Becoming Lean

What is Lean?Pure and simple, lean is reducing the time from customer order to manufacturing by eliminating non-value-added waste in the production stream. The ideal of a lean system is one-piece flow, because a lean manufacturer is continuously improving.Most other books on lean management focus on technical methods and offer a picture of how a lean system should look like. Other books provide snapshots of companies before and after lean was implemented.This is the first book to provide technical descriptions of successful solutions and performance improvements. It's also the first book to go beyond snapshots and includes powerful first-hand accounts of the complete process of change; its impact on the entire organization; and the rewards and benefits of becoming lean.At the heart of Becoming Lean are the stories of American manufacturers that have successfully implemented lean methods. The writers offer personalized accounts of their organization's lean transformation. You have a unique opportunity to go inside the implementation process and see what worked, what didn't, and why.

Jeffrey K. Liker

1. Introduction: Bringing Lean Back to the U.S.A.2. Bringing the Toyota Production System to the United States: A Personal Perspective3. Japanese Education and Its Role in Kaizen4. Lean Manufacturing Practices at Small and Medium Sized U.S. Parts Suppliers: Does it Work?5. Transforming a Plant to Lean in a Large, Traditional Company: Delphi Saginaw Steering Systems, GM6. Making Leather Leaner: The Garden State Tanning Story7. Learning About Lean Systems at Freundenberg-NOK: Where Continuous Improvement Is a Way of Life8. The Donnelly Production System: Lean at Grand Haven9. Implementing Lean Manufacturing at Gelman Sciences,Inc.10. Cedar Works: Making the Transition to Lean11. Operational Excellence: A Manufacturing Metamorphosis at Western Geophysical Exploration Products12. The Success and Failures of Implementing Continuous Improvement Programs: Cases of Seven Automotive Parts Suppliers13. Lean Production-The Challenge of Multidimensional Change14. Crossroads: Which Way Will You Turn on the Road to Lean?15. Conclusion: What We Have Learned About Becoming Lean