general

This was a required text for my Production and Mgmt course during my undergrad studies as an Industrial and Ops Engineer at the U of Michigan in 2000. Priot to taking the course, I had very little knowledge of how ops research/optiimization tied in with real world settings. Lucky for me, the course was taught by an wonderful, demanding professor who unfortunately had to leave and now is at the U of Cinnatti. Anyway, I was able to gain tremendous understanding of how statistics, queueing theories, game thoeries, and factory mgmt all got tied into one. It was this book that tied all the pieces together and push me forward toward my career path. I continue to use this book as reference and interesting reads in my continued involvement in the Supply Chain areas and optimization areas in the tech industry. This book WILL build a firm foundation for anyone who gives an effort and has an interest in the subject. What you do with the knowledge, is up to you in the future, since many of these concepts take time and experience to apply in the real world.

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... :(

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.