The Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Handbook: Tools and Methods for Process Acceleration
Frank Voehlserves as the director of process improvement for Nova Southeastern University, as chairman and president of Strategy Associates, Inc., and as a senior consultant and chancellor for the Harrington Institute. He is also chairman of the board for a number of businesses and is a Grand Master Black Belt instructor and technology advisor at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. He is recognized as one of the world leaders in applying quality measurement and Lean Six Sigma methodologies to business processes.Voehl has extensive knowledge of NRC, FDA, GMP, and NASA quality system requirements. He is an expert in ISO 9000, QS 9000/14000/18000, and integrated Lean Six Sigma quality system standards and processes. He has degrees from St. John’s University and advanced studies at New York University, as well as an honorary doctor of divinity degree. Since 1986, he has been responsible for overseeing the implementation of quality management systems with organizations in such diverse industries as telecommunications and utilities, federal, state, and local government agencies, public administration and safety, pharmaceuticals, insurance/banking, manufacturing, and institutes of higher learning. In 2002, he joined the Harrington Group as the chief operating officer and executive vice president. He has held executive management positions with Florida Power and Light and FPL Group, where he was the founding general manager and COO of QualTec Quality Services for seven years. He has written and published/co-published over 35 books and hundreds of technical papers on business management, quality improvement, change management, knowledge management, logistics, and team building, and has received numerous awards for community leadership, service to the third world countries, and student mentoring.The Bahamas National Quality Award was developed in 1991 by Voehl to recognize the many contributions of companies in the Caribbean region, and he is an honorary member of its Board of Judges. In 1980, the city of Yonkers, New York, declared March 7 Frank Voehl Day, honoring him for his many contributions on behalf of thousands of youth in the city where he lived, performed volunteer work, and served as athletic director and coach of the Yonkers-Pelton Basketball Association. In 1985 he was named Father of the Year in Broward County, Florida. He also serves as president of the Miami Archdiocesan Council of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, whose mission is to serve the poor and needy throughout South Florida and the world.Frank’s contributions to quality improvement around the world have brought him many honors and awards, including ASQ’s Distinguished Service Medal, the Caribbean Center for Excellence Founders Award, the Community Quality Distinguished Service Award, the Czech Republic Outstanding Service Award on behalf of its business community leaders, FPL’s Pioneer Lead Facilitator Award, the Florida SFMA Partners in Productivity Award, and many others. He was appointed the honorary advisor to the Bahamas Quality Control Association, and he was elected to the Eastern Europe Quality Hall of Fame. He was also named honorary director of the Association Venezuela de Control de Calidad by Banco Consolidado.Dr. H. James Harrington:In the bookTech Trending, Dr. Harrington was referred to as "the quintessential tech trender." TheNew York Timesnoted his "knack for synthesis and an open mind about packaging his knowledge and experience in new ways—characteristics that may matter more as prerequisites for new economy success than technical wizardry." The author Tom Peters stated, "I fervently hope that Harrington’s readers will not only benefit from the thoroughness of his effort but will also ‘smell’ the fundamental nature of the challenge for change that he mounts." William Clinton, past president of the United States, appointed Dr. Harrington to serve as an Ambassador of Good Will. It has been said about him, "He writes the books that other consultants use."Harrington Institute was featured on a half-hour TV program,Heartbeat of America, which focuses on outstanding small businesses that make America strong. The host, William Shatner, stated: "You [Dr. Harrington] manage an entrepreneurial company that moves America forward. You are obviously successful."Harrington serves as the chief executive officer for the Harrington Institute and Harrington Middle East. He is also chairman of the board for a number of businesses. Dr. Harrington is recognized as one of the world leaders in applying performance improvement methodologies to business processes. He has an excellent record of coming into an organization, working as its CEO or COO, resulting in a major improvement in its financial and quality performance.In February 2002 Dr. Harrington retired as the COO of Systemcorp A.L.G., the leading supplier of knowledge management and project