These are my take at the top ten books all Industrial Engineers should read.
Several of these have been highly recommended to me, but I have not yet read them.
Note: This is simply my opinion. If you disagree e-mail me and maybe I’ll change my mind (and my list).
Also, there are many good books. Click here for books I wanted to include, but couldn’t fit into the top ten.
These are the books I recently purchased and am currently reading.
.Factory Physics 2nd Edition (Wallace J. Hopp, Mark L. Spearman)
This is actually a textbook (I am currently teaching out of it for production systems), but it is excellent and a worthy read.
. Fast Cycle Time : How to Align Purpose, Strategy, and Structure for Speed (Christopher Meyer)
A very well written book.
It has enough details to keep it interesting yet also focuses on the “big picture.” I really like the chapter on systems and the chapter on strategic alignment (chapters 4 & 5).
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Improving Performance : How to Manage the White Space on the Organizational Chart (Geary A. Rummler, Alan P. Brache)
A classic on how to really improve an enterprise. Started the “Process Mapping” phenomenon. Great explanations with examples.
. Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution (by Michael Hammer, James Champy)
THE book on reengineering, by the authors that started the rengineering revolution.
. The Functions of the Executive (Chester Irving Barnard)
THE book on management, should be taught in every curriculum.
. Quick Response Manufacturing : A Companywide Approach to Reducing Lead Times
Buy it at Amazon.Com
This is an excellent book on how to really affect manufacturing companies with many practical examples. It also has some methods to improve the office as well. I would classify it as a must read!
. The Great Transition : Using the Seven Disciplines of Enterprise Engineering to Align People, Technology, and Strategy (James Martin)
This is an excellent book covering many of the primary concepts of Enterprise Engineering. (And I am teaching it out of it this semester to a graduate class on Enterprise Engineering.)
. Out of the Crisis (W. Edwards Deming)
Excellent book to “understand” the Deming philosophy (must read!).
. The Machine That Changed the World : Based on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 5-Million-Dollar 5-Year Study on the Future of the Automobile (James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, Daniel Roos)
Excellent book for an understanding of and comparison of Japanese and US Auto manufacturing.
. The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement (by Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Jeff Cox)
Excellent book explaining many of the “new” principles IE’s should know written in a novel format.