Fit Sigma: A Lean Approach to Building Sustainable Quality Beyond Six Sigma

To some, the near perfection of the Six Sigma management system appears to be an impossible ideal, especially for small and medium enterprises. FIT SIGMA, a flexible and more sustainable approach, was developed through the integration of the ‘hard' Six Sigma approach with Lean Enterprise philosophy. It consists of three elements; fitness for purpose, fitness for improvement and integration, and fitness for sustainability.

FIT SIGMA: A Lean Approach to Building Sustainable Quality Beyond Six Sigma shows how this tripartite approach can be used to add value to both large and small organisations through improved use of resources, and through the provision of improved customer satisfaction. It shows that a holistic approach to operational excellence underpinned by a data driven methodology can be applied equally to the manufacturing, service or public sectors.

As the Six Sigma philosophy has evolved in recent years to take into account new challenges faced by companies, including climate change, green supply chain, emerging markets and a growing service sector, so FIT SIGMA has also adapted itself to these new demands.

FIT SIGMA: A Lean Approach to Building Sustainable Quality Beyond Six Sigma covers key developing areas including:

• Sustainability and Environment
• Non-profit organizations
• Service Operations
• Supply Chain Management
• Project Management
• Emerging Markets
• Small and Medium Enterprises
• Green Thinking

Each chapter contains practical implementation guide, illustrative examples and case studies, and concludes with a summary of key elements for ease of reference and revision. In addition the book includes a comprehensive glossary of common terms and phrases used in managing quality, along with an appendix which illustrates the applications of basic statistics in Six Sigma and Fit Sigma.

About the Author

Ron Basu is Director of Performance Excellence Limited and a Visiting Fellow at Henley Business School, England. He is also a Visiting Professor at SKEMA Business School, France. He specialises in Operational Excellence and Supply Chain Management and has research interests in Performance Management and Project Management.

Previously he held senior management roles in blue-chip companies like GSK, Glaxo Wellcome and Unilever, and led global initiatives and projects in Six Sigma, ERP/MRP(II), Supply Chain Re-engineering and Total Productive Maintenance. Prior to this he worked as a Management Consultant with A.T. Kearney.

He is the co-author of Total Manufacturing Solutions, Quality Beyond Six Sigma, Total Operations Solutions and Total Supply Chain Management, and the author of books with titles Measuring e-Business Performance, Implementing Quality and Implementing Six Sigma and Lean. He has authored a number of papers in the operational excellence and performance management fields. He is a regular presenter of papers in global seminars on e-Business, Six Sigma and Manufacturing and Supply Chain topics.

After graduating in Manufacturing Engineering from UMIST, Manchester, Ron obtained an MSc in Operational Research from Strathclyde University, Glasgow. He has also been awarded a PhD at Reading University. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Institute of Business Consultancy, the Association for Project Management and the Chartered Quality Institute. He is also the winner of an APM Project Management Award.