Gaining Control: Managing Capacity and Priorities

Anyone will tell you that the business world is only getting more competitive and complicated. So how do you manage your manufacturing facility and maintain optimum throughput?

James Correll and Kevin Herbert will show you how in this new edition of Gaining Control. This fully updated revision provides best practices for optimizing control of manufacturing processes to meet business objectives. Always reliable and more complete than ever, this easy-to-read resource offers real solutions and proven methodologies for achieving measurable improvements in effectiveness and employee engagement and morale.

Now in its third edition, Gaining Control addresses the many changes that have occurred since its last revision, including advanced planning systems, outsourcing, and new computer-based technologies. Written by the leading experts in the field, this essential guide will help you match your production facility's capacity to optimize supply, eliminate uncertainty in your staff, and gain control of your factory.

The business world is more challenging than ever. New technologies present new opportunities and the increasing demands for responsiveness and flexibility mean that manufacturing must have levels of control never imagined twenty-five years ago. In attempting to face up to all these challenges, it is often difficult to know where to begin, and this can lead to employee confusion and underperformance. Gaining Control helps you get control of manufacturing facilities and achieve increased output by retaking command with expert advice and down-to-earth writing from James Correll and Kevin Herbert, two prominent consultants from the Oliver Wight company.

Gaining Control takes you inside the Hayes Tractor Company, a fictitious company but one with all too familiar characteristics and situations. The authors expose the conditions that are causing the company to fail and miss production deadlines, leading to employee morale and discipline problems. Then, they reveal the proven and effective strategies that Oliver Wight uses to help businesses with these issues gain control of their production resources for more effective deployment—whether the resources are people, processes, or machines. Following the example of Hayes, you'll learn how to apply these best practices to your own operation, leading to better control, higher efficiency, and more satisfied employees and customers.

This fully up-to-date new edition includes twenty-four new methods, concepts, and technological advances introduced since publication of the last edition. The authors explore methodologies like Finite Capacity Scheduling and Advanced Planning and Scheduling, pointing out pitfalls and potentialities and showing you how to implement planning and scheduling enhancements across the entire business. A complete guide to manufacturing effectiveness, the book also offers expert coverage of topics such as advanced planning systems, and lean and computer-based scheduling.

Gaining Control will help you close the loop in your goals to consistently deliver on time, maximize efficiency, and reduce lead times. Combining new software, technologies, and processes with tried-and-true methods, this revised edition of a classic text will help you take command of your facilities and improve all aspects of performance.

JAMES G. CORRELL is Prin-cipal of Oliver Wight Americas, Inc. Certified by the Association for Operations Management (APICS) in production and in-ventory management at the Fellow level, he has presented several papers at APICS international conferences.

KEVIN HERBERT has been an Oliver Wight Associate since 1998. He was formerly Eastman Kodak's director of supply chain management-logistics for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. He is a member of APICS, and has taught students how to achieve qualification for the APICS Diploma in Production and Inventory Management (DPIM).