Customer Reviews

The Technology Machine: How Manufacturing Will Work in the Year 2020

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It took me a while, but I just finished The Technology Machine by Moody and Morley, and I'm sad to say that it is a poor vehicle to spread their valuable message to the world of manufacturing. Let me say at the outset that I am not an engineer, but I'm no dummy, either. I bought the book based on an intriguing review in upside (or Red Herring - one of those tech magazines).

The Good News: Some good points are made in the book about the power of approaching complex logistical production problems with the use of properly designed software "agents", each one of which having the "intelligence of a chicken" but en masse creating an environment where behavior capable of handling complex issues efficiently emerges. A powerful idea, to be sure.

The Bad news: The message gets lost in the noise of a very poorly written book - the conversational style used is way too casual for a subject this serious. It's as if this were published by a vanity press - was there no editor? Typos abound (mislabeling GM Paint Shop as GE Paint Shop on page 225, or "...president of Nypro Corporate Inc. of Nypro, a company..." - page 237 are but two examples) and the grammer is atrocious - like the rantings of an angry curmudgeon. There is way too much "consultant-speak" in the beginning of the book, and towards the end it seems to lose focus. As a result, the strength of the message is quite diluted.

I have no doubt that the authors are very smart people and that they have contributed immensely to the world of manufacturing, but in my opinion this book does them a disservice and much of the value of their message is lost.

Patricia A. Moody and Richard E. Morley take a fascinating trip into the future, the not-too distant future, by exploring what manufacturing and product delivery to consumers will look like in the year 2020. By discussing past and current advances, the authors articulately present convincing arguments for their ideas with great zest. Don't worry, you won't find impenetrable technological prose here, quite the contrary. Instead, you'll find visions of point-of-consumption manufacturing, small work groups made up of people who live near their job sites and biotechnology that enables customized creation of replacement body parts. Gene Bylinsky of Fortune magazine calls this well-received volume, "a beautifully written, insightful and important new book... your best guide to success" in the 21st century. We at getAbstract recommend this book to forward-looking managers who understand that, even in the complex future, the main rule will be: Keep it simple.

The Technology Machine is more than forecast; it is a roadmap to 21st century manufacturing practice. Grounded in a traditional industrial work ethic and motivated by the maverick career of inventor and entrepreneur Dick Morley, the authors paint a powerful picture of 21st century manufacturing practice. The achievements of individuals whose "smartness, values, supreme technical mastery, and constant innovation" foretell a new era of manufacturing while telling a compelling story. Bill Fulkerson, Technical Consultant, Deere & Company

I am too, very interested in predictions about how the manufacturing will be in not 2020 but even in year 2010. With his impressive credentials Mr. Morley could be one of the best persons I would look up to. Oh boy, was I wrong? As another reader put properly, all you hear is "look how good I am. By the way, do you know who my co-author's father is?". Yes, there are few good ideas sprinkled all over the book. 127 wild card predictions authors make for future are wild speculations. To mention few, they predict that a disposable, pasted toothbrush will be available. You don't have to wait any longer, stay in Hampton Inn you can have one today. They say, PLC's will be here in twenty years from now, of course PLC is Mr. Morley's baby. And, programmers will be gone too. Who am I to disagree? but, I bet you for a cup of coffee PLC will be reduced to an embedded processor and will be in all appliances and tools, of course that is if PLC was a computer. You say, what about Programmers? Well , with all embedded processor and larger computers around, who do you think will do the interfacing? Interfacing is, even today, the biggest problam with ERP implementations. You need human programmers to do that. Computers will not run the humans, humans will run the compuiters. This book is at its best a poorly written science fiction. A huge disappointment coming from a legend like Mr. Morley.

Whether you love him or you hate him Richard Morely is the kind of writer who is hard to forget. The 127 wild card predictions in chapter 2 cover the price of the book. This book covers deals not just with the technology of manufacturing but the social process which will have to accompany these changes. There will be a new world order and Engineering Breakthroughs will lead the way...

A very worthwile read on how we move from a data based technology through information, knowledge and onto wisdom. I think the authors assesment of the relationship between ethics and information is must reading for anyone in the industry.

This book talks about the year 2020, but uses examples from today. It reads fast--like a seminar, and inspires thought--which is Dick's trademark. All we need now is a hyperlink version to jump from example to company to theory and back to the machine again.

Scientists say that string theory is a bit of 21st Century science accidently discovered in the 20th. Many think the same is true of the science of complexity theory.

Not these authors. Strip out the mystique and stick it on the factory floor - this pair will show you how some enlightened thinking can be put to work for you.

I do not make anything myself, I am in finance. But we have to VALUE companies and that imperfect art means knowing how things are made.

Have a piece of the 21st Century today and read this book.

Christopher MAY - author Nonlinear Pricing

The fact is, if you're in manufacturing, when Dick Morley speaks, you have to listen. He's got a sharp mind and an unusual style, but more gems come out of his mouth than anyone else in the industry. The Technology Machine's view into the future is well worth the read, by managers and technologists, alike. I'm hoping for a follow on that takes an even more in-depth look at some of the technology and how it will play out in the next decade or two.

While there are slow spots the book is easy to read and the insights are "spot on". If we look back over the past 18 months we clearly see that technology and computers are the key to improved productivity and are the basis for collecting data and turning it into information. Information is our competative edge and will continue to provide our product and service suppliers the tools they need to continue their success.