The first edition of The Quantum Leap: Speed to Market, written by John R. Costanza in 1984, played a key role in communicating the manufacturing methods advocated by the use of Demand Flow(R) Technology (DFT). At that time John's documentation of the technology was new and implementation of the discipline produced a series of dramatic success stories as multiple manufacturing companies embraced the emerging business practices guided by Demand Flow(R) Technology. In 2005 The Quantum Leap: Next Generation book was released from Dean Gilliam and Steve Taylor-Jones to update the text and further document the Demand Flow(R) Business Strategy. Many practitioners obtained their initial exposure to the technology and business strategy by reading The Quantum Leap books and attending education classes provided by DFT Experts in the field. There was no detailed text book written previously to provide an explanation of the required implementation skills, including practical advice related to the organization and deployment of Demand Flow(R) Technology. This book provides the detailed explanation of each tool and technique comprising the body of knowledge of Demand Flow Technology and thus fulfils a guidance and reference role for the manufacturing engineering professional.
About the Author: Steve Taylor-Jones joined John Costanza's fledgling Education and Consulting Company, JCIT International, Inc. in 1992 after working at multiple roles in manufacturing industry for the previous 30 years. He had previously been an expert in Enterprise Resource Planning systems and was consulting in this area with a focus towards Lean and "Just-In-Time" methods which were immerging in the 1980's. His joining Costanza's company placed him in a perfect position to contribute towards the adoption of the Demand Flow(R) Technology (DFT) disciplines the company was communicating to the manufacturing world. Steve was a Vice President within the company for the majority of his tenure and led the team of educators and consultants working supporting the manufacturing client base. Steve was a teacher and consultant who embraced the DFT knowledge and successfully lead multiple implementations of the technology for the company's clients over a 15 year period. He worked with many other consultants within the company to advance DFT tools and techniques to encompass a widening range of applications in differing industries as implementation success after success were achieved. Steve's focus and dedication to the objective of keeping the DFT technology practical, simple and to provide elegant solutions to manufacturing operational problems has been the clear focus of his career. Perhaps his best ability is that of being able to explain the tools and techniques in a simple and straightforward manner that allows others to gain the knowledge required for implementation self-sufficiency. This book provides Steve's organized approach that was documented in the JCIT International, Inc. (now DemandPoint, Inc.) education class "Demand Flow: Implementation Skills" which is still taught today.