Author: Jiju Antony
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1482260093
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 242
Book Description
It is no secret that Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is not as popular with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as it is with larger ones. However, many SMEs are suppliers to larger entities who are pushing for superior quality and world-class process efficiencies from suppliers. Lean Six Sigma for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises: A Practical Guide provides a roadmap for the successful implementation and deployment of LSS in SMEs. It includes five real-world case studies that demonstrate how LSS tools have been successfully integrated into LSS methodology. Simplifying the terminology and methodology of LSS, this book makes the implementation process accessible. Supplies a general introduction to continuous improvement initiatives in SMEs Identifies the key phases in the introduction and development of LSS initiatives within an SME Details the most powerful LSS tools and techniques that can be used in an SME environment Provides tips on how to make the project selection process more successful This book covers the fundamental challenges and common pitfalls that can be avoided with successful introduction and deployment of LSS in the context of SMEs. Systematically guiding you through the application of the Six Sigma methodology for problem solving, the book devotes separate chapters to the most appropriate tools and techniques that can be useful in each stage of the methodology. Keeping the required math and statistics to a minimum, this practical guide will help you to deploy LSS as your prime methodology for achieving and sustaining world-class efficiency and effectiveness of critical business processes.
Lean Six Sigma for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises
Author: Jiju Antony
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1482260093
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 242
Book Description
It is no secret that Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is not as popular with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as it is with larger ones. However, many SMEs are suppliers to larger entities who are pushing for superior quality and world-class process efficiencies from suppliers. Lean Six Sigma for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises: A Practical Guide provides a roadmap for the successful implementation and deployment of LSS in SMEs. It includes five real-world case studies that demonstrate how LSS tools have been successfully integrated into LSS methodology. Simplifying the terminology and methodology of LSS, this book makes the implementation process accessible. Supplies a general introduction to continuous improvement initiatives in SMEs Identifies the key phases in the introduction and development of LSS initiatives within an SME Details the most powerful LSS tools and techniques that can be used in an SME environment Provides tips on how to make the project selection process more successful This book covers the fundamental challenges and common pitfalls that can be avoided with successful introduction and deployment of LSS in the context of SMEs. Systematically guiding you through the application of the Six Sigma methodology for problem solving, the book devotes separate chapters to the most appropriate tools and techniques that can be useful in each stage of the methodology. Keeping the required math and statistics to a minimum, this practical guide will help you to deploy LSS as your prime methodology for achieving and sustaining world-class efficiency and effectiveness of critical business processes.
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1482260093
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 242
Book Description
It is no secret that Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is not as popular with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as it is with larger ones. However, many SMEs are suppliers to larger entities who are pushing for superior quality and world-class process efficiencies from suppliers. Lean Six Sigma for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises: A Practical Guide provides a roadmap for the successful implementation and deployment of LSS in SMEs. It includes five real-world case studies that demonstrate how LSS tools have been successfully integrated into LSS methodology. Simplifying the terminology and methodology of LSS, this book makes the implementation process accessible. Supplies a general introduction to continuous improvement initiatives in SMEs Identifies the key phases in the introduction and development of LSS initiatives within an SME Details the most powerful LSS tools and techniques that can be used in an SME environment Provides tips on how to make the project selection process more successful This book covers the fundamental challenges and common pitfalls that can be avoided with successful introduction and deployment of LSS in the context of SMEs. Systematically guiding you through the application of the Six Sigma methodology for problem solving, the book devotes separate chapters to the most appropriate tools and techniques that can be useful in each stage of the methodology. Keeping the required math and statistics to a minimum, this practical guide will help you to deploy LSS as your prime methodology for achieving and sustaining world-class efficiency and effectiveness of critical business processes.
Lean Management for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises
Author: Ganesh Mahadevan
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 9811943400
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 364
Book Description
This book provides a step-by-step guide to implementing lean at SMEs using an approach that has been tested and fine-tuned at over a hundred organizations across India, South East Asia and the Middle East. The book approaches Lean through an implementation project cycle flow and enables the reader to understand the imperative for Lean, how to diagnose current operations, how to plan and deploy Lean and shows a path for long-term sustenance. Diverse situations such as meeting the demand fluctuations, designing a facility, or improving profit margin etc. are included in the case studies from multiple sectors, to ensure that every reader finds a situation similar to their organizational situation. While the publicly available literature on lean offers a large collection of tools and techniques, given each organization’s unique context, the choice of the right sequence of tools differ. The book offers guidelines in terms of which solutions work in which context, backed by real-cases, which is a big help to the resource constrained SMEs. This book is an equally good resource for the organizations that have already implemented lean, as it provides realistic pointers about sustaining, tackling supply chain uncertainties and going beyond Lean by integrating emerging technologies and management principles. It is an excellent resource for students and researchers studying this area and also for corporates, professionals and industry watchers.
