Rating: 
Summary: For Professionals yes, for Novices no way
Review: After reading a good part of this book I am hopelessly lost. The examples are confusing, the terminology is shoddily explained, there is no glossary and it appears that many concepts of manufacturing are assumed to be known.
I am a novice and have no insight in manufacturing. While I do not doubt that this book is useful for the professional it is definitely the wrong book for the beginner. It probably will work as a reference book or resource for enhancing existing knowledge. I am forced to learn from this book. Unfortunately, the authors are experts in their field and may have not written a book for beginners intentionally.
Besides that, the mathematical notation of equations is plain horrible and often wrong. Any student in Calculus 101 would fail the class delivering equations in this form. The examples vary a lot while trying to explain one concept, which does not make understanding the concepts easy. If you are an instructor and think about using this book even for a graduate level course, be kind to your students and look for a different book.
Rating: 
Summary: Manufacturing likes Physics
Review: An excellent book that shows manufacturing system's evolution and how single laws application like the basic physic laws to the real world helps to elevate manufacturing system performance. The concepts application to real world allows to the reader evaluate and obtain a better performance in a manufacturing system.
Rating:
Summary: When science and manufacturing management finally meet !!!
Review: As a supply chain consultant, oftentimes the quality of my work is directly impacted by the reference aids in my own personal library. "Factory Physics" is such a reference aid that has my work has benefitted from several times.The book covers all of the traditional manufacturing topics you would expect in sufficient detail: inventory control, JIT, production scheduling, capacity planning, shop floor control, etc. But given that you can buy any number of other suitable, standard P&IC textbooks on these topics, that's not where the value is. The value in "Factory Physics" lies in the unique content which presents manufacturing management in a "scientific" context. For example, there are chapters on 'Basic Factory Dynamics,' 'Variability Basics,' and 'The Corrupting Influence on Variability.' These chapters demonstrate how manufacturing managers and engineers can move away from the rule-of-thumb, heuristics-based approach to operations planning and control (which is so often is either a guessing game or not based on empirical data) to a more formal, rule- and data-driven approach. For example, I have been in many factories where management had only a SWAG approach to modeling equipment reliabilities, cycle times and throughput volumes, which drive queues and thus impact shop floor inventory. This book gives you the tools to properly understand these dynamics, if these are important issues to you. The content in the book on the corrupting influence of variability is a welcome harkening back to the ideas of Edward Deming, who consistently preached about the damage that variation can do when introduced into stable production environments. In my opinion, this is another example of the unique and rare content offered by "Factory Physics." Other value-adding content includes discussions sprinkled throughout the book on the fallacies and disadvantages of age-old planning and control methodologies, such as MRP or EOQ. In a world where 99% of textbooks believe their only duty to the reader is to simply present laundry lists of all the planning techniques known to humankind, these critical commentaries are a breath of fresh air. I don't recommend this book lightly, or to individuals who are only loosely associated with operations planning and control positions. Rather, I highly, highly recommend it to serious, mature manufacturing professionals who are not timid of higher level mathematics, statistics and probability theory. If not, the reader would probably not be able to realize the true value of the book and it would go unused. A former client of mine, who was nice guy but a novice when it came to manufacturing issues, asked me if he should buy "Factory Physics" for his own use. My response to him was this: "If you wanted to learn more about physics you probably wouldn't order reprints of papers by Einstein, Hawking, Bohr, etc. You would go and buy something like 'Physics for Dummies' and start there. I suggest you do the same for manufacturing content."
Rating: 
Summary: Great reference book for the manufacturing professional
Review: As a supply chain consultant, oftentimes the quality of my work is directly impacted by the reference aids in my own personal library. "Factory Physics" is such a reference aid that has my work has benefitted from several times. The book covers all of the traditional manufacturing topics you would expect in sufficient detail: inventory control, JIT, production scheduling, capacity planning, shop floor control, etc. But given that you can buy any number of other suitable, standard P&IC textbooks on these topics, that's not where the value is. The value in "Factory Physics" lies in the unique content which presents manufacturing management in a "scientific" context. For example, there are chapters on 'Basic Factory Dynamics,' 'Variability Basics,' and 'The Corrupting Influence on Variability.' These chapters demonstrate how manufacturing managers and engineers can move away from the rule-of-thumb, heuristics-based approach to operations planning and control (which is so often is either a guessing game or not based on empirical data) to a more formal, rule- and data-driven approach. For example, I have been in many factories where management had only a SWAG approach to modeling equipment reliabilities, cycle times and throughput volumes, which drive queues and thus impact shop floor inventory. This book gives you the tools to properly understand these dynamics, if these are important issues to you. The content in the book on the corrupting influence of variability is a welcome harkening back to the ideas of Edward Deming, who consistently preached about the damage that variation can do when introduced into stable production environments. In my opinion, this is another example of the unique and rare content offered by "Factory Physics." Other value-adding content includes discussions sprinkled throughout the book on the fallacies and disadvantages of age-old planning and control methodologies, such as MRP or EOQ. In a world where 99% of textbooks believe their only duty to the reader is to simply present laundry lists of all the planning techniques known to humankind, these critical commentaries are a breath of fresh air. I don't recommend this book lightly, or to individuals who are only loosely associated with operations planning and control positions. Rather, I highly, highly recommend it to serious, mature manufacturing professionals who are not timid of higher level mathematics, statistics and probability theory. If not, the reader would probably not be able to realize the true value of the book and it would go unused. A former client of mine, who was nice guy but a novice when it came to manufacturing issues, asked me if he should buy "Factory Physics" for his own use. My response to him was this: "If you wanted to learn more about physics you probably wouldn't order reprints of papers by Einstein, Hawking, Bohr, etc. You would go and buy something like 'Physics for Dummies' and start there. I suggest you do the same for manufacturing content."
