Lean Production Simplified

Oct. 15, 2007

A Plain-Language Guide to the World's Most Powerful Production System, 2nd edition
By Pascal Dennis, Productivity Press, 2007, 176 pages, $35

John Teresko

Still looking for a comprehensive yet simplified treatment of lean production that can serve everyone from C-level executives to machine operators? Meeting those objectives helped the first edition of this book receive the Shingo Prize for excellence in manufacturing research, and now the second edition offers a look at the following topics:

"Production Physics" and Little's Law -- the fundamental equation for both manufacturing and service industries (cycle time = work in process / throughput).

Lean Improvement Process -- stabilize, flow, pull, improve the systems.

Value Stream Thinking -- combining processes required to bring the product or service to the customer.

Industryweek Com Media News Items 15178leanproduction

Hoshin Planning -- using the "Planning and Execution Tree" diagram.

A3 Thinking -- how to convey information or "tell stories" using A3.

Strategy Development.

Problem Solving -- including the "Five Whys" methodology of isolating root causes.

The author's lean background derives from Toyota's lean masters in Japan and North America, including experience on the shop floors of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada.

See Also