Books & Standards

Model calibration uses outputs from a simulator and field data to build a predictive model for the physical system and to estimate unknown inputs. The conventional approach to model calibration assumes that the observations are continuous outcomes. I...

Capability indices are the most common tools in process capability analysis, measuring how much the product meets the costumer expectations. One type of capability indices are loss-based indices that consider the cost of the difference between the pr...

The benefits of Six Sigma and lean professional certifications.

This study proposes two new methods of goodness-of-fit (GOF) tests for progressively Type-II censored data from any continuous distribution. For the first method, we transform the original censored sample into an approximately independent and identic...

The power of love over fear to create a workplace culture of improvement, learning and satisfaction.

Newly released products and tools.

The COVID-19 pandemic has halted many in-person events, but that didn’t stop the ASQ Montreal Section from figuring out a way to support each other in their professional development— it moved its networking events online. The Montreal Se...

When growing their careers, women have always had to overcome unique challenges compared to men, particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics occupations or other male-dominated jobs . The COVID-19 crisis has only exacer...

When ASQ’s offices closed early last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was on vacation in Jamaica. My team members were emailing frantically as they prepared to exit the office, and in my “checked-out” state (No worries, mon!),...

Book reviews of T he Lean Healthcare Handbook , by Thomas Pyzdek, and EDGE: Value-Driven Digital Transformation , by Jim Highsmith, Linda Luu and David Robinson.

Need to make a career pivot? Challenging socioeconomic circumstances can create confusion and more than a little frustration. If you aren’t sure how to get from where you are today to where you want to be, I have good news. As with any good im...

Aviation, space and defense (ASD) organizations operate in a complex landscape of contractual, regulatory and statutory requirements. Understanding and managing these requirements and interrelated processes as a system contributes to an organization...

We propose a flexible approach to modeling for renewal processes. The model is built from a structured mixture of Erlang densities for the renewal process inter-arrival density. The Erlang mixture components have a common scale parameter, and the mix...

As a result of COVID-19, organizations have had to make rapid and extreme changes to the way they operate—namely, requiring their employees to work from home and moving to operating virtually. As organizations navigate this new normal, they mu...

Many methods for modeling functions over high-dimensional spaces assume global smoothness properties; such assumptions are often violated in practice. We introduce a method for modeling functions that display heterogeneity or contain discontinuities....

A new way to look at process optimization using lean Six Sigma and artificial intelligence.

We consider the problem of estimating the set of all inputs that leads a system to some particular behavior. The system is modeled by an expensive-to-evaluate function, such as a computer experiment, and we are interested in its excursion set, that i...

Once there was an aspiring research baker named Jake. He worked in R&D at a large commercial baked goods company, having recently received an advanced degree in the technology. He was ready to set the world, if not the bread, on fire.

2020 was the year of change. No matter if you commute to your workplace or work from home, the circumstances and the way you do your work are no longer as they used to be.

There is a revolution coming to quality. Industry 4.0 will touch every aspect of life and industry, with no exception for the quality function. At the heart of the 4.0 revolution is data, a topic with which quality and continuous improvement practiti...

We review methods for monitoring multivariate time-between-events (TBE) data. We present some underlying complexities that have been overlooked in the literature. It is helpful to classify multivariate TBE monitoring applications into two fundamental...

The playing field has changed fundamentally for modern quality professionals. As part of our continuous improvement mantra, it is imperative that quality professionals step back and reframe their current and future roles in organizations.  To...

Newly released products and tools.

Spatial boundary analysis has attained considerable attention in several disciplines including engineering, shape analysis, spatial statistics, and computer science. The inferential question of interest is often to identify rapid surface change of an...

An effective strategy for the analysis and comparison of profiles is proposed and illustrated with case studies. This useful strategy makes effective use of profile data by using all the data in each individual profile to create two statistics that d...

With all due respect to the COVID-19 vaccines that will (hopefully) return life back to normal later this year, we all know that laughter is the best medicine, right?

Without question, COVID-19 took everyone on a roller-coaster ride in 2020, and continues to create havoc worldwide. Virtually every individual and organization has been affected in some way as the world tries to emerge from this historic crisis. ...

Current events and news for LSSR February 2021.

Full issue PDF for February 2021 Lean & Six Sigma Review.

For many people, COVID-19 has changed the way we work, how we connect with others and how we access opportunities. It also has increased our reliance on technology. So how can you elevate your career growth in this new normal? The author outlines ch...

There is a real and impactful pitfall in simple random sampling when the sampling unit is related but not identical to the proper unit for the parameter of concern. The project leader’s awareness of the pitfall and the coach’s understand...