management software solutions, when Systemcorp was purchased by IBM. Prior to this, he served as a principal and one of the leaders in the Process Innovation Group at Ernst & Young; he retired from Ernst & Young when it was purchased by Cap Gemini. Dr. Harrington joined Ernst & Young when Ernst & Young purchased Harrington, Hurd & Rieker, a consulting firm that Dr. Harrington started. Before that Dr. Harrington was with IBM for over 40 years as a senior engineer and project manager.Dr. Harrington is past chairman and past president of the prestigious International Academy for Quality and of the American Society for Quality Control. He is also an active member of the Global Knowledge Economics Council.Harrington was elected to the honorary level of the International Academy for Quality, which is the highest level of recognition in the quality profession. Harrington is a government-registered quality engineer, a Certified Quality and Reliability Engineer by the American Society for Quality Control, and a Permanent Certified Professional Manager by the Institute of Certified Professional Managers. He is a certified Master Six Sigma Black Belt and received the title of Six Sigma Grand Master. He has an MBA and PhD in engineering management and a BS in electrical engineering.Dr. Harrington’s contributions to performance improvement around the world have brought him many honors. He was appointed the honorary advisor to the China Quality Control Association, and was elected to the Singapore Productivity Hall of Fame in 1990. He has been named lifetime honorary president of the Asia-Pacific Quality Control Organization and honorary director of the Association Chilean de Control de Calidad. In 2006 Dr. Harrington accepted the honorary chairman position of Quality Technology Park of Iran.Harrington has been elected a fellow of the British Quality Control Organization and the American Society for Quality Control. In 2008 he was elected to be an honorary fellow of the Iran Quality Association and Azerbaijan Quality Association. He was also elected an honorary member of the quality societies in Taiwan, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Singapore. He is also listed in the "Who’sWho Worldwide" and "Men of Distinction Worldwide." He has presented hundreds of papers on performance improvement and organizational management structure at the local, state, national, and international levels.Recognition:The Harrington/Ishikawa Medal, presented yearly by the Asian Pacific Quality Organization, was named after H. James Harrington to recognize his many contributions to the region.The Harrington/Neron Medal was named after H. James Harrington in 1997 for his many contributions to the quality movement in Canada.Harrington Best TQM Thesis Award was established in 2004 and named after H. James Harrington by the European Universities Network and e-TQM College.Harrington Chair in Performance Excellence was established in 2005 at the Sudan University.Harrington Excellence Medal was established in 2007 to recognize an individual who uses the quality tools in a superior manner.H. James Harrington Scholarship was established in 2011 by the ASQ Inspection Division.Harrington has received many awards, among them the Benjamin L. Lubelsky Award, the John Delbert Award, the Administrative Applications Division Silver Anniversary Award, and the Inspection Division Gold Medal Award. In 1996, he received the ASQC’s Lancaster Award in recognition of his international activities. In 2001 he received the Magnolia Award in recognition for the many contributions he has made in improving quality in China. In 2002 Harrington was selected by the European Literati Club to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Literati Award for Excellence ceremony in London. The award was given to honor his excellent literature contributions to the advancement of quality and organizational performance. Also, in 2002 Harrington was awarded the International Academy of Quality President’s Award in recognition for outstanding global leadership in quality and competitiveness, and contributions to IAQ as Nominations Committee chair, vice president, and chairman. In 2003 Harrington received the Edwards Medal from the American Society for Quality (ASQ). The Edwards Medal is presented to the individual who has demonstrated the most outstanding leadership in the application of modern quality control methods, especially through the organization and administration of such work.In 2004 he received the Distinguished Service Award, which is ASQ’s highest award for service granted by the society. In 2008 Dr. Harrington was awarded the Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award (UAE) in recognition of his superior performance as an original Quality and Excellence Guru who helped shape modern quality thinking. In 2009 Harrington was selected as the Professional of the Year. Also in 2009 he received the Hamdan Bin Mohammed e-University Medal. In 2010 the Asian Pacific Quality Association (APQO) a...