TQM, Reengineering,
Theory of Constraints, JIT,
Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing . . .
These are just some of the methods that, over
the past five decades, have promised to transform
any manufacturing firm into a lean, mean, moneymaking
machine. While each incorporates certain
fundamental truths, strengths, and benefits, they
are not panaceas. Nor do they necessarily provide
much-needed insight into the science that underlies
factory performance.
James Ignizio, Ph.D., an internationally recognized
performance optimization expert, believes
that only a balanced approach will provide the
significant and sustainable improvement required
of firms who will survive and prosper in the
twenty-first century.
In this breakthrough guide, Dr. Ignizio picks up
where such concepts as Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing
leave off to provide you with a holistic,
three-dimensional approach to mastering the art
and science of manufacturing.
Focusing on the three primary enemies
of factory performance—complexity, variability,
and lackluster leadership—Optimizing Factory
Performance cuts to the heart of the problem of
less-than-world-class performance and demonstrates
how those enemies manifest themselves in
companies across manufacturing sectors. Ignizio
also explores the insidious effect company politics
and flagging commitment to manufacturing performance
have on competitiveness.
Emphasizing the all-important, often overlooked
third dimension of manufacturing—factory
protocols—Ignizio describes the types of strategicand tactical changes to physical plant and operating
procedures any company can make to achieve
performance improvements. In addition, he arms you
with powerful, original metrics for measuring and
comparing factory performance, as well as a set of
interactive simulation models, available online at
www.mhprofessional.com/ignizio.
Running throughout the book is an often
amusing, always instructive account of the fictional
high-tech firm, Muddle, Inc., which helps support
the concepts discussed in the real world of manufacturing,
while reinforcing key lessons learned.
Read Optimizing Factory Performance and find
out how to transform your organization into the kind
of fast, agile manufacturer that delivers the right
products to the right customers at the right time—
every time.
