As a consultant, Kiyoshi Suzaki has helped scores of Fortune 500 clients improve manufacturing operations and get the job done faster, cheaper, better, and safer. Now, in this detailed "operating manual" -- full of more step-by-step applications than any other book available -- Suzaki spells out new options in production and employee resources that can help American industry regain the cutting edge in price, quality, and delivery of products.
A well-known expert in the field, Suzaki begins with the premise that "if it doesn't add value, it's waste" -- a concept devised by Henry Ford and later used by Toyota. He recaps what Toyota identifies as the seven most prominent forms of waste in factories. Most importantly, he meticulously details steps individuals can take to "simplify, combine, and eliminate operations" -- thereby reducing waste, improving quality, and saving money.
Describing in detail the basic techniques culled from Japanese industrial philosophy and procedure, Suzaki shows how small, family-run businesses and billion-dollar American corporations from a wide range of industries -- automotive, electronics, cosmetics, and even defense contractors -- are meeting the manufacturing challenge today -- demolishing the widely held belief that most American manufacturers have become distribution organizations for products manufactured overseas. In addition, he links his methodology with several successful production systems, from Just-In-Time Production, Total Quality Control, Total Productive Maintenance to Computer Integrated Manufacturing. Throughout this practical handbook, he places emphasis squarely on the shop floor and grounds his approach in easy, yet powerful techniques everybody can understand and implement today.
Illustrated with numerous charts and exhibits, The New Manufacturing Challenge shows how to integrate people and techniques to improve the workplace and, thus, strengthen any company's competitiveness in the global marketplace
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1 : Eliminating Waste
Chapter 2 : Back-to-Basics Discipline
Chapter 3 : Meeting Diversified Customer Needs with Quick Setup
Chapter 4 : Developing Flow on the Production Floor
Chapter 5 : Expanding Skills for Increased Flexibility
Chapter 6 : Improving Processes for Productivity Gains
Chapter 7 : Strengthening Our Nerves and Muscles
Chapter 8 : Aiming for Zero Machine Trouble
Chapter 9 : Scheduling a Steady Flow for Better Control
Chapter 10 : Improving with Standards
Chapter 11 : Tying Things Together
Chapter 12 : Redefining the Roles of Conveyors and Transportation
Chapter 13 : Suppliers as Extended Factories
Chapter 15 : Developing Co-Destiny with Employees
Chapter 16 : Eliminating Problems at the Organizational Boundaries
Chapter 17 : People Make It Happen
Chapter 18 : Establishing a Competitive Position
Epilogue : Vision of the Future
Bibliography
Index
