- Goldratt and Cox, 1994. The Goal
- Imai, Masaaki. 1997. Gemba Kaizen (Continuous Improvement in the Workplace)
- Imai, Masaaki. 1989. Kaizen (Continuous Improvement)
- Juran, Joseph, and Gryna, Frank. Juran's Quality Control Handbook
| Title | Comments | Rating | Price |
| Goldratt, Eliyahu, and Cox, Jeff. 1994. The Goal | A dramatic novel about a manufacturing company that illustrates the
Theory of Constraints. No manufacturing process can run faster than its
slowest operation. Trying to make it do so results in big piles of inventory,
usually in front of the slowest operation- the constraint.
A company's traditional cost accounting system can kill the company; the book shows how this works. The cost accounting system applies to the company's tax returns and financial reports- but don't let it drive your business decisions! I have a Javascript simulation of the matchstick exercise from The Goal. The tape is unabridged, and it's about 10 hours or so. I listened to it on the way to the NY Society of Professional Engineers' meeting in 1994. |
 |
$15.96
Hardback 
$21.00 Audiotape  |
| Imai, Masaaki. 1997. Gemba Kaizen | "Gemba" means "real place"- it's where value-adding activities take
place. Gemba kaizen means continuous improvement in value-adding activities,
and the people who work in gemba- the front-line manufacturing
or service workers- are often in the best position to make this happen!
This is consistent with General George S. Patton's observation that the soldiers know more about the war than anyone else. Patton was a gemba man, he was always up front with the troops, where the value-adding activities (combat, in his case) took place. For example, a sergeant's observation that Army truck transmissions could not tolerate desert heat resulted in a modification in time for the North Africa campaign. Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence, also says that the frontline worker knows more about the job than anyone else. Imai's muda (waste) corresponds with General Carl von Clausewitz' friction- seemingly minor inefficiencies that undermine the organization's competitiveness. See my books, The Way of Strategy and SPC Essentials and Productivity Improvement for more on this subject. 5S-CANDO is a procedure for organizing the workplace to reduce friction, and Just In Time (JIT) or Synchronous Flow Manufacturing (SFM) reduce inventory, another form of waste. See Leading the Way to Competitive Excellence for information on 5S-CANDO, Total Productive Maintenance, and SFM. Muri, or strain, is another form of friction. It can result from inadequate training or poor ergonomic job design. The Chinese generals Sun Tzu (author of The Art of War) and Wu Ch'i recognized muri 2500 years ago- they cited the need for preventive maintenance (caring for weapons, lubricating chariot axles) and training. |
Buy it, read, it, and put its contents to work in your business! |
$17.47
Hardback |
| Imai, Masaaki. 1989. Kaizen | Kaizen means "continuous improvement." It's a key aspect of Japanese culture and philosophy- every martial art, for example, is a form of personal kaizen. | 
I liked Gemba Kaizen better, but this book is worth reading. |
$32.15
Hardback |
| Juran, Joseph, and Gryna, Frank. 1988. Juran's Quality Control Handbook, 4th ed. | Juran and Gryna's Quality Control Handbook is a
comprehensive reference for many issues in quality management, quality control, and statisitical process control. There are excellent discussions of quality as "fitness for use," and the true costs of poor quality. If you plan to take any of the American Society for Quality's certification examinations, this is a good reference. I used it for the Quality Engineering, Reliability Engineering, Quality Management, and Quality Auditing exams, and it served me well in each case. It was, in fact, my principal reference for these exams. One weakness is the absence of anything on ISO 9000, since the book was written in 1988. The 5th edition may correct this. |
If you are taking the American Society for Quality's certification exams (CQE, CRE, CQM, or CQA), buy this book! |
$102.50
Hardback |
| Juran, Joseph, and Gryna, Frank. 1999. Juran's Quality Control Handbook, 5th ed. | The description at Amazon.com advertises "80% new and revised content." | (assumed- I haven't bought
this yet) |
$150.00
Hardback |
