[The industrial management and the management of surgical units].

Management of operating rooms is moving nowadays. Financial constraints as well as new operating practices prompt the hospital manager to optimise the operating room utilisation. The manufacturing systems faced a similar situation in the early 1980, due to the increase in the cost of the energetic products and the new competitive environment. Manufacturers had to improve dramatically their management capabilities in order to overcome their financial and technical difficulties. If the manufacturing management is extensively developed nowadays, the operating room is still running on an intuitive, individual and manual basis. The purpose of this review is to describe the main features of the manufacturing management and to identify those relevant to the management of operating rooms.