TQM, Reengineering, Theory of Constraints, JIT, Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing . . .

These are just some of the methods that, over the past five decades, have promised to transform any manufacturing firm into a lean, mean, moneymaking machine. While each incorporates certain fundamental truths, strengths, and benefits, they are not panaceas. Nor do they necessarily provide much-needed insight into the science that underlies factory performance.

James Ignizio, Ph.D., an internationally recognized performance optimization expert, believes that only a balanced approach...