Intelligent Manufacturing € March € 1996 € Vol. 2 € No. 3

Manufacturer's Library

Manufacturing Solutions for Consistent Quality and Reliability, by Robert W. Traver, Amacom, 231 pages, Price: TBA, ISBN 0-8144-0271-2

This book is designed to help engineers and non-technical personnel sift through the product problems that crop up on the factory floor every day, and give them tools to track down clues and find lasting solutions. Such help is provided by means of a nine-step program that can be applied to any industrial situation.

The Traver Nine-Step Problem Process

1. Provide Focus

2. Get Close to the Problem

3. Quantify the Ouput

4. Run Multi-Vari Study(ies)

5. Design Experiments

6. Turn the Problem On and Off

7. Optimize

8. Install Process Controls on Key Variables

9. Measure Before and After Results

The Traver Nine-Step Problem Process
1. Provide Focus
2. Get Close to the Problem
3. Quantify the Ouput
4. Run Multi-Vari Study(ies)
5. Design Experiments
6. Turn the Problem On and Off
7. Optimize
8. Install Process Controls on Key Variables
9. Measure Before and After Results

The nine-step approach is based on a key variable isolation, which looks at each quality and reliability problem from the standpoint of patterns of variation, and each successive test in the process brings the investigator closer to a solution. It's a dynamic process that will locate even obscure causes of variability, as well as variability created by unforeseen interaction of materials or manufacturing methods. And because the nine-step problem-solving process can isolate multivariable causes, even the most randomly occurring problems affecting consistent production standards can be found and fixed.

Twenty-one case histories covering a range of manufactured products provide the bulk of the information in the book, and show how the generic nine-step process can be applied successfully in a variety of situations.

20 Keys to Workplace Improvement, by Iwao Kobayashi, Productivity Press, 304 pages, $50, ISBN 1-56327-109-5

This book presents a dynamic system to completely transform a manufacturing business into a world-class operation. The 20 Keys system brings together 20 of the world's top manufacturing improvement approaches, and integrates these individual methods into a closely interrelated system for revolutionizing every aspect of a manufacturing organization.

A scoring system for each key tells managers the scope of the improvements needed and helps tie them to the company's economic goals. The involvement of front line workers helps uncover strengths and weaknesses in current methods, equipment and organization, and sparks their desire to improve. The techniques in this book are designed to enable companies to adapt to an ever-changing economic and competitive environment. Continuous near-term (three years) improvements made in the 20 key areas can result in a less expensive, faster, safer system for producing a higher quality product.

Solving Business Problems with MRP II, by Alan D. Luber, Digital Press, 350 pages, $39.95, ISBN 1-55558-132-3

This book provides managers and end users with practical instruction on how to apply the features of a manufacturing resource planning (MRP II) system to improve customer service, improve quality, improve cash flow, and reduce overhead costs. Each chapter focuses on a specific business problem, and explains the possible causes and solutions provided by MRP II software packages.
The book covers the capabilities required to support multi-plant manufacturing environments. It examines the impact of client/server technology on the new generation of MRP II software packages. The book also studies the trends in functionality and technology.
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