Customer Reviews

All I Need to Know About Manufacturing I Learned in Joe's Garage: World Class Manufacturing Made Simple

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Our company originally bought this book because it was endorsed by Bob Lutz (one of the top business executives in the country), a Business Week writer, and numerous other leaders. We have since bought the book in large quantities because it is the best explanation of how to run a business.

The book explains how to do things simply, with high quality, utilizing effective methods that prevent mistakes. It shows how to get people involved with their own work. It shows how to keep costs (direct costs and indirect costs, such as inventory) low. And it shows how to do things RAPIDLY. Time is money.

The book also has a fantastic glossary and reading list for people who wish to go further in their education. It is a great book. It can change your life, or at least your work life.

Although the title suggests a 'how to' approach to WCM, this 'how NOT to' is a fast read which opens the door (and possibly minds) to the prospect that mass and batch production methods have inherent flaws.

This work is well written and progresses quickly into an interesting scenario anyone working in manufacturing can identify with. Contemporary relationships between departments, workers, and managers are clearly articulated and are accurately described. Management, production control and material management functions are described in great detail, and reflect current operating practices in many organizations, both large and small.

The story is told from the perspective of a Manufacturing Engineer (Sandy) from the fictional Garrett Gear Company, and chronicles efforts to build a set of garage shelves using traditional batch manufacturing techniques. The work team is comprised of volunteers from Garrett Gear and others recruited by 'Joe' (VP of Manufacturing at Garrett). This is also the story of how Sandy is introduced to WCM techniques, aided by his neighbor and counterpart, Ralph Morita of Yamachi Gear (a competitor to Garrett).

This book will have a varying value to readers, depending on their background and position in their organization. There is nothing to be gained by senior or middle management, while first line supervisors may be able to decipher the "how NOT to's" and translate them into "how to's". Both supervisors and shop floor workers can benefit by relating to situations presented and recognizing wastes introduced BY the manufacturing process.

While the book is quick to point out flaws in current mass/batch production techniques, it comes up short in terms of solid solutions that can be implemented by supervisors or workers. The work contains several logical flaws, including comparing the industrial manufacturing environment to a home project, which may be akin to comparing capital costing in terms of a household budget. Others include stabs at unions, traditional production measurements, quality personnel, specific management structures, etc...

The book espouses several 'lean production' techniques, which will be useful to any reader. It contains many simple and easy-to-remember phrases that can be used as idea 'seeds' on the shop floor. The glossary is an EXCELLENT reference which I recommend highly.

In short, I recommend the book for shop floor personnel and first line leaders, but not for the purpose for which it was intended. I recommend the book as part of the cultural change process, which is a precursor to (or perhaps parallels) any WCM/Lean Manufacturing effort. This book will open minds to possibilities that may not have been previously explored in traditionally structured organizations, and may be used best in conjunction with The Day I Learned About Quality in Joe's Garage: High Quality Made Simple, and Manufacturing Beyond Joe's Garage: Value Based Manufacturing (both works by Wm. B. Miller, not yet available).

The electronics industry requires rapid product development, quick turnaround on orders, low inventory and manufacturing costs, and high quality to satisfy customers in the face of cut-throat competition. This book has become our standard tool for building united enthusiatic teams at our company. It is easy to understand, and it conveys all the important strategies and tactics of world class manufacturing. As the president of Dolby says, it is must reading for anybody manufacturing anything. It has made the difference in our company's success, and for the motivation and financial rewards for our employees.

I recently have used this book as part of the "lean production" implementation in our company. (We are a supplier of steel and other metal products to many industries, including automotive and aerospace.) The book was very helpful in clearly describing how to do things like eliminate errors, reduce inventory, and reduce cycle time. It is easy to see how this book has been recommended by so many top people like Bob Lutz and the Boeing Company. It is a great way to learn how to do things better. The business world - and our industry - is becoming more competitive every day, and we have really appreciated a tool like this book to help us improve.

This book is a good short story as well as a great description of how to produce a product in the best way - better, faster, cheaper as the saying goes. Unlike many management books these days, it is not about computer systems. It is actually about management strategy, i.e. how to run the business, and how to communicate that in a way that everybody in a business will understand and buy into. The book also shows how to deploy the strategies into specific world class manufacturing techniques. It has complete, and clear, descriptions of all key world class management tactics. Anybody designing, making, or delivering a product ought to read this book to see how to do the job in the best way.

Simple and fun to read, but full of real ideas. The author gets away from the "janglish" of poka-yoke, TPS, kanban, and lays it all out in plain English through a fictional account of building shelves in Joe's garage. Joe is kind of a...boss, who "volunteers" his workers to build shelves in his garage over a weekend. Each fundamental of modern lean manufacturing is covered through the trials and tribulations of the people trying to get the project done. A good book to distribute to supervisors and shop floor leaders.

This is simply the best book I have ever seen on World Class Manufacturing. It explains the concepts in simple terms, using a short story that anybody can grasp. All the world class concepts are here: jit, error-proofing, rapid build, etc. The book also has a terrific glossary and explanation of world class manufacturing terms. Again,the best I have ever seen. And it has a great reading list for people who want to go into more detail with longer and more technically complex books.

I work for a medical products company. We purchased Joe's Garage on the basis of the endorsements from Mr. Robert Lutz (Chrysler, GM) and MANY other business executives in MANY industries. We have not been disappointed, and I cannot say enough good about this book! It has educated everybody from our company President to assembly technicians. If you want to know how to build high quality products quickly at low cost, you must read this book!

Many books on lean manufacturing today try to over complicate things by adding in a lot of jargon and so called smarts. This book doesn't do that, and the the beauty is the reader really gets to the heart and soul of lean manufacturing with being bogged down by some academic trying to tell you how smart he is about it.

Joe's gets all the major points of the Toyota manufcaturing, and the way it puts in context makes it clear and easy to understand.

The book is a short novel that contrasts the batch and queue production system with the lean one, by means of the "socratic" discussion that the main two characters have working a week-end in the Joe's garage. By the way, the Joe in the title is the batch and queue old fashioned foreman, not one of the main characters.
I found it very useful as a basic book on the lean production subject, and got the best when I re-read the book after a while after having gained a better understanding of lean. The book is short enough to allow a second (and also a third) reading.