LEAN TRANSFORMATION: How to change your business into a lean enterprise.

By Bruce A. Henderson and Jorge L. Larco

One indication of the value of this book is that it is required reading for Lean Certification by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Known in manufacturing among those striving to maximize productivity and create pull-scheduling of production as "the yellow book," Lean Transformation: How to Change Your Business into a Lean Enterprise is used across the globe by companies as they switch to lean production and management by empowered teams. Touted by lean production experts everywhere as practical, down-to-earth, and easy to read, it warns of cultural issues that are almost certain to arise, and gives management step by step instructions as it explains clearly in terms anyone can understand such concepts as continuous flow, value stream mapping, kanban, kaizen, six sigma, just-in-time (JIT), techniques for converting to quick set-ups, and other pillars of the Toyota Production System. Indeed, Toyota may have been the first, but Toyota is not the only company that excels at lean manufacturing. Dell Computers provides another model of a successful lean enterprise as do Harley-Davidson and Pella Windows.

Learn why initial improvements of 40 percent in direct labor productivity and a 50 percent reduction in the space required for manufacturing are routine when production and assembly are converted to continuous flow. Lean Transformation is chock full of real life examples of value stream mapping, how kanban can resolve material supply issues, how kaizen brainstorming can result in startling improvements overnight, how just-in-time (JIT) frees mountains of money tied up in work-in-progress, why six sigma quality needs to be built in and not inspected in, how bottlenecks can be eliminated, kanban snafus spotted before they happen, and how instilling a championship mentality in cross-functional teams can lead to increased productivity and continuous improvement that doesn't stop after the initial kaizen event.

It doesn't take a genius to know that the low cost producer that meets customers "want" dates 99% of the time yet carries only two days inventory has a tremendous competitive advantage. So put value stream mapping, just-in-time (JIT), six sigma, kanban, kaizen, continuous flow, empowered teams, and all the other techniques you'll learn about in Lean Transformation to work. Order a copy for everyone involved in your transformation into a lean enterprise.