World Class Manufacturing

John M. Burnham

CFPIM Regional Vice President, American Production and Inventory Control Society

Richard Schonberger has successfully addressed the next steps in the journey toward becoming world-class manufacturers – issues of holistic view and perspective, effective interfacing among functional areas, and demonstrated results that demolish the arguments that “we’re different” and “it can’t be done.” Each of his chapter topics is logically and persuasively developed. In a word, I wish I had written this book.

Vice President, Defense Systems & Electronics Group, Texas Instruments

“World Class Manufacturing” brings together for the first time all the programs and approaches we at Texas Instruments and other companies have been working toward for the past six years – total quality control, just-in-time manufacturing, statistical process control, manufacturing cells, and, most important, employee involvement. It will be required reading for managers who have marketing, product design, and manufacturing responsibilities.

Richard J. Schonberger is the author of Japanese Manufacturing Techniques. President of the consulting firm of Schonberger & Associates, Inc., in Seattle, Washington, he was formerly George Cook Professor of Management at the University of Nebraska. He is a world-renowned authority on production and manufacturing.