Factory Physics

The book covers almost all the topics needed to know what happens in a factory (what to do and what not to do). The Factory Physics part of the book introduces common models that build intuition and help expecting outputs; not all models should be taken at face value, but they do help in understanding how things are going.

This book provides you with the fundamental insights of manufacturing and assembly. Even though I do not like statistics to much, the book is written in a understandable manner and provides the fundamental knowledge to understand what is going on in manufacturing. Based on this knowledge, the flaw of MRP-systems are even explained as well as the basics of JIT/Lean. The book provides mainly the hardfacts of this science and for practical people, reading first Quick-Response-Manufacturing (from Rajan Suri) might be the easier way for many of us and gives you the motivation to take a deeper look later on - as provided by Factory Physics. Factory Physics describes not only how to describe a single workstation and the interactions between many of them, than as well the great importance of variability reduction in a production line and how to analyse it. CONWIP-lines, as a mix of push-pull, are a central key in this book and a simple way to analyse the performance of any system is provided by the book. This book, together with Quick-Response-Manufacturing (this book includes important softfactores as well) have changed drastically my way of operational thinking and given me a sense, which system to apply (QRM or JIT/Lean) and why. The insight can even be used for services as well. One central point is the utilisation of a workstation and the knowledge, that the more you reduce variability in arrivals and processing, the higher the utilisation can be - still achieving low lead times. You will find as well important and simple laws helping you out in the daily business (Little's law and queueing theory). As for JIT/Lean, lead time reduction can use the same japanese tools: - SMED: setup-time reduction (lot sizes for reduction in lead time and WIP) - TPM: productive maintenance (higher machine availability and decrease of variability) - ZQC: fool-proof quality inspection for Zero defects (against capacity lost and to decrease variability) All the books mentionned above, have a big advantage over traditional SCM-books: they provide you with a framework how to trim a single chain-element of the supply-chain and therefore how to built the whole supply chain. The operational strategy should be derived from the overall company strategy and with this new insights you can tailor a unique production system that fits your company's goals - or even give you an advantage over your competition. Anyway, it will not make obsolet the importance of having a sound and consistant overall business strategy (for your markets) first! Enjoy reading, Best Regards

This was a required text for my Production and Mgmt course during my undergrad studies as an Industrial and Ops Engineer at the U of Michigan in 2000. Priot to taking the course, I had very little knowledge of how ops research/optiimization tied in with real world settings. Lucky for me, the course was taught by an wonderful, demanding professor who unfortunately had to leave and now is at the U of Cinnatti. Anyway, I was able to gain tremendous understanding of how statistics, queueing theories, game thoeries, and factory mgmt all got tied into one. It was this book that tied all the pieces together and push me forward toward my career path. I continue to use this book as reference and interesting reads in my continued involvement in the Supply Chain areas and optimization areas in the tech industry. This book WILL build a firm foundation for anyone who gives an effort and has an interest in the subject. What you do with the knowledge, is up to you in the future, since many of these concepts take time and experience to apply in the real world.

I have kilos of books on manufacturing and as a long practising and experienced Industrial Engineer, I would ditch 90% of them for "Factory Physics". Why ? For many good reasons; The authors succinctly state the condition of manufacturing in the USA today and its underestimated role in its contribution to the national economy. This condition is mirrored in other industrial economies. But that is just the start; there is the history of manufacturing management that puts its role in perspective; then the authors put the acronyms and fads in their place along with the messiahs and the missions and messages. They sort the wheat from the chaff.The heart of "Factory Physics" is the authors' explanations of the dynamics of factory systems and their interactions; which are logically revealed and well exampled. Further MRPs, JIT / Kanbans are constructively criticised and put into their appropriate roles and functions. No authors have previously so constructively questioned the validity of these programs and techniques and then come up with very logical and applicable alternatives. But more ! In "Factory Physics" are the "Laws" of manufacturing systems; about 20 of them; These are the Laws that govern the 'behaviour' of factories and even the behaviour of the people's that run them. One can see these Laws in evidence in manufacturing plants at any time, anywhere and with any product. The text of "Factory Physics" is a solid foundation for the understanding of manufacturing; the basics; the necessary 'instincts' to build on and the guiding models to synthesise solutions to classic production problems. But above all there are the Laws; that provide a constructive means for effectively analysing and managing manufacturing plants and systems.If there was a prize to be awarded for a spearhead text for a "science of manufacturing" for the new millenium; then Messrs Hopp, Spearman and team should receive it for "Factory Physics". This book must be the standard text for present and future Industrial and Manufacturing Engineers and Plant Managers. Move over Maynard !

Having worked with Spearman and Hopp at Northwestern during the formation of this book, I have been applying it's lessons in practical applications for over 5 years. The lessons learned from this book have provided me an intuition for reacting to and solving problems in manufacturing and business that has withstood the test of time.Now, when a consultant, or a magazine, or my boss proclaims some great new solution, I don't compare the solution to some other proposed solution to try and figure out which is best. I compare all proposed solutions to the fundamental laws of factory physics to see which solution best suits my requirements.The main drawback of the book is that it is a textbook and, as such, will require time to read and understand. On the other hand, the book reads well and is not one mathematical proof after another. The authors have based the book on solid science but have limited the extensive proofs for the appendix.This book is a must-have reference and guide for anyone working in manufacturing or the business of manufacturing.