Interview with the author

Why did you write a book when all topics can be easily found in Internet?

I wanted to capture my knowledge and management experience and make it available in a simple, readable form: a pragmatic manual, providing a 360° view on how Operations work. Something useful for the readers, but also a homage to all those who worked hard in factories and built our civilisation as it is now: The Homo Faber, the maker. 

Who could be interested in reading it?

Any Bachelor student interested in Industrial Engineering may find it useful, but also new managers in the industry or young entrepreneurs, who want to get the basics about Production, Purchasing, Logistics and Quality from a managerial standpoint, and their interaction with other functions, suppliers, and customers. Then also people working in Services, because many of their customers are industrial companies, therefore they need to know the operations of their customers, to offer them new Services. 

Why using English?

I teach these topics in my courses, which are in English, so it was easier for me. But I always tell my students that they will have to work in English anyway: even KMUs today need English to communicate. And one must learn the appropriate terminology. In any translation there would be plenty of English words anyway.

Is there a special message that you want to give us with your book?

1. We must rethink the globalisation as practiced in the last 30 years. Geopolitical reasons and survival in the long-term call for rebuilding manufacturing capacity in the West, profiting from digitalisation to reduce our costs.
2. We are living in the 4^th industrial revolution, digitalisation. However, the 5^th already started before the 4^thended. We must make our civilisation sustainable and save resources, rethinking consumerism.

Both are a daunting task: with innovation, technology, and good management we can address them. But we can solve them only with a strong commitment and actions from politicians, industrial and financial players.

What will you do now?

I am already working on a second book, which builds upon the basics explained in the first one. It introduces Continuous improvement and provides pragmatical tools to do pursue the search for Excellence.

Interview held at University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU) in November, 2022