This book is a crucial resource for Lean practitioners (experienced or not) who are seeking: insight on how to gain more from their Lean efforts, how to overcome resistance to change (that is, to effectively convey 'What’s in it for me?' to their business associates), and to understand how other companies have overcome the barriers to implementing Lean and incorporated it as the common-sense approach to continuous improvement. The author shares his specific experiences with Lean transformations—some successes and some failures. His insightful perspective shows readers how the understanding of Lean progresses from theory to common sense to common practice. The Lean initiative is not merely a transformation of skills, but the development of a robust continuous-improvement culture. The book includes more than 60 case-in-point examples, across a diversified range of industries, based on the author’s hands-on experience with many multinational corporations. These case-in-point examples show transformations that have resulted in $200+ million verified annualized savings for a diversified array of industries. The author details his journey from industry Lean practitioner to a consultant in a top-tier consultancy firm to developing his own consulting practice.

The average tenure of a departing CEO has declined from approximately 10 years in 2000 to 8.1 years in 2012. Maintaining a customer-focused Lean strategy and continuous improvement culture can become a challenge when management changes often, unless it has become an institutionalized company-branded business management system for the company.Lean f

‘Lean’ is a strategic organization development intervention that aims to improve the Return On Investment (ROI) of any enterprise in addition to consolidating its competitiveness. It is a transformation vehicle for revisiting customer value and re-engineer the entire organizational value stream by eliminating waste to improve the velocity of information and material flow. The author aims to demystify the myths of Lean and guides its systematic application.

Tracing the author’s decades-long continuous improvement journey, Relentless Improvement: True Stories of Lean Transformations walks readers through vivid shop floor experiences to convey a genuine feel for the environments in which Lean Six Sigma transformations occur. Recounting numerous Lean Six Sigma transformations, it illustrates the spectrum of successful operational tactics. The story starts just outside Detroit, Michigan in the 1970s when the auto industry was booming, and most people in the area worked in the car factories, or in one of the component factories that supplied the Big Three. The complexity and detail of the projects grow chapter by chapter. The book begins by explaining how to manage Lean basics such as applying 5S, shortening product cycle times, and creating standard work. It then progresses to factory Lean Six Sigma transformations. Providing implementation guidance geared to functions on the operational level, the book: Presents stories based on the author’s interactions with company leaders and shop-floor employees in the midst of great change Illustrates real-world plant politics and manufacturing situations using compelling stories Highlights valuable lessons learned at the end of each chapter Using an engaging story format, the book recounts the author’s career experiences to provide you with a real-world understanding of how to use Lean tools. The stories in the book illustrate everything from standard work and takt time to Kaizen events and Total Productive Maintenance. The text also includes accounts of "front end" or administrative processes such as product development and materials handling.

The average tenure of a departing CEO has declined from approximately 10 years in 2000 to 8.1 years in 2012. Maintaining a customer-focused Lean strategy and continuous improvement culture can become a challenge when management changes often, unless it has become an institutionalized company-branded business management system for the company.Lean for the Long Term allows readers to benefit from the operating experience and research of the authors who have been deeply involved in leading Lean transformations that last in today�s ever-changing business landscape. It presents a Lean management system model that encompasses leadership, process, and growth as the model to drive business performance.The authors investigate the fragile nature of a Lean culture and the resulting effects on people and the company when the culture shifts. They illustrate the methods several companies have used to achieve successful Lean transformations that last and also offer guidance on how to build your own action plan based on the best practices outlined in the text.Until now, there have been few books to supply in-depth discussions on Lean as a strategy and management system. Filling this need, this book will help you to move toward a broader, more strategic use of Lean principles in your business.The book uses clear language to present insights on how company leaders and Lean practitioners can improve communication. After reading the book, you will better understand how your company operates, how to align your efforts, and how to decide what to do despite the complexity of day-to-day business operations.

Lean Human Resources addresses a critical issue facing organisations undertaking lean transformation or attempting to create a lean culture of continuous improvement. People are the single biggest factor necessary to ensure success, but it is common for the role of the HR department to be overlooked. Cheryl M. Jekiel, who has been implementing Lean initiatives out of HR offices for more than 20 years, defines the people-related approaches and practices required for success. She explains how the HR function must work hand-in-hand with senior leaders to alter the cultural dynamic that keeps employees from leveraging their peak abilities, analysing why so many companies allow this sort of waste to exist and how traditional HR departments have not been especially effective in combating waste. The book provides continuous improvement professionals, executives and business owners with the means to maximize employee potential by showing them how to increase the improvement power of their HR departments. It also helps them understand what lean transformations can achieve with the correct investment of time, funds, resources and leadership approach. It is also the perfect introduction to lean for those working in HR, explaining the role they should take to support lean implementation and help their colleagues achieve their full potential. Much has been learned since the first edition published five years ago based on the hundreds of conversations the author has had about Lean HR with people from all over the world. This new edition brings Lean Human Resources right up-to-date.

Accelerating Health Care Transformation with Lean and Innovation: The Virginia Mason Experience describes how Virginia Mason Medical Center (VMMC) has systematically integrated innovative structures, methods, and cultural practices into its implementation of Lean. Describing how an organization can create a strategy and build a culture of innovation and learning, it supplies concrete examples that show how Lean and innovation can work hand-in-hand to improve and transform value streams. It also explains how to use the voices of patients and their families to drive improvement and innovation.