Rating:
Summary: Manufacturing likes Physics
Review: Having worked with Spearman and Hopp at Northwestern during the formation of this book, I have been applying it's lessons in practical applications for over 5 years. The lessons learned from this book have provided me an intuition for reacting to and solving problems in manufacturing and business that has withstood the test of time. Now, when a consultant, or a magazine, or my boss proclaims some great new solution, I don't compare the solution to some other proposed solution to try and figure out which is best. I compare all proposed solutions to the fundamental laws of factory physics to see which solution best suits my requirements. The main drawback of the book is that it is a textbook and, as such, will require time to read and understand. On the other hand, the book reads well and is not one mathematical proof after another. The authors have based the book on solid science but have limited the extensive proofs for the appendix. This book is a must-have reference and guide for anyone working in manufacturing or the business of manufacturing.
Rating:
Summary: Best textbook to date relating mfg theory to the real world
Review: Having worked with Spearman and Hopp at Northwestern during the formation of this book, I have been applying it's lessons in practical applications for over 5 years. The lessons learned from this book have provided me an intuition for reacting to and solving problems in manufacturing and business that has withstood the test of time. Now, when a consultant, or a magazine, or my boss proclaims some great new solution, I don't compare the solution to some other proposed solution to try and figure out which is best. I compare all proposed solutions to the fundamental laws of factory physics to see which solution best suits my requirements. The main drawback of the book is that it is a textbook and, as such, will require time to read and understand. On the other hand, the book reads well and is not one mathematical proof after another. The authors have based the book on solid science but have limited the extensive proofs for the appendix. This book is a must-have reference and guide for anyone working in manufacturing or the business of manufacturing.
Rating:
Summary: One of 2 best books for both academia and practitioner
Review: Hopp and Spearman wrote the classic issues, manufacturing system, in elegant format. The fundamental of manufacturing systems is deliberately compiled in a single textbook. If you like Askin and Standridge book (1994), you will love this book as well. One thing that forbids me to put 5 stars is this book doesn't have the "material flow/facilities design" issue, which I believe it is the foundation of manufacturing management too. I thought the facilities planning would be included in 2nd edition- but nope :( May be in 3rd edition... maybe... :(
Rating:
Summary: The most analytical text on factory management; ever !
Review: I have kilos of books on manufacturing and as a long practising and experienced Industrial Engineer, I would ditch 90% of them for "Factory Physics". Why ? For many good reasons; The authors succinctly state the condition of manufacturing in the USA today and its underestimated role in its contribution to the national economy. This condition is mirrored in other industrial economies. But that is just the start; there is the history of manufacturing management that puts its role in perspective; then the authors put the acronyms and fads in their place along with the messiahs and the missions and messages. They sort the wheat from the chaff. The heart of "Factory Physics" is the authors' explanations of the dynamics of factory systems and their interactions; which are logically revealed and well exampled. Further MRPs, JIT / Kanbans are constructively criticised and put into their appropriate roles and functions. No authors have previously so constructively questioned the validity of these programs and techniques and then come up with very logical and applicable alternatives. But more ! In "Factory Physics" are the "Laws" of manufacturing systems; about 20 of them; These are the Laws that govern the 'behaviour' of factories and even the behaviour of the people's that run them. One can see these Laws in evidence in manufacturing plants at any time, anywhere and with any product. The text of "Factory Physics" is a solid foundation for the understanding of manufacturing; the basics; the necessary 'instincts' to build on and the guiding models to synthesise solutions to classic production problems. But above all there are the Laws; that provide a constructive means for effectively analysing and managing manufacturing plants and systems. If there was a prize to be awarded for a spearhead text for a "science of manufacturing" for the new millenium; then Messrs Hopp, Spearman and team should receive it for "Factory Physics". This book must be the standard text for present and future Industrial and Manufacturing Engineers and Plant Managers. Move over Maynard !
Rating:
Summary: When science and manufacturing management finally meet !!!
Review: This book is a reference in Manufacturing Management. All the basic and complex tools of manufacturing are explained and the historical context of their creation is introduced. More interesting is the global understanding of manufacturing issues and the explanations to go beyond the principles of "zero defect", "zero inventory", ... I learned a lot.
Rating: 
Summary: It depends on what are you expecting to learn
Review: This definetely is a good book, the language and the examples used are very illustrative and the content shows that the authors are very experienced and know what they are talking about. However, I believe that this book should not be used as an introduction to production planning and control, this is more something to read after some introduction to those techniques has been acquired, and you are seeking to sharpen your ability to use them. They offer good buy few, very few examples, and the questions and proposed exercises in the back do not have answers. Not good for an introductory class on the subject, a must for those who have already some knowledge about the subject.
| 
