn,
by doing. Reading the book won’t make you an expert; doing the book will.
Expect to struggle a bit. It’s new and unfamiliar. You may have to unlearn
something to let the Lean Six Sigma knowledge sink in. Seek to improve, not to
be perfect right out of the gate.
I’ve been at this for two decades, and I’m still learning something new at least
once a month. You can’t learn everything there is to know about Lean Six Sigma
in a day, a week, or a month, but you can learn the vital few methods and tools
quickly. Then you have to apply them immediately to a situation and learn some-
thing. What worked? What didn’t? What could you do better the next time?
You’ll notice that this book contains quizzes, exercises, and a final exam. The
questions are all multiple choice. You might consider reading the chapter-end-

ing quiz before you read the chapter, because it highlights what I think is really
important in the chapter. And it will help you retain the information more eas-
ily. It will create a mental indexing system for your mind. The quizzes are open-
book. The answers are listed in the back of the book.
If your business is a service, you won’t need to read every chapter. You’ll
never use measurement systems analysis and rarely use hypothesis testing or
Design for Lean Six Sigma. Get good at Lean and problem solving; then expand
into the other tools.
There’s a final exam at the end. Take this exam when you have finished the
book and appropriate chapter quizzes. The goal is to refresh the learning from
the whole book, giving your mind a chance to store it in long-term memory.
Have fun learning Lean Six Sigma, a set of skills you can use at home and at
work in any job.