Much of the U.S. economy is now based on services rather than manufacturing. Yet the majority of books on Six Sigma and Lean--today's major quality improvement initiatives--explain only how to implement these techniques in a manufacturing environment.

Lean Six Sigma for Services fills the need for a service-based approach, explaining how companies of all types can cost-effectively translate manufacturing-oriented Lean Six Sigma tools into the service delivery process.

Filled with case studies detailing dramatic service improvements in organizations from Lockheed Martin to Stanford University Hospital, this bottom-line book provides executives and managers with the knowledge they need to:

• Reduce service costs by 30 to 60 percent

• Improve service delivery time by 50 percent

• Expand capacity by 20 percent without adding staff

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 27 Ratings

Best for selling Lean Six Sigma to your organization - 2009-01-19
Reviewer Rating:
This book is an excellent overview of why Lean Six Sigma is relevant to service organizations, but falls short of providing you with the tools needed to implement Lean Six Sigma. If you need to convince upper management that Lean Six Sigma will work in your service organization, this book will help you make the sell using business terminology (e.g. Return on Invested Capital). If, however, your organization is already sold on the benefits of Lean Six Sigma and you need concrete tools and examples to help you implement, look elsewhere. I'm sure George's book would work well in a seminar sponsored by his consulting company, but as a standalone, it falls short of practical.

A Confusing "Knock-Off" - 2008-12-16
Reviewer Rating:
I liked the author's earlier "Lean Sig Sigma," developed for manufacturing applications. "Lean Six Sigma for Service," however, adds nothing for those seeking clearer guidance in improving service processes. For example, the material on Stanford Hospital very briefly covers an application, without detailing some of the essentials to getting key physician involvement and support; worse yet, the benefits and costs of the effort were not included. Thus, a reader would be unlikely to achieve substantive success. The material on Lockheed-Martin (18 computer systems to accomplish most everything) was interesting, but missed the "elephant in the room" - the prescribed "fast changeover" of screens simply covers up the enormous waste of 18 systems.

six sigma for service - 2009-09-14
Reviewer Rating:
It was very helpfull in my thesis development. It shows you how we can implement a six sigma control in a service deparment or industry by grading everything what is made inside of the company.

Will Help You Answer the Questions - Why & How - 2009-03-14
Reviewer Rating:
One of the challenges faced by an organization such as ours - a financial services/non-manufacturing organization - is translating the concepts of Lean Six Sigma into a format usable by its employees, as well as overcoming the natural inclination of employees to think of Lean Six Sigma (and other 'quality' initiatives) as only suitable for manufacturing.

Michael George does an exceptional job of demonstrating how to apply Lean Six Sigma approaches to service organizations. His writing style is very easy to understand, and for the executive/manager, he provides a good overview.

This book is pretty high level and conceptual, but is well worth the read for anyone looking at Lean SixSigma.

Helpful to Anyone Seeking Ideas to Improve Their Work Flows - 2008-11-29
Reviewer Rating:
Targeted at upper management levels in non-manufacturing organizations,
this book is nonetheless useful reading for anyone, at any level, who is
concerned their work or process flows could use improvement to be more
competitive or increase margins. Drawing on the same basics the author
explored in his earlier work, "Lean Six Sigma", George takes on the
additional hurdles posed by non-manufacturing groups, where what to
measure in a service process in order to improve it is at least as
important as the improvement methods themselves. Along with technical
details on such measurements, George also focuses on the personal impacts
such measurements may bring to the workforce in a service organization.
Here is good thought-provoking reading, a prerequisite to taking even
the first steps of improving one's organization's flows and processes.

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