Lean Production Simplified: A Plain-Language Guide to the World’s Most Powerful Production System

2006 SHINGO PRIZE WINNER for EXCELLENCE in MANUFACTURING RESEARCH Lean Production Simplified, 2nd Edition is a plain language guide to the lean production system written for the practitioner by a practitioner. It delivers a comprehensive insider’s view of lean manufacturing. The author helps the reader to grasp the system as a whole and the factors that animate it by organizing the book around an image of a “house of lean production”. Highlights include: A comprehensive view of Toyota’s lean manufacturing system A look at the origins and underlying principles of lean Identifying the goals of lean production Practical problem solving for lean production Activities that support involvement – Kaizen circles, suggestion systems, and problem solving This 2nd Edition has been updated with expanded information on the Lean Improvement Process; “Production Physics” and Little’s Law – the fundamental equation for both manufacturing and service industries (cycle time = work in process/throughput); Value Stream Thinking – combining processes required to bring the product or service to the customer; Hoshin Planning — using the Planning and Execution Tree diagram and Problem Solving — including the “Five Why” method and how to use it. Lean Production Simplified, 2nd Edition covers each of the components of lean within the context of the entire lean production system. The author’s straightforward common sense approach makes this book an easily accessible on the floor resource for every operator.