Factory Physics: Methods for Efficient Project Management in a Scientific Environment

About

Factory physics is systematic description of the underlying behaviour of manufacturing systems and is key to the development of effective production management strategies. Operations Science is a generalization of Factory Physics and applies to all operations including large and complex construction projects. Indeed, the creation of the LHC was one of the largest and most complex operations in history.

Much of the focus in project management has been adherence to a schedule and reacting when the schedule begins to slip. While schedule adherence is importance the practice of monitor and react is ineffective. More important is understanding the production system that delivers the construction project. Operations Science teaches that while schedules tell what should happen, the production system tells what can and will happen—maintain the correct rate and the dates will be met. To do this, it is essential that the production system be properly designed and efficiently executed. In this lecture, Mark will describe how Factory Physics and Operations Science address these issues.

Short bio: Mark Spearman joined the Project Production Institute in 2018 as the Technical Director. He is the founder, president and chief executive officer of Factory Physics, Inc. a firm that is now part of Strategic Project Solutions that provides management consulting, training, and software to make manufacturing systems and supply chains more effective. Over the last 35 years, he has worked with more than one hundred companies applying the principles of Factory Physics to improve operations and increase profits.

Prior to founding Factory Physics Inc., Spearman was professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering in the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the top-ranked industrial engineering program in the nation. He was associate professor of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences at Northwestern University and served as…