Businesses or organizations cannot function without data. The mantra today is to collect enormous amounts of data, which is referred to as big data. Big data have led to big analytics. Executives are spending plenty on analytics. By one estimation, ...

QP looks at the lighter side of quality in this comic strip, featuring the always quality-minded character and his circle of friends.

What is Monte Carlo simulation?

The author hopes her story can inspire others to reflect on their own insecurities and use them to forge their own leadership style and their own ways to lead change and influence continuous improvement.

Functional data are fast becoming a preeminent source of information across a wide range of industries. A particularly challenging aspect of functional data is bounding uncertainty. In this unique case study, we present our attempts at creating bound...

This case study describes how one university used lean Six Sigma to improve how it offered online courses.

The best Six Sigma black belt handbook has been fully revised, updated, and expanded. This third edition has been updated to reflect the most recent ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge (BOK), released in 2015.

Member Price: $101.50
List Price: $145.00

The Quality Toolbox is a reference guide offering well-known and less commonly used quality control tools. Buy online at ASQ's bookstore, discounts available!

Member Price: $42.00
List Price: $60.00

This book is primarily meant to aid those taking the ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) exam and is best used in conjunction with The Certified Quality Engineer Handbook .

Member Price: $35.00
List Price: $50.00

Also available as a PDF e-standard. This document provides guidance on auditing management systems, including the principles of auditing, managing an audit programme and conducting management system audits, as well as guidance on the evaluation...

Member Price: $148.00
List Price: $185.00

The purpose of this handbook is to assist individuals taking the Certified Supplier Quality Professional examination and provide a reference for the practitioner.

Member Price: $94.50
List Price: $135.00

This best-seller can help anyone whose role is to try to find specific causes for failures. It provides detailed steps for solving problems, focusing more heavily on the analytical process involved in finding the actual causes of problems. It does...

Member Price: $42.00
List Price: $60.00

Like the previous editions of The Certified Quality Engineer Handbook , this fourth edition is intended to provide the quality professional with a reference book aligned with the ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) Body of Knowledge (BoK). The boo...

Member Price: $101.50
List Price: $145.00

This best-seller can help anyone whose role is to try to find specific causes for failures. It provides detailed steps for solving problems, focusing more heavily on the analytical process involved in finding the actual causes of problems. It doe...

Member Price: $42.00
List Price: $60.00

The ISO 9001 standard specifies requirements for quality management systems. All requirements of ASQ/ANSI/ISO 9001:2015, the American National Standard (ANS) version of ISO 9001, are generic and are intended to be applicable to all organizations.

Member Price: $139.00
List Price: $175.00

Understanding and improving the CAPA system as a whole is the focal point of this book, the only of its kind dealing exclusively with this critical system within highly regulated industries.

Member Price: $42.70
List Price: $61.00

The ISO Lesson Guide translates ISO 9001 into easy-to-understand words. This pocket edition was designed as a quick reference for anyone to carry around conveniently.

Member Price: $16.80
List Price: $24.00

This reference manual is designed to help those interested in passing the ASQ's certification exam for Six Sigma Green Belts and others who want a handy reference to the appropriate materials needed to conduct successful Green Belt projects.

Member Price: $94.50
List Price: $135.00

Six Sigma Green Belts need support in applying new skills after training, yet there is little research about how this works and even less advice about what support looks like in the field. This book is that missing link in providing coaching tips to ...

Member Price: $15.00
List Price: $15.00

This book is based on several years study of the nine Baldrige Award winners from health care. It describes how these organizations approached their “Baldrige journey” and what other health care leaders should do to reap similar benefits.

Member Price: $10.00
List Price: $10.00

Implementing ISO/IEC 17025:2005 is a book that gives a roadmap for organizations to receive/maintain accreditation for their laboratories. Buy ASQ for savings!

Member Price: $10.00
List Price: $10.00

Innovation management can provide a competitive edge in the business world, and research shows a major correlation between profitability and innovation. The challenge, however, is how to integrate innovation management with quality management. Enter ...

Member Price: $42.00
List Price: $60.00

Transformational Leadership is an e-book to guide organizational transformation, while delivering breakthrough results. Shop ASQ's bookstore for discounts!

Member Price: $15.00
List Price: $15.00

This book is written to address the most detailed level of the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence (CPE) — the 42 Areas to Address. It is organized into five parts and is designed to help leaders and organization architects understand: (1...

Member Price: $10.00
List Price: $10.00

There are many occasions when a project leader will preside over a team meeting that ends up falling short of the desired outcomes. Entering a room full of people who are expecting you to guide them to results can be a source of tremendous pressure, ...

