A Practical, Hands-on Guide to Lean Manufacturing

This real-world resource offers proven solutions for implementing lean manufacturing in an enterprise environment, covering the engineering and production aspects as well as the business culture concerns. Filled with detailed examples, the book focuses on the rapid application of lean principles so that large, early financial gains can be made.

How to Implement Lean Manufacturing explains Toyota Production System (TPS) practices and specifies the distinct order in which lean techniques should be applied to achieve maximum gains. Global case studies illustrate successes and pitfalls of lean manufacturing initiatives. Discover how to:

Rigorously test and retest the state of your "leanness" with unique evaluators
Develop and deploy plant-wide strategies and goals
Improve speed and quality and dramatically reduce costs
Reduce variation in the manufacturing system in order to reduce inventory
Reduce lead times to enable improved responsiveness and flexibility
Synchronize production and supply to the customer

Create flow and establish pull-demand systems

Perform system-wide and specific value-stream evaluations
Generate a comprehensive list of highly focused Kaizen activities
Sustain process gains
Manage constraints and reduce bottlenecks
Implement cellular manufacturing