Lean Thinking, 2nd Edition

$32.00

Lean Thinking is about case studies from a wide range of industries, to distill out the essential principles of lean and explain how to apply them in a variety of environments.

Quantity

Topics: Executive Leadership, Operations

In the expanded second edition of the landmark book Lean Thinking, the authors revisit the companies studied in the first edition to discover that the continuing application of lean thinking has permitted these firms to prosper.

In the first of two new chapters, the authors track the trend in inventory turns – the lean metric that cannot lie – across all industries, singling out one industry for special praise. Then they return to companies examined in the original book, reexamining the progress at Toyota, Wiremold, Porsche, Lantech, Pratt & Whitney, and Freudenberg-NOK. In this variety of companies and production environments, the authors find that lean thinking is more relevant than ever.

“We discover that as economies have gyrated, stock markets have crashed, and the poster companies of the 1990s hailed in other business books have flown a ballistic trajectory, our lean exemplars – led by Toyota – have defied the fate of most firms featured in successful business books,” observe the authors. “They have continued their methodical march from success to success and have done it the hard way by creating real and truly sustainable value for their customers, their employees, and their owners.”

In the second new chapter, the authors share what they themselves have learned about lean thinking and its successful application. For example, in updating the implementation Action Plan from the first edition, they add significant insights into the steps on value-stream mapping and spreading lean thinking to customers and suppliers. And they walk readers through “lean math,” a simple, new way to calculate whether moving from high-cost to low-cost regions really delivers the anticipated payoffs.

The Action Plan helps the reader develop and implement a lean conversion plan. It draws upon the experiences of the authors, as well as leading lean professionals. It breaks down the theory into real nuts-and-bolts language, because lean conversion is more than just techniques — it’s about changing mindsets to identify and eliminate waste.

New readers will discover that Lean Thinking is as relevant to solving their business problems today as it was when first published. A follow-up to the bestseller, The Machine That Changed the World, Lean Thinking revealed to executives and managers the benefits of lean manufacturing, so they can champion the lean transformation.

Written in a clear straightforward style, this comprehensive work is a “must read” for anyone starting a lean journey. It describes the main concepts of lean and gives specific manufacturing examples of the concepts in action in a variety of industries. Authors James Womack and Daniel Jones interview key people and examine the lean conversions in a step-by-step manner. In the process, they explore the obstacles each organization overcame to reap the benefits of lean production.

The authors use case studies from a wide range of industries, to distill out the essential principles of lean and explain how to apply them in a variety of environments. They illustrate that lean is not just another buzzword or a quick fix. Lean Thinking definitively shows that it is a new way of thinking and a new way for running companies with benefits for everyone from the line worker to the CEO.

The ultimate goal, according to the authors, is the reduction of waste. To achieve this, a company must look at what creates value and eliminate all other activities.

Publisher:Simon & Schuster, Inc.
ISBN-13:9780743249270
ISBN-10:0743249275
SKU:7501
Publication Date:March 01, 2003
Number of Pages:397
Weight:1.31 lbs
Dimensions:9.500 × 6.250 × 1.250 in

About James (Jim) Womack, PhD

Widely considered the father of the lean movement, Womack has been talking and publishing about creating value through continuous innovation around deep customer understanding for many years. In the late eighties, he and Dan Jones led MIT’s International Motor Vehicle Research Program (IMVP), which introduced the term “lean” to describe…

Read more about James (Jim) Womack, PhD

About Dan Jones

Founder and Chairman of the Lean Enterprise Academy in the U.K., Daniel T. Jones is a senior advisor to the Lean Enterprise Institute, management thought leader, and mentor on applying lean process thinking to every type of business.

He is the author with James P. Womack of the influential and popular management books that describe the principles and practice of lean thinking in production, The Machine that Changed the World, and Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Organization, and the workbookbook Seeing the Whole Value Stream. Their book Lean Solutions: How Companies and Customers Can Create Value and Wealth Together extends these ideas to consumption, provision, and service delivery. He is the publisher of Breaking Through to Flow, Creating Lean Dealers, and Making Hospitals Work. A sought-after keynoter, Jones also has organized Lean Summit conferences in Europe.

Jones advises organizations in different sectors on their lean transformations, helped establish the first company University in the UK at Unipart, wrote the UK Government's Rethinking Construction report and Lean Thinking for the NHS. He organized the first Global Healthcare Summit, mentors a dozen hospitals in the UK, Italy, and the USA, and published Making Hospitals Work. Jones was the European Director of MIT's Future of the Automobile and International Motor Vehicle Programs. He is advisor to the European Efficient Consumer Response movement and editor of the International Commerce Review. Jones holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Sussex.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.