Publisher's Synopsis
There is a growing interest in the organizational and people issues in manufacturing throughout the world - quality matters - and the emphasis is on greater customer choice.;"Agile Manufacturing" represents a leap forward in manufacturing that will enable the West to gain a real competitive advantage over the Japanese. However, the term is often regarded as synonymous to either Lean Production, Flexible Manufacturing or CIM. This book sets out to define "Agile Manufacturing" and to dispel the mistaken beliefs that surround it. The book analyzes how our traditions, conventions, values and beliefs, based on outdated ideas and philosophies, block the path to achieving "Agile Manufacturing". The book then maps the way forward by showing how a revolutionary approach is needed to designing and implementing manufacturing systems, technologies and organizations, where the emphasis is on levering the skills and knowledge of people in the organization.