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 9811943400
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 364
Book Description
This book provides a step-by-step guide to implementing lean at SMEs using an approach that has been tested and fine-tuned at over a hundred organizations across India, South East Asia and the Middle East. The book approaches Lean through an implementation project cycle flow and enables the reader to understand the imperative for Lean, how to diagnose current operations, how to plan and deploy Lean and shows a path for long-term sustenance. Diverse situations such as meeting the demand fluctuations, designing a facility, or improving profit margin etc. are included in the case studies from multiple sectors, to ensure that every reader finds a situation similar to their organizational situation. While the publicly available literature on lean offers a large collection of tools and techniques, given each organization’s unique context, the choice of the right sequence of tools differ. The book offers guidelines in terms of which solutions work in which context, backed by real-cases, which is a big help to the resource constrained SMEs. This book is an equally good resource for the organizations that have already implemented lean, as it provides realistic pointers about sustaining, tackling supply chain uncertainties and going beyond Lean by integrating emerging technologies and management principles. It is an excellent resource for students and researchers studying this area and also for corporates, professionals and industry watchers.
Lean Manufacturing for the Small Shop, Second Edition
Author: Gary Conner
Publisher: Society of Manufacturing Engineers
ISBN: 0872638588
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 361
Book Description
A how-to guide to shortening delivery times, eliminating waste, improving quality, and reducing costs. It describes not only what to do, but includes many tools useful to the reader describing how to do it. It explores tools including kaizen, value stream mapping, takt time, determining optimum lot sizes, setup reduction and problem solving.
Publisher: Society of Manufacturing Engineers
ISBN: 0872638588
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 361
Book Description
A how-to guide to shortening delivery times, eliminating waste, improving quality, and reducing costs. It describes not only what to do, but includes many tools useful to the reader describing how to do it. It explores tools including kaizen, value stream mapping, takt time, determining optimum lot sizes, setup reduction and problem solving.
Machine that Changed the World
Author: James P. Womack
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0892563508
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 344
Book Description
Draws conclusions for the future of the industry in the USA.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0892563508
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 344
Book Description
Draws conclusions for the future of the industry in the USA.
The Ultimate Improvement Cycle
Author: Bob Sproull
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1420090356
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 290
Book Description
Recognizing the need to implement quality and eliminate waste, companies embrace Lean, Six Sigma, or a combination of the two, typically taking a broad approach that seeks to remediate every process, critical or not. When this happens, efforts become distracted, improvements indefinitely delayed, and results mediocre at best. The Ultimate Improvement Cycle (UIC) integrates Lean, Six Sigma, and the Theory of Constraints into a combined strategy that will help you immediately focus your efforts on those areas that will make the greatest difference. The book presents basic laws of factory physics that show why the UIC delivers significant bottom-line improvement while other initiatives so often fail. It explains to you why focusing your efforts on apparent problems rather than systemic concerns is wasted effort. Focus on key areas and take improvement to the next level The Ultimate Improvement Cycle: Maximizing Profits through the Integration of Lean, Six Sigma, and the Theory of Constraints show you how to draw the best from Lean and Six Sigma by employing principles drawn from the Theory of Constraints. This approach will ensure that your effort is focused in the right place, at the right time, using the right tools, and the right amount of resources. This multi-pronged approach addresses cost accounting, variation, waste, and performance measurements. But most importantly, it focuses your organization on the right areas to optimize. Applying years of hands-on work in many environments, Bob Sproull has developed a unique proven method that capitalizes on a time-release formula for evoking the key tools that improvement requires. He shows you how to take advantage of the cyclical nature of improvement to implement change that is perpetually effective, and his approach does not require more resources than you have on hand. Although originally developed in manufacturing, the UIC works equally well in any environment whether it be manufacturing or service-oriented, including Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) and Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM).
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1420090356
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 290
Book Description
Recognizing the need to implement quality and eliminate waste, companies embrace Lean, Six Sigma, or a combination of the two, typically taking a broad approach that seeks to remediate every process, critical or not. When this happens, efforts become distracted, improvements indefinitely delayed, and results mediocre at best. The Ultimate Improvement Cycle (UIC) integrates Lean, Six Sigma, and the Theory of Constraints into a combined strategy that will help you immediately focus your efforts on those areas that will make the greatest difference. The book presents basic laws of factory physics that show why the UIC delivers significant bottom-line improvement while other initiatives so often fail. It explains to you why focusing your efforts on apparent problems rather than systemic concerns is wasted effort. Focus on key areas and take improvement to the next level The Ultimate Improvement Cycle: Maximizing Profits through the Integration of Lean, Six Sigma, and the Theory of Constraints show you how to draw the best from Lean and Six Sigma by employing principles drawn from the Theory of Constraints. This approach will ensure that your effort is focused in the right place, at the right time, using the right tools, and the right amount of resources. This multi-pronged approach addresses cost accounting, variation, waste, and performance measurements. But most importantly, it focuses your organization on the right areas to optimize. Applying years of hands-on work in many environments, Bob Sproull has developed a unique proven method that capitalizes on a time-release formula for evoking the key tools that improvement requires. He shows you how to take advantage of the cyclical nature of improvement to implement change that is perpetually effective, and his approach does not require more resources than you have on hand. Although originally developed in manufacturing, the UIC works equally well in any environment whether it be manufacturing or service-oriented, including Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) and Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM).
