Customer Reviews

Optimizing Factory Performance: Cost-Effective Ways to Achieve Significant and Sustainable Improvement

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Professor James Ignizio's book (Optimizing Factory Performance) may receive mixed reviews from its readers. Those who might insist that such methods as Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Theory of Constraints, or Reengineering are infallible, have an unlimited scope, and may be applied in isolation (e.g., with little regard to the politics and culture of the organization and/or in lieu of an appreciation of the scientific foundation of production line performance) may find the book unnerving if not controversial. As Ignizio points out, while such methods as Lean, Six Sigma, and ToC provide a means to achieve significant improvement in factory performance, they are not a panacea and they represent but one part of the achievement of any sustainable results. Such methods must be applied to the right problem, in the right manner, by those with the right training - and having an appreciation of both their scope and limitations.

Those who seek a practical, yet scientifically-based means to improve factory (or supply chain) performance will, on the other hand, likely be delighted. As Professor Bill Biles (University of Louisville) cites in his Foreword to Ignizio's book, Optimizing Factory Performance "provides a major step forward in establishing a science of manufacturing systems." Biles goes on to say that "[Ignizio] advances the science of manufacturing systems in ways no other author has even attempted." Having read the book, and as someone aware of the significant results of its pragmatic approach, I could not agree more.

The first part of the book (Chapters 1 through 8) provides the foundation for the understanding of the operation of production lines and the causes of degraded performance. Ignizio insists that it is imperative to isolate and remove the causes of problems - rather than simply attempt to sooth their symptoms. He provides a number of original approaches in support of this goal. Of particular importance is his introduction of factory performance metrics that provide a means to objectively evaluate and compare factory performance - and normalized to account for changes in factory loading as well as being appropriate for non-traditional factories (e.g., reentrant production lines such as employed in semiconductor fabs). Chapter 2 of the book, an accounting of the history of manufacturing, is in itself worth the price of the text.

The second half of the book (Chapters 9 through 15) covers methods to deal with the three obstacles to factory performance (i.e., complexity, variability, and lackluster leadership). These methods are accompanied by illustrative examples. Whether the reader is a college student, university professor, factory engineer, or a manager within a factory setting, the book provides an understanding of production lines that has not been seen heretofore. Ignizio's book should, in particular, be required reading for the managers who have a serious interest in understanding and dealing with the actual running of a real world factory.

As someone who has witnessed, first-hand, the successful results of the implementation of the basic approach and many of the concepts covered in Ignizio's book, I would strongly encourage its adoption in both industry and academia. An approach that couples the politics, art, and science of manufacturing is unique and, for the most part, missing from either university courses or industrial training courses. Ignizio's book rectifies that omission.

Ignizio provides a clear and comprehensive overview of production lines and the causes of performance degradation. He avoids the hyperbole found in some books and, instead, focuses on the means necessary to describe, measure, and provide significant and sustainable factory performance. Clearly Ignizio has experience working in a factory and providing him an appreciation of what it takes to run an actual production line.

Accompanying each chapter of the book is an ongoing story of a fictional manufacturing firm, the Muddle Corporation. This novelette alone is worth the price of the book. Anyone who has worked in any organization will recognize the types of characters and situations introduced in these stories. Each tale serves to reinforce the ideas in the main body of the text and to indicate the crucial impact of a firm's culture and politics on the success or failure of any type of effort to improve factory performance. Frankly, the book deserves six stars.

Prof. James Ignizio presents in this book a substantive, objective, and scientific basis to understand factory performance and operation. The author cumulative experience on manufacturing management, besides his academic background, allows him to present this excellent book for students in Engineering, science and business programs. The book shows the importance of real-world problems to understand factory dynamics and how to tackle with these problems by developing proper manufacturing strategies and tactics. Congratulations on a great book.

This book is very well written and covers important subjects comprehensively in factory optimization. The author knows what he is talking about - obviously has spent time inside factories as opposed to just sitting in an ivory tower office. Managers, of all types, should be encouraged to read the book. Excellent book to learn and follow.

In this book you will learn the difference between knowing how to hit a good shot and how to win a golf tournament. Tiger Woods is the best golfer in the world. However, there are some golfers who the hit the ball farther, who chip the ball better, who can bend the ball one way or the other, but no one can utilize all the tools in the golf bag the way Tiger does. The same can be said for optimizing factory performance. In this book you will be shown how to utilize all the tools in the bag to make the factory run at peak performace.

Over the last 100 years or so of manufacturing there have been many techniques developed to help factories improve performance. The problem is most companies employ the lastest fad until the next new one comes along and replaces it. What Dr. Ignizio explains in his fascinating book is how to recognize the situation and employ the correct tool for the job. So if a factory has to keep the ball low and fly over water to get to the green there are ways to achieve that. If a factory is trying to complete the best round of its life and maximize profits there are tools for that as well.

In short this book is informative and entertaining. If used properly it will propell you to the round of your life or make you wildly successful in optimizing your factory performance.