Member Price: $28.00
List Price: $40.00

This is a book for principals, and it should also prove helpful to school leaders in central office or at the building level. The authors wrote it to build knowledge and give support to these principals because their experience shows that the Baldri...

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Ellis Ott taught generations of quality practitioners to be explorers of the truth through the collection and graphical portrayal of data. From a simple plea to "plot the data" to devising a graphical analytical tool called the analysis of means (AN...

Member Price: $25.00
List Price: $25.00

Statistical Process Control is a guide that helps practitioners understand & apply different SPC tools in a company regulated by the FDA. Shop ASQ for savings!

Member Price: $15.00
List Price: $15.00

Making Change Work is designed to help organizations prepare for and successfully implement change. This resource provides tools to measure your organization's readiness to change while effectively increasing performance.

Member Price: $10.00
List Price: $10.00

The AS9100C, AS9110 & AS9120 Handbook discusses of each of the 3 standards’ clauses, & suggests best practices to comply with them. Shop ASQ for discounts!

Member Price: $15.00
List Price: $15.00

Organizations face many ongoing challenges, which can lead to restructuring— an expensive, disruptive solution that doesn’t always offer successful outcomes or better results. As a business leader in a competitive environment, you must fi...

Member Price: $21.00
List Price: $30.00

In today’s uncertain times, risk has become the biggest part of management. Risk management is central to the science of prediction and decision-making; holistic and scientific risk management creates resilient organizations, which survive and ...

Member Price: $31.50
List Price: $45.00

Søren Bisgaard was an extremely productive and insightful scholar of modern industrial statistics and quality engineering. He was amazing for both his breadth of interests and the depth of his scholarship. Søren was one of the very few people making ...

Member Price: $25.00
List Price: $25.00

In today’s uncertain times, risk has become the biggest part of management. Risk management is central to the science of prediction and decision-making; holistic and scientific risk management creates resilient organizations, which survive and ...

Member Price: $31.50
List Price: $45.00

This training guide represents one way to look at the Baldrige criteria and use them to improve classroom systems. It is designed for classroom teachers at all levels as well as teachers in training. The approach described here has proven helpful to ...

Member Price: $15.00
List Price: $15.00

The Executive Guide to Understanding and Implementing Baldrige in Healthcare shows how to improve healthcare organization faster. Shop ASQ for discounts!

Member Price: $10.00
List Price: $10.00

This book is written to address the most detailed level of the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence — the 43 Areas to Address. I t is organized into five parts and is designed to help leaders and organization architects understand:...

Member Price: $10.00
List Price: $10.00

This book is intended for small business owners and non-engineers such as researchers, business analysts, project managers, small non-profits, community groups, religious organizations, and others who want an assessment tool that can provide methods ...

Member Price: $10.00
List Price: $10.00

Organizations face many ongoing challenges, which can lead to restructuring— an expensive, disruptive solution that doesn’t always offer successful outcomes or better results. As a business leader in a competitive environment, you must fi...

Member Price: $21.00
List Price: $30.00

There are many occasions when a project leader will preside over a team meeting that ends up falling short of the desired outcomes. Entering a room full of people who are expecting you to guide them to results can be a source of tremendous pressure, ...

Member Price: $28.00
List Price: $40.00

Using ISO 9001 in Healthcare, Second Edition is a guide that outlines the methods of ISO 9001:2008 as a management system. Shop ASQ for discounts!

Member Price: $10.00
List Price: $10.00

Six Sigma Green Belts need support in applying new skills after training, yet there is little research about how this works and even less advice about what support looks like in the field. This book is that missing link in providing coaching tips to ...

Member Price: $15.00
List Price: $15.00

ASQ offers member discounts on Ellis Ott's latest edition of Process Quality Control. If you are a dedicated statistical engineer looking to expand your knowledge, then this detailed resource is designed for you.

Member Price: $25.00
List Price: $25.00

The primary purpose of this book is to enable you to implement a strategic KM program in your business and derive business results from it. The contents of this book are relevant to any business—manufacturing or service, and also in education, not-fo...

Member Price: $10.00
List Price: $10.00

The book is provides a road map to help healthcare professionals establish a culture of patient safety in their practices, provide high quality healthcare and increase patient & staff satisfaction through communication between medical staff and patie...

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List Price: $10.00

**Updated for Minitab 18: more tools, improved graphics** This  guide explains Lean Six Sigma in a down-to-earth and practical format, and provides detailed Minitab instructions and screenshots throughout. Now in its 5th edition, with&nb...

Member Price: $48.99
List Price: $69.99

Customers demand and expect nothing less than great service, but try to get ten employees to agree on what great service means and you’ll find the definition to be elusive. Even though few of us personally make widgets, most change management and qua...

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List Price: $15.00