A Factory of One

A Factory of One

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  • Author: Daniel Markovitz
  • Publisher: CRC Press
  • ISBN: 1466512210
  • Category : Business & Economics
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 166

Most business readers have heard of the Lean principles developed for factories a set of tools and ideas that have enabled companies to dramatically boost quality by reducing waste and errors producing more while using less. Yet until now, few have recognized how relevant these powerful ideas are to individuals and their daily work. Every person at


Factory Man

Factory Man

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  • Author: Beth Macy
  • Publisher: Little, Brown
  • ISBN: 0316231568
  • Category : Biography & Autobiography
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 513

The instant New York Times bestseller about one man's battle to save hundreds of jobs by demonstrating the greatness of American business. The Bassett Furniture Company was once the world's biggest wood furniture manufacturer. Run by the same powerful Virginia family for generations, it was also the center of life in Bassett, Virginia. But beginning in the 1980s, the first waves of Asian competition hit, and ultimately Bassett was forced to send its production overseas. One man fought back: John Bassett III, a shrewd and determined third-generation factory man, now chairman of Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Co, which employs more than 700 Virginians and has sales of more than $90 million. In Factory Man, Beth Macy brings to life Bassett's deeply personal furniture and family story, along with a host of characters from an industry that was as cutthroat as it was colorful. As she shows how he uses legal maneuvers, factory efficiencies, and sheer grit and cunning to save hundreds of jobs, she also reveals the truth about modern industry in America.


Lean Thinking

Lean Thinking

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  • Author: James P. Womack
  • Publisher: Simon and Schuster
  • ISBN: 1471111008
  • Category : Business & Economics
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 365

Lean Thinking was launched in the fall of 1996, just in time for the recession of 1997. It told the story of how American, European, and Japanese firms applied a simple set of principles called 'lean thinking' to survive the recession of 1991 and grow steadily in sales and profits through 1996. Even though the recession of 1997 never happened, companies were starving for information on how to make themselves leaner and more efficient. Now we are dealing with the recession of 2001 and the financial meltdown of 2002. So what happened to the exemplar firms profiled in Lean Thinking? In the new fully revised edition of this bestselling book those pioneering lean thinkers are brought up to date. Authors James Womack and Daniel Jones offer new guidelines for lean thinking firms and bring their groundbreaking practices to a brand new generation of companies that are looking to stay one step ahead of the competition.


The Factory

The Factory

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  • Author: Hiroko Oyamada
  • Publisher: New Directions Publishing
  • ISBN: 081122886X
  • Category : Fiction
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 64

The English-language debut of Hiroko Oyamada—one of the most powerfully strange young voices in Japan The English-language debut of one of Japan's most exciting new writers, The Factory follows three workers at a sprawling industrial factory. Each worker focuses intently on the specific task they've been assigned: one shreds paper, one proofreads documents, and another studies the moss growing all over the expansive grounds. But their lives slowly become governed by their work—days take on a strange logic and momentum, and little by little, the margins of reality seem to be dissolving: Where does the factory end and the rest of the world begin? What's going on with the strange animals here? And after a while—it could be weeks or years—the three workers struggle to answer the most basic question: What am I doing here? With hints of Kafka and unexpected moments of creeping humor, The Factory casts a vivid—and sometimes surreal—portrait of the absurdity and meaninglessness of the modern workplace.


Managing the Design Factory

Managing the Design Factory

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  • Author: Donald Reinertsen
  • Publisher: Simon and Schuster
  • ISBN: 0684839911
  • Category : Business & Economics
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 296

From the bestselling author of Developing Products in Half the Time, this book presents a comprehensive approach to managing design-in-process inventory.


Far from the Factory

Far from the Factory

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  • Author: George Gonzalez-Rivas
  • Publisher: CRC Press
  • ISBN: 1040083358
  • Category : Business & Economics
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 320

If you currently employ knowledge workers who do most of their work on computers or with computers, access the Internet, utilize internal and external databases, use e-mail or other new messaging technology, then this book is for you. Quite simply, this handbook is for any organization with a lot of Web DNA that wishes to cut costs, improve perform


The Idea Factory

The Idea Factory

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  • Author: Jon Gertner
  • Publisher: Penguin
  • ISBN: 1101561084
  • Category : Business & Economics
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 432

