I am grateful to these authors and publishers for their outstanding work, which has helped me in countless situations. There are links to purchasing locations for these books (click on the images).
1. World Class Quality by Keki Bhote
For the Analyze and Improve phases of DMAIC. In my opinion, this is the most powerful, hands-on problem solving book available for manufacturing professionals. Keki Bhote’s passion for quality and highly opinionated discussions make this book an entertaining and highly educational read. This is the book that propelled my career at a time when I was a quality engineer in an assembly plant, swamped with quality problems and a very unhappy sales team. The tools taught in this book enabled me to solve a number of complex problems that others struggled to get their arms around. The book focuses heavily on the Shainin Methods, which emphasize simple and very effective approaches for isolating root causes on the production floor. Keki’s mantra is, “Talk the the parts, not the engineers!” He focuses on fact-based problem solving using physical evidence instead of collective opinion.
2. Goal-QPC’s Memory Jogger Series
For all phases of DMAIC. Goal-QPC has a series of quick reference books that are very well written and work very well as training materials. The book shown is the second edition of th original Memory Jogger, which I have used countless times for training shop-floor associates. Some of the tools covered include brainstorming, fishbone diagrams, control charts, process flowcharts, histograms, and pareto charts. A total of 27 tools are covered, and the graphics and examples in the book are outstanding. Goal-QPC also has a number of other process improvement books, including several quick reference guides on Six Sigma.
3. Mistake Proofing for Operators
For the Control phase of DMAIC. I am amazed at the number of businesses that have never introduced their teams to mistake proofing. This book provides an excellent grasp of the concept, and is loaded with a number of specific examples that show how part and process design come together to produce defect free products. I have purchased multiple copies of this book for shop floor operators, mechanics, and technicians. As long as I’ve bought a copy for each person in the class, I have no problem scanning the examples and adding them into my training material. Mistake proofing is a powerful and lasting defect prevention tool, and is an excellent way to lower risks identified in PFMEA’s.
4. Strategic Error Proofing: Successful Processes and Smart FMEA’s
Also for the Control phase of DMAIC. This is an outstanding book that covers error proofing and mistake proofing (you’ll learn the difference between these two terms when you read the book!), and lays out a framework for designing, implementing, and maintaining devices across large facilities. The books also provides a framework for rating error proofing and mistake proofing devices (in terms of simplicity, maintainability, and several other factors), something I had not seen until this book was published. Quality leaders for larger organizations will also appreciate the focus on error proofing and mistake proofing metrics that can be rolled up across plants and businesses. This is a terrific book.
5. AIAG’s FMEA Manual
For the Analyze and Control phases of DMAIC. The Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) publishes a number of excellent how-to guides for quality planning, and this FMEA guide is the most comprehensive that I have seen on the subject. It includes complete guidelines for facilitating and documenting FMEA’s, and covers every detail of the subject. The AIAG also publishes a number of other excellent reference publications, including Advanced Quality Planning and Control Plan. These books are must-have references for quality professionals.
6. Statistics for Experimenters
Box Hunter & Hunter’s book is a classic DOE training guide that starts with the basics. If you want to follow sound experimentation techniques (which make all the difference between true conclusions and false conclusions), then read this book. Here are a few comments from the publisher: “Catalyzing innovation, problem solving, and discovery, the Second Edition provides experimenters with the scientific and statistical tools needed to maximize the knowledge gained from research data, illustrating how these tools may best be utilized during all stages of the investigative process. The authors’ practical approach starts with a problem that needs to be solved and then examines the appropriate statistical methods of design and analysis.”