Reinventing the Factory II: Managing the World Class Factory Book

In this successor to the widely acclaimed Reinventing the Factory, productivity expert Roy Harmon expands on the revolutionary concept of "factories-within-a-factory," with examples and techniques drawn from more than 2,000 focused factories on six continents. Challenging current fads such as statistical quality control and outdated versions of computer integrated manufacturing as hopelessly complex, Harmon presents 50 new case examples of such methods as fail-safe product and process quality, empowerment of subplant teams, cross-training, new generation accounting systems, and increasing existing hidden factory capacity. Harmon pays special attention to aggressive capacity investment policy, as well as the necessity for speed in the development and implementation of advanced productivity techniques. Throughout the pipeline, he argues, the unifying goal should be the cooperative, speedy planning and execution of all aspects of production improvements as a foundation for superb customer service. Yesterday's big, complex factories cannot compete with the simplified, independent work teams of today. To stay competitive, Western industry must switch from a "can do" attitude to a "can do better" spirit. Harmon provides a "telltale" checklist to determine the need for factory reorganization. Is manufacturing lead time weeks and months instead of hours and days? Are quantities greater than customer needs? Are lift trucks giving components and materials a plant tour? Harmon offers specific solutions—"keys to success"—that can guarantee up to an 80 or 90 percent rate of improvement in operations. For example: (1) establish specific, ambitious targets for productivity; (2) prioritize opportunities for economic benefit; and (3) promote enthusiastic involvement of middle managers and workers along with the CEO to spur continuous improvement in quality and productivity. "Roy Harmon describes the new techniques that cut right through to the real problem sources with permanent solutions...this book will encourage readers to embark on an effort to improve the enterprise's productivity, and provides helpful insight into what to do and how to do it." —from the Foreword by Leroy D. Peterson, co-author of Reinventing The FactoryRead More