Hello everyone: I would like to put together a list of books that read like novels / stories and are about Quality / Mfg. Very good books based on true cases would be great as well.

The only examples I can think of right now are the books by E.M. Goldratt (The Goal, Critical Chain) though I know I used to have a book that had great example stories, one for each chapter on how some company overcame something using certain quality concepts and tools.

As much as I love my profession reading a quality text book can be akin to taking a couple sleeping pills. I would like to share these books with Supervisors, Engineers, logistics, even finance.

Cheers and Thanks! If I put a list together of the posts I'll post it here to share with everyone.

Jen

I know our plant manager bought a book (and the accompanying books-on-CD) called "Fast Track to Waste-Free Manufacturing"...I don't know if this is close enough to quality for you or not. It's primarily about lean, but if I remember correctly there's some good quality info in it as well.

There's also a line of books (probably better suited) by "Productivity Press" - they are not necessarily novel-style, but are quick and easy reads - you don't even have time to fall asleep. There's one for poka-yoke, one for 5S (6C, whatever you want to call it)...there are a few. Google "productivity press" and you may find them....

Hope this helps.

http://www.productivitypress.com

Thanks Rachel: I went there and found this book. Has anyone read it?

Andy & Me: Crisis and Transformation on the Lean Journey
Author: Pascal Dennis
Product Code: 2989
ISBN: 1-56327-298-9
Publisher: Productivity Press
Published: 2005
Pages: 192
Binding Information: Paperback
Availability: In Stock.
Price: $19.95
Qty:


Based on the author's personal experience with Toyota senseis and with companies in the midst of great change, Andy & Me is a business novel set in a failing New Jersey auto plant focusing on the tribulations of Tom Pappas, the plant manager. The situations, characters and plant "politics" will ring true with many readers.

In a cool, readable style, Andy & Me follows Tom's relationship with Andy Saito, a reclusive, retired Toyota guru whom Tom persuades to help save his plant through the "teaching" of legendary Toyota Production System (TPS).

On this journey, the reader learns that TPS is more than just a collection of tools; it entails a new way of thinking and behaving. Though Tom finds success — both in his plant and in his personal life — he learns from Andy that successful improvement is "endless and eternal."

There's a couple that come to mind that relate (at least somewhat) to quality and quality management:

'The Quest'
'Zap: The power of empowerment'
'The Tao of Pooh'

One of my favorites is an oldie but goodie ..... "The Goal"

I recommend:

Six Sigma for Managers by Greg Brue
Design for Six Sigma by Greg Brue (and someone else)
Beyond Six Sigma by Ron Basu and N. Wright

The Six Sigma book is a bit technical, but very easy to read. YOu can actually get a lot out of reading just the boxed off highlights that appear every couple of pages.

--QG

One of my favorites in today's ever changing environment is: Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, Kenneth H. Blanchard.

In-fact I'm (as a new guy on the block in a faciltiy that had NO quality leadership previously) ordering this one for one of my lead inspectors who is struggling with change. Not that she objects to the changes, but she feels insecure and unsure of herself moving into previously unchartered waters.

I like All I Need to Know About Manufacturing I Learned in Joe's Garage.

It's short, so not intimidating to get started on and reads like Goldratt's stuff, except the entire book is based around building shelves in a garage, so anyone can relate. (I find that some of Goldratt's books are a little much for some production supervisors, since they require a fair amount of knowledge of marketing, production control, project management going in).

One of my favorites in today's ever changing environment is: Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, Kenneth H. Blanchard.

In-fact I'm (as a new guy on the block in a faciltiy that had NO quality leadership previously) ordering this one for one of my lead inspectors who is struggling with change. Not that she objects to the changes, but she feels insecure and unsure of herself moving into previously unchartered waters.

You may also want to order Fish! : A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results. I actually enjoyed it on CD. It's an awesome book about staying positive and dealing with change. I even got my husband to listen to it.

On a rather deeper note, Robert Pirsig's "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance" contains some timeless wisdom.
Or, "Maverick", by Ricardo Semler.
Or "The Soul of a New Machine" by Tracy Kidder.
Or, "In Search of Excellence" by Peters and Watreman still has some timeless advice.

Recently on the Cove, I also cited "Xerox - American Samurai" by Jacobson & Hillkirk as another with pertinent advice.

But, there are countless others.

Happy reading.

Agree with JMP I like All I Need to Know About Manufacturing I Learned in Joe's Garage is a simple really quick read. It teaches lean concepts in laymens terms.

I just picked up Nan's Arsonist a six sigma mystery by Robert Barry. Just started it but it is an interesting novel about using 6 sigma tools to solve a mystery in a hospital setting.

"In Search of Excellence" by Peters and Watreman still has some timeless advice.


Although this book was written 23 years ago, "In Search of Excellence" is still a very interesting and useful book. It provides some good insights into work place cultural issues and motivation. It is clearly written and is quite easy to understand.

Also, "The Coporation" by Joel Bakan is enlightening (if not a little disturbing).

There is a new book published by the Lean Enterprise Institute called "The Gold Mine". Jim Womack speaks highly of it.

Thanks for the reccomendation on the Six Sigma mystery. I'm starting my training next week and am very excited.

I'm currently reading Zapp! The lightning of Empowerment to be followed up on Heroz Empower yourself, Your coworkers, your company. Any opinions on these? I don't mind the fantasy type setting and think even though the concepts are basic this book is a very good reminder if you have forgotten these basics.

I read ...Joe's Garage and liked that as well.

Cheers,

Jen

Quality Without Tears: The Art of Hassle-Free Management by Philip Crosby includes a cute little spin on "A Christmas Carol". Here's a summary from an Amazon.com review:

In "A Quality Carol," Emory Spellman falls asleep on a bus. A spirit appears and takes him to see his deceased partner. The partner is repairing thousands of defective items that their company has made.

This is punishment ...

"... For being the cause of the hassle other people had to live with. For not preventing these things by being interested in quality."

The apparition warns:

"All these years, you have treated quality like something you could take in or take out. Well, unless you change your ways, you are going to wind up right next to me, forever and ever, twenty-four hours a day. No time off, no visitors, no meetings ---- just all the problems you ever caused."

Predictably, three more visitors appear.

Quality Past is a former college professor who wants to retract something he had taught Emory. The misinformed lesson was to cut corners on quality.

Quality Present appears as a woman who tries to sell him on the quality vaccine. Failing in that, she brings Emory's customers to him through a television screen. One after another comes into view with a litany of complaints about the company's products and services.

When Quality Future enters, Emory finally sees the light. The final and most portentous visitor is a "severe looking person carrying a briefcase and dressed in a black three-piece suit." He has just bought the company from a bankruptcy court.

I'm currently reading Zapp! The lightning of Empowerment to be followed up on Heroz Empower yourself, Your coworkers, your company. Any opinions on these?
I just finished reading Zapp! after seeing it mentioned in this thread last week. I'd seen the book before, but had avoided it because of the cheesy foiled cover and the fantasy component of the story.
Now, I kind of regret having passed on it. Zapp! really is a fun little book. It has more depth than you would expect in such a slim book. It doesn't just tell you to be nice to employees or seek feedback from employees, it tells you how setting objectives, providing training, and improving quality can benefit a business - and outlines the role for managers in doing this. A pretty good non-technical reference for companies implementing a quality program like ISO 9001:2000.