Six Sigma Tool Navigator - The Master Guide for Teams


Walter J. Michalski, Ed.D.

edited by
Dana G. King, M.A.

Productivity Press • New York

Copyright 2003 Revised Edition by Productivity Press, a division of Kraus Productivity Organization, Ltd.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

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New York, NY 10016
United States of America
Telephone: 212-686-5900
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E-mail: info@productivityinc.com

Cover design by Carla Refojo
Cover illustration by Ana Capitaine
Text design by Janet Brandt and Jonathan Wills
Page composition by William H. Brunson, Typography Services
Art creation by Smith & Fredrick Graphics, Jonathan Wills, and Lorraine Millard
Printed by Malloy Lithographing in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Michalski, Walter J.
Six Sigma Tool navigator: the master guide for teams/Walter J. Michalski:
edited by Dana G. King.
p. cm.
Updated ed. of: Tool navigator. Portland Or. : Productivity Press, c1997

1-56327-295-4

(alk. paper)

1. Total quality management. 2. Teams in the workplace. 3. Group problem solving. 4. Creative ability. I. Michalski, Walter J. Tool navigator. II. Title.
HD62.15.M29 2003
658.4036—dc21

2003006071
CIP

07 06 05 04 03 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This handbook is dedicated to my father Josef and to the memory
of my mother Hildegard. Both instilled in me an attitude and work
ethic of continuous education and process and quality improvement
that has served me well both in my professional and personal life.

Creative Thinking

"If you want to teach people a new way of thinking, don't bother
trying to teach them. Instead, give them tools, the use of which
will lead to new ways of thinking."
—Buckminster Fuller

Publisher's Message

In our never ending quest for total quality and customer satisfaction, we have moved from Quality Circles to Team-based Organizations, from Total Quality Management to a work ethic of Six Sigma, and we have always been searching for the right tools to complete a complex project or finish a simple task. This revised edition of the Six Sigma Tool Navigator, has the tools you need! Wouldn't it be powerful to have a resource that could provide you with the appropriate problem-solving tool every time you needed one? Like being able to access tools that are classified by process application—tools that focus on such things as idea generating, analyzing/trending, team building, or data collecting. Or having the ability to access the proper tools for a certain problem-solving phase you're in—like selecting and defining a problem or opportunity, identifying and analyzing causes or potential change, or developing and planning possible solutions or change. Or how about those times you wish you had an easy way to find a set of process tools that pertain to your area of interest, like research/statistics, engineering, manufacturing, marketing/sales, or customer/quality metrics? And how liberating would it be if you could refer to a before-and-after tool so you could determine your next step and achieve your final result—to implement continuous process improvement methods?

Six Sigma Tool Navigator—The Master Guide for Teams, by Walter Michalski is a direct response to the many requests we've had from our customers to publish a compendium of tools for teams engaged in Six Sigma improvement activities. Here you will find 222 tools to implement major processes like Six Sigma, just-in-time, total productive maintenance, and quality assurance. This is not just a book of dry definitions. It is a true navigator that gives a classification of each tool by process application, description of various applications of the tool, possible links to before-and-after tools, and problem-solving phases most applicable for the tool. It also shows the ranking of category or work discipline in which the tool is most actively used or applied, helpful support information, a step-by-step procedure expaining how to use the tool, and an example of the display, output, or result or the tool's use. Finally, there are useful appendixes and statistical charts. And all of this is provided in an easy-to-use format (see the sample pages in the introduction).

Six Sigma Tool Navigator is the most comprehensive toolbox on the market—222 tools collected over 30 years. This book will enhance your team facilitation skills and assist you at every step in your diverse Six Sigma problem-solving or process-improvement efforts. We at Productivity Press are excited about this book because we know Walter Michalski has provided the definitive handbook for our customers. Never again will you complain, "If only I had the right tool!"

Many people contributed to the successful creation of this compendium, but particular gratitude must be given to Susan Swanson whose careful coordination of the myriad details related to art and text design and page composition turned this book of tools into a valuable tool itself. Our thanks go to all those who worked on this project: Mike Sinocchi, prepress editor and project manager; Emily Pillars, developmental editing; Janet Brandt and Jonathan Wills, text design; Lee Smith of Smith & Fredrick Graphics, art creation; Bill Brunson of Typography Services, text composition; Carla Refojo, cover design; and Ana Capitaine, cover illustration.

Maura May
Publisher

About the Author

Dr. Walter J. Michalski is president of Alpha Research Group, Fountain Valley, California, a consulting firm that assists organizations in their Six Sigma quality and change initiatives. His work experience reflects 30 years in quality assurance, test/process engineering, and process improvement training. He was trained and certified as a Six Sigma instructor by Motorola in 1995. Since then he has conducted approximately 100 various workshop on Six Sigma processes and tools. He has designed many problem-solving workshops and facilitated teams on Six Sigma quality, process reengineering, continuous improvement, measurements, organizational change, and critical-thinking techniques.

Dr. Michalski holds an Ed.D in Institutional Management from Pepperdine University, GSEP, Los Angeles, California. His doctoral dissertation examined the effectiveness of non-traditional college degree programs. As an adjunct professor, he continues to teach at graduate and undergraduate levels in subjects such as research methods, statistics, TQM/TQS, management, and organizational behavior. He also serves as project advisor for students' research projects, practicums, and theses.

Dr. Michalski is available for developing and facilitating "Tools-Strings for Teams" workshops for organizations. He can be reached at:

Dr. Walter J. Michalski, Ed.D.
Alpha Research Group
9882 Osborne Court
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Tel/Fax: 714-968-0452, e-mail: WMichalski@earthlink.net.

Please check his website, http://www.alpharesearchgroup.com, for the innovative training "Baustein Koncept," "Tools-Strings" for teams, or other customized consulting services. For books on tools and teaming authored by Dr. Michalski, visit the publisher at http://www.productivityinc.com or http://www.amazon.com.




Six Sigma Tool Navigator(c) The Master Guide for Teams
Six Sigma Tool Navigator: The Master Guide for Teams
ISBN: 1563272954
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 326

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