The Perfect Engine: How to Win in the New Demand Economy by Building to Order with Fewer Resources [Hardcover]

Patricia E. Moody (Author), Anand Sharma (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 16, 2001

Most manufacturing companies with batch-and-queue 'push' production systems have been blindsided by today's consumer who expects quality products and services delivered on demand and customized to individual taste. In The Perfect Engine, manufacturing experts Anand Sharma and Patricia E. Moody describe for the first time how leading 'pull' production pioneers build to order by reducing inventory, decreasing cycle time, minimizing floor space, and eliminating waste. Drawing on scores of examples and detailed case studies of three leaders in the demand economy field -- Maytag, Pella, and Mercedes-Benz -- Sharma and Moody demonstrate how these companies achieved astonishing results using the pathbreaking Lean Sigma SM Transformation. Combining lean production and quality elements from the famous Six Sigma process, Lean Sigma produces annual productivity gains of 15 percent to 20 percent. In addition, the authors show, inventory turns more than quadruple; cycle times drop by more than 70 percent; and floor space reductions of 30 percent to 50 percent are not uncommon. Sharma and Moody provide immensely readable explanations of key technical aspects of the process--for example, how cell-based one-piece flow can replace batch-and-queue with dramatically improved lead times and inventory turnover. A chapter on a revolutionary design technique the authors call Design for Lean Sigma or 3P (product and production preparation) shows how to build flexibility into the product design and the production systems at very low risk, which will be especially helpful when forecasts and customer orders deviate from original projections, as they usually do. Further, the Design for Lean Sigma method is devised to produce profitability at short-term volume projections, which makes it a perfect tool for the new demand economy. Essential, timely, and important, The Perfect Engine is perfect reading for this new manufacturing era.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Long on jargon but short on tangible examples and "how-to" advice, consultants Sharma and Moody try to explain how to increase efficiency in manufacturing companies. Building on Six Sigma, the quality control program used by GE among other companies, and on Japanese just-in-time manufacturing techniques, the authors try to explain how to make more products in less time with fewer resources. Ironically, the information isn't delivered efficiently at all.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Every new management scheme needs a book to push it into acceptance. Here, two experienced manufacturing consultants try their hand at developing the next "big thing" for transforming business. Their process, a variation of the well-known Six Sigma , is called "lean sigma." It is aimed at managers who have been through other transformation schemes and clearly focuses on helping manufacturing companies develop lean, efficient production using continuous improvement. This system emphasizes ergonomics and safety more than others (TQM, PPBS, re-engineering, or whatever). Still, like most systems, it is more than a little simplistic. Many Japanese management terms are used but not defined until later in the text. There are over 70 graphs and charts, but many are poorly explained or not linked to the topic on the page where they appear. Like so many of these systems, lean sigma has some good points, but it is being oversold. At least these authors expressly state that it will fail (as all will fail) without management commitment, discipline, and focus. Not a priority purchase, but public and academic libraries will not be totally wasting their scarce dollars if they buy a copy based on a patron request. Patrick J. Brunet, Western Wisconsin Technical Coll., La Crosse
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (October 16, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 074320381X
• ISBN-13: 978-0743203814
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,731,314 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book is good to a Introductary level of Lean manufacturing, March 29, 2008

By 

Kim Il Kwon "kogomo" (South Korea) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Perfect Engine: How to Win in the New Demand Economy by Building to Order with Fewer Resources (Hardcover)

I would like to recommend that people who read this book try to get "Running Today's Facotry - Charles Standard & Dale Davis" in depth.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strong Case for Lean, November 7, 2001

By 

Bob Koople (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Perfect Engine: How to Win in the New Demand Economy by Building to Order with Fewer Resources (Hardcover)

This is a very strong case for lean. There are plenty of old economy examples to provide real world validation, as opposed to all of the high tech fluff books that are out there. I recommend this to anyone in manufacturing or services as a bible to reinvent your company's operating strategy.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Makes the case for Lean, find the details elsewhere, December 12, 2004

By 

Robert A. Drensek (Huntsville, AL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Perfect Engine: How to Win in the New Demand Economy by Building to Order with Fewer Resources (Hardcover)

I have been involved in a lean transformation for 5 years and 6 sigma for 3 years. I'm a trained kaizen facilitator and 6 sigma black belt, just background for my review.

Having read the book, I found it is a sound introductory read for those looking to understand how lean and 6 sigma can transform a business. The target audience for this is managers and executive contemplating initiating this process.

The authors do a great job of providing war stories of successes within thier client base. They present the basics of the tools involved. They explain what is expected of management to make an implementation successful.

If you are loooking for the details on how to get it done, I'd go to other books (anything by Shingo, or go to Productivity Press). As with many consultant books, this has the feel of a marketing tool to promote their consultancy. TBM is regarded and one of the best if not the best in "Lean" in this country.

Things that Anand pointed out, but some one with little experience may not pick up on are:
*Continuous improvement is a journey and not a destination
*Senior management MUST be directly involved for success
*Use the gains to grow the business
*Standard work IS the discipline in the process
*Everything must be looked at from the customer's perspective

These may not be new or exciting, but very true and often difficult maintain. I liked the book. I did not get out of it what I expected (more detail and insight), but I learned a few things. I can recommend the book as a starter book for some one to gain an insight on what it takes and at a high level how it works.