In 1987, Motorola developed Six Sigma out of a need for improvement in their pager manufacturing processes. Since then, Six Sigma has been implemented by a number of manufacturing companies, predominantly in the USA. In the late 1990s, however, Six Sigma gained wider and international popularity due to successful implementation at General Electric. Six Sigma has now become one of the integral aspects of manufacturing, as well as non-manufacturing businesses worldwide. In recent years, many books have been published on Six Sigma, mainly on its application in manufacturing and product development. This book, by contrast, focuses specifically on the application of Six Sigma in service and transactional environments. The book comprises two parts. Part One provides the necessary knowledge for understanding the Six Sigma methodology and its underlying concepts. Part Two consists of practical examples of Six Sigma application to transactional and service environments which have been provided in the form of real world case studies written by internationally successful companies, to complement the reader's knowledge of Six Sigma and to increase comprehension of issues surrounding Six Sigma implementations. It has been written for newcomers as well as for experienced practitioners who are interested in improving processes in everyday business operations. The focus is on the implementation of the Six Sigma methodology rather than on the statistical tools and techniques. The aim of this book is to provide the reader with some practical and useful guidelines for Six Sigma deployment and its application to transactional and service processes.
Biography
Hasan Akpolat is a senior lecturer at the University of Technology in Sydney. From 2000 to 2002, he was the certified Master Black Belt responsible for the implementation of Six Sigma at Sony Australia.
'With this book, Hasan Akpolat has recognized the increasing importance of services in national and global economies. He has demonstrated the applicability of what is seen as a traditional manufacturing concept - Six Sigma, in a service environment. In a clear and simple way, the book explores the key questions of "what six sigma is" and "how it can be implemented" in service environments. With a good balance of theory and case studies, this book would be an invaluable guide for operations managers in service environments, students and researchers of operations management.' Dr Adegoke Oke, Fellow in Innovation and Operations Management, Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield, UK 'With his book Six Sigma in Transactional and Service Environments, Dr Akpolat has produced an excellent practical guide for the Six Sigma applications. It provides great insight to the Six Sigma concept and focuses on the critical issues surrounding its implementation rather than simply listing its numerous statistical tools. Although, the emphasis has been put on the transactional and service processes, it can be easily used as a guide for the manufacturing processes as well. Overall, Six Sigma in Transactional and Service Environments provides an excellent mix of theory and practical examples without requiring a statistical degree from the reader to understand its content.' Gary Helou, Chief Executive Officer, SunRice, Australia. '...this book is an original analysis of the much-discussed quality tool.' Quality World, December 2004o
