Reinventing the Factory: Productivity Breakthroughs in Manufacturing Today, Vol. 1 [Hardcover]

Roy L. Harmon (Author), Leroy D. Peterson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 6, 1989

This book suggests that we have now the technology and professional knowledge to implement so-called revolutionary concepts that many managers still regard as futuristic. It presents a comprehensive account of the theory and documents more than 50 real-life applications of productivity improvement - from the focused factory to the plant-wide plan.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Gale A. Mendini President, Dumore Corporation Reinventing the Factory is a very useful primer. It presents detailed and interesting case studies on the implementation of the Just-In-Time techniques, covering all problems and opportunities that may arise along the process. For anyone wanting to use either cellular manufacturing or Just-In-Time, this book is a must. -- Review

About the Author

Roy L. Harmon is an independent consultant working exclusively with Andersen Consulting's worldwide manufacturing program. His experience of twenty-five years has included projects in North and South America, East and West Europe, Africa, and Asia. particularly Japan.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (November 6, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0029138612
• ISBN-13: 978-0029138618
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,944,145 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

In the 1970's, manufacturing and warehousing Accenture consultant, Roy Harmon, worked with Yamaha Motors, in Japan, on the design and implementation of company-wide productivity improvement projects that achieved astounding results, doubling productivity. Upon returning to the United States, he began a worldwide campaign to bring the Japanese techniques, with improvements, to the Western world. Starting with Germany's Siemens, and followed by many of the largest companies in the world, Harmon traveled extensively in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, heading productivity improvement projects and training the Accenture consulting firm's personnel in the methods he used. At the time of his retirement, 2,000 Accenture consultants were specializing in his techniques, around the globe.

In 1989, Roy decided to leave a legacy of his lifetime experience and began to capture it in a series of four books. The first two were translated into German and published by Campus Verlag as "Die neue Fabrik"and "Das Management der Neuen Fabrik". His last two books, "Reinventing the Warehouse" and "Reinventing the Business", published by The Free Press, are among the titles that have been translated into several languages including, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, and Korean.

In 2008, MakotoTakayanagi-san asked me to assist in the preparation of the English translation and publication of his book. I began the initial editing and subsequently writing some original materials such as the book's glossary and index and a new beginning entitled, "Management Perspective". I didn't dream that my work on the book, and its publication and promotion, would span a year between the start of editing and culminating with its publication. The book, "Supplier to Worldwide Toyota Factories: Made in Japan", published by WingSpan Press in 2009, appears on over 100 websites of 27 countries.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A self-help book for the factory, May 17, 2000

By 

bernie "webviator" (Arlington, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Reinventing the Factory: Productivity Breakthroughts in Manufacturing Today (Paperback)

Now I get tired of everyone thinking that they know better or have a new formula for breaking the bank. I also get tired of mamby pamby, touchy feely management books. Therefore, you can imagine what I thought of this book from the title.

Upon reading this book, you find that it is not the fact that it is revolutionary, but that it points out the logic that was already there. It was simple to apply. We are using it where I work and the book helps in many ways. As the product quantity or type changes, all the production facilities are on wheels and we just move the work areas into different small sub-plants. There is no wasted resource and we even recovered some free space. Our parent company cannot keep up with us, as they are compartmentalized and static. However, they stay out of our way, as we are the most profitable location.