Since leaving Toyota I have discovered that many other companies are missing what I believe to be the most crucial ingredient to ensure a successful and a sustainable Lean transformation creating the right culture. Beyond The TPS Tools describes from firsthand experience why Toyotas culture provides the good soil required to deploy Lean strategies. From the green field startup of Toyotas Indiana Assembly plant to the struggles of managing at Toyotas most seasoned plant in Kentucky, discover how my leadership style has evolved into a practical approach for leading Lean with a North American workforce.

Most organizations’ change efforts focus solely on eliminating waste in specific departments. While this “lean paradigm” is a good place to start, true enterprise transformation goes much further. Based on years of research and implementation, Beyond the Lean Revolution provides a road map for achieving the kind of future-oriented results that enhance value to stakeholders. Authors Deborah Nightingale and Jayakanth help readers achieve this by asking them to address the big-picture questions like, What are the strategic objectives? How is the enterprise performing against those objectives? How should it be? Who are the stakeholders and what do they value? You’ll then learn to strategically position your responses to move toward an audacious vision for the future--one where every cog in the complex enterprise system of people, processes, and is successful. Illuminating examples will teach you how to ensure senior leadership remains committed, how to assess your enterprise’s current state, and how to analyze stakeholder values so you can plan for future growth. From inception to implementation and beyond, this book provides a holistic framework for bridging the gap from mere change--to genuine transformation.

Lean Organization for Excellence describes the right way to implement lean thinking inside both manufacturing and service industries. After explaining the origins of the concept and discussing 'wastes' and value added, the book aims to set out a precise path of action. To this end, the so-called Hoshin Kanri method of defining business objectives and targets is explained, and a Value Stream Mapping tool that serves to identify all wastes is described. Subsequent chapters cover each of the TPS (Toyota Production System) tools, from 5S to SMED, and special attention is devoted to the Ducati case study, in which tools such as 5S and Kanban are applied. Lean metrics and the innovative Value Stream Accounting are discussed, and the closing chapter focuses on Lean Office for the service industry. Each chapter includes illustrations and tables relating to practical cases concerning the subject under consideration, based on real consultancy experiences.

Lean Thinking was launched in the fall of 1996, just in time for the recession of 1997. It told the story of how American, European, and Japanese firms applied a simple set of principles called 'lean thinking' to survive the recession of 1991 and grow steadily in sales and profits through 1996. Even though the recession of 1997 never happened, companies were starving for information on how to make themselves leaner and more efficient. Now we are dealing with the recession of 2001 and the financial meltdown of 2002. So what happened to the exemplar firms profiled in Lean Thinking? In the new fully revised edition of this bestselling book those pioneering lean thinkers are brought up to date. Authors James Womack and Daniel Jones offer new guidelines for lean thinking firms and bring their groundbreaking practices to a brand new generation of companies that are looking to stay one step ahead of the competition.

Much has been written about Toyota over the last 30 years focusing on both its products (superior vehicles), and its operational excellence based on its Toyota Production System (TPS). The Toyota Template details the critical concepts and methods that Taiichi Ohno implemented in developing the Toyota Production System. This book is different, however, regarding the parallels it draws between Toyota’s pre-TPS condition and companies today who are attempting to become more efficient and Lean. In view of efficiency, excellence, culture, and general "Leanness," many organizations are in the same position as Toyota prior to implementing what was once called the "Ohno System." The building of TPS, with the goal to eliminate waste, evolved as problems were encountered and solutions put in place. A wonderful byproduct of these years of work was the growth of a problem-solving culture throughout Toyota that is unique in the business world. Currently, the Toyota Production System is well established. Though constantly improving, the historical picture is visible. The question many have tried to answer for their own companies is "how can they achieve world class efficiency?" The Toyota Template answers this question. This book: Explains the critically important elements of the Toyota Production System. Analyzes the sequence of implementation as the system developed. Places these elements in a logical order of implementation based on the history and current knowledge. In addition, it addresses the effect of each element on the culture. The author was prompted to write this book because of his personal observations of the failure of most attempts to develop Lean systems. What makes Toyota stand out is not any of the individual elements – It is crucially important to have all the elements together as a system. Most attempts have been focused on bits and pieces of the elements, or the tools. The Toyota Template is about the relevance of the Toyota Production System to "any type of business" today. It is not an all-inclusive explanation of every aspect of TPS. Rather, this book succinctly identifies the key elements, places them in a logical, sequential order of implementation, and explains how each contributed to the formation of the Toyota culture.

Presents a set of core tools for Lean service operations with particular attention given to mapping tools in service. Begins with the inter-related concepts of The Systems Approach and Lean Philosophy as they apply to service. Continues with a classification for Lean Service and gives a three-level approach to mapping in various types of service situation. Concludes with a look at the essential Lean service tools.

Winner of a Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award Lean Production Simplified, Second 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 Toyota1s 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 second 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, Second 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.