The definitive history of America’s greatest incubator of innovation and the birthplace of some of the 20th century’s most influential technologies “Filled with colorful characters and inspiring lessons . . . The Idea Factory explores one of the most critical issues of our time: What causes innovation?” —Walter Isaacson, The New York Times Book Review “Compelling . . . Gertner's book offers fascinating evidence for those seeking to understand how a society should best invest its research resources.” —The Wall Street Journal From its beginnings in the 1920s until its demise in the 1980s, Bell Labs-officially, the research and development wing of AT&T-was the biggest, and arguably the best, laboratory for new ideas in the world. From the transistor to the laser, from digital communications to cellular telephony, it's hard to find an aspect of modern life that hasn't been touched by Bell Labs. In The Idea Factory, Jon Gertner traces the origins of some of the twentieth century's most important inventions and delivers a riveting and heretofore untold chapter of American history. At its heart this is a story about the life and work of a small group of brilliant and eccentric men-Mervin Kelly, Bill Shockley, Claude Shannon, John Pierce, and Bill Baker-who spent their careers at Bell Labs. Today, when the drive to invent has become a mantra, Bell Labs offers us a way to enrich our understanding of the challenges and solutions to technological innovation. Here, after all, was where the foundational ideas on the management of innovation were born.


Retirement on the Line

Retirement on the Line

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  • Author: Caitrin Lynch
  • Publisher: Cornell University Press
  • ISBN: 0801464099
  • Category : Social Science
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 240

In an era when people live longer and want (or need) to work past the traditional retirement age, the Vita Needle Company of Needham, Massachusetts, provides inspiration and important lessons about the value of older workers. Vita Needle is a family-owned factory that was founded in 1932 and makes needles, stainless steel tubing and pipes, and custom fabricated parts. As part of its unusual business model, the company seeks out older workers; the median age of the employees is seventy-four. In Retirement on the Line, Caitrin Lynch explores what this unusual company's commitment to an elderly workforce means for the employer, the workers, the community, and society more generally. Benefiting from nearly five years of fieldwork at Vita Needle, Lynch offers an intimate portrait of the people who work there, a nuanced explanation of the company's hiring practices, and a cogent analysis of how the workers' experiences can inform our understanding of aging and work in the twenty-first century. As an in-depth study of a singular workplace, rooted in the unique insights of an anthropologist who specializes in the world of work, this book provides a sustained focus on values and meanings-with profound consequences for the broader assumptions our society has about aging and employment.


The Magic Factory (Oliver Blue and the School for Seers—Book One)

The Magic Factory (Oliver Blue and the School for Seers—Book One)

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  • Author: Morgan Rice
  • Publisher: Morgan Rice
  • ISBN: 1640296697
  • Category : Young Adult Fiction
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 359

“A powerful opener to a series [that] will produce a combination of feisty protagonists and challenging circumstances to thoroughly involve not just young adults, but adult fantasy fans who seek epic stories fueled by powerful friendships and adversaries.” --Midwest Book Review (Diane Donovan) (re A Throne for Sisters) “Morgan Rice's imagination is limitless!” --Books and Movie Reviews (re A Throne for Sisters) From USA Today and #1 bestselling fantasy author Morgan Rice comes a new fantasy series for teens and adults. THE MAGIC FACTORY: OLIVER BLUE AND THE SCHOOL FOR SEERS (BOOK ONE) tells the story of one very special boy, Oliver Blue, different than those around him and unloved by his hateful family. Obsessed with inventions, Oliver is determined to escape his horrible life and make his mark on the world. When Oliver’s family moves again, to another awful house and school, he is bullied and excluded, and sees no way out. But when he stumbles across an abandoned invention factory, he wonders if this could be his way out. Who is the mysterious old inventor hiding in the factory? What is his secret invention? And might this factory be a portal to somewhere else? An inspiring fantasy, THE MAGIC FACTORY is book #1 in a riveting new series filled with magic, love, humor, heartbreak, tragedy, destiny, and a series of shocking twists. It will make you fall in love with Oliver Blue, and keep you turning pages late into the night. Book #2 in the series (THE ORB OF KANDRA) and Book #3 (THE OBSIDIANS) are now also available! “The beginnings of something remarkable are there.” --San Francisco Book Review (re A Quest of Heroes)


Running Today's Factory

Running Today's Factory

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  • Author: Charles Standard
  • Publisher:
  • ISBN: 9780872635135
  • Category : Technology & Engineering
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 293

Lean manufacturing is not a collection of best practices from which manufacturers can pick and choose. It is a production philosophy, a way of conceptualizing the manufacturing process from raw material to finished goods and from design concept to customer satisfaction. The tremendous benefits of lean manufacturing are realized when a lean strategy is used to support well-conceived business goals. Running Today's Factory synthesizes lean manufacturing into a concise and coherent strategy for manufacturing managers. The philosophies and principles presented are reinforced with examples from the author's research and consulting work. Common obstacles and barriers that may be encountered in a lean environment are discussed, and both intuitive and mathematical proofs are provided to illustrate why lean philosophies can transform modern manufacturing. After reading Running Today's Factory, you'll understand why Lean is truly a different way of thinking about manufacturing. Co-published by Society of Manufacturing Engineers and Hanser Gardner.