Grow Your Factory, Grow Your Profits
Author: Timothy McLean
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1482255855
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 180
Book Description
When I was first given the job of managing a small plastics factory back in 1989, I quickly realized that most of the books and teaching on Lean Manufacturing were designed for big companies and were not relevant to my factory. —Tim Mclean The last 25 years has seen Tim lead and assist over 100 small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) manufacturing operations. This experience has now been condensed in to Grow Your Factory, Grow your Profits: Lean for Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturing Enterprises, a start-to-finish guide on how to run a successful small and medium-sized manufacturing operation. The book presents case studies, practical examples, illustrations, charts, and pictures from real SME manufacturers to provide straightforward solutions to the issues facing every growing manufacturing business. In the book, Tim McLean explains: How to recruit the right people and design the right organization How to empower those people to take accountability and free yourself up from day to day "fire fighting" How to develop a Lean Plant Layout that will maximize productivity and optimize the use of space How to manage materials in order to slash inventory and shortages How to schedule production in order to cut lead times, cut inventory, and delight customers How to get started on a Lean transformation when you lack the resources of a big company The book details how SMEs differ from large organizations and why the approach to improvement must also be different. Covering the complete life cycle of small and medium-sized manufacturers, the book addresses a different SME manufacturing issue in each chapter. This enables readers to tackle issues at their own pace and in their own order of priority. Grow Your Factory, Grow Your Profits is essential reading for owners, managers, and operational leaders in the 90 percent of manufacturing enterprises that are small or medium sized.
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1482255855
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 180
Book Description
When I was first given the job of managing a small plastics factory back in 1989, I quickly realized that most of the books and teaching on Lean Manufacturing were designed for big companies and were not relevant to my factory. —Tim Mclean The last 25 years has seen Tim lead and assist over 100 small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) manufacturing operations. This experience has now been condensed in to Grow Your Factory, Grow your Profits: Lean for Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturing Enterprises, a start-to-finish guide on how to run a successful small and medium-sized manufacturing operation. The book presents case studies, practical examples, illustrations, charts, and pictures from real SME manufacturers to provide straightforward solutions to the issues facing every growing manufacturing business. In the book, Tim McLean explains: How to recruit the right people and design the right organization How to empower those people to take accountability and free yourself up from day to day "fire fighting" How to develop a Lean Plant Layout that will maximize productivity and optimize the use of space How to manage materials in order to slash inventory and shortages How to schedule production in order to cut lead times, cut inventory, and delight customers How to get started on a Lean transformation when you lack the resources of a big company The book details how SMEs differ from large organizations and why the approach to improvement must also be different. Covering the complete life cycle of small and medium-sized manufacturers, the book addresses a different SME manufacturing issue in each chapter. This enables readers to tackle issues at their own pace and in their own order of priority. Grow Your Factory, Grow Your Profits is essential reading for owners, managers, and operational leaders in the 90 percent of manufacturing enterprises that are small or medium sized.
Lean and Green Manufacturing
Author: Kaliyan Mathiyazhagan
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 9811655510
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 197
Book Description
This book provides a stage-by-stage integration of lean and green manufacturing paradigms to achieve environmental and economic benefits. The book includes chapters on conceptual development for incorporating the lean and green paradigm, and methods, tools and techniques for developing and integrating lean manufacturing. Several case studies which demonstrate the benefits of integrating lean and green manufacturing techniques are also covered here. The contents of this book are expected to support researchers and practitioners in the implementation of integrated lean and green manufacturing technologies.
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 9811655510
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 197
Book Description
This book provides a stage-by-stage integration of lean and green manufacturing paradigms to achieve environmental and economic benefits. The book includes chapters on conceptual development for incorporating the lean and green paradigm, and methods, tools and techniques for developing and integrating lean manufacturing. Several case studies which demonstrate the benefits of integrating lean and green manufacturing techniques are also covered here. The contents of this book are expected to support researchers and practitioners in the implementation of integrated lean and green manufacturing technologies.
Lean Management for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises
Author: Ganesh Mahadevan
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9789811943393
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
This book provides a step-by-step guide to implementing lean at SMEs using an approach that has been tested and fine-tuned at over a hundred organizations across India, South East Asia and the Middle East. The book approaches Lean through an implementation project cycle flow and enables the reader to understand the imperative for Lean, how to diagnose current operations, how to plan and deploy Lean and shows a path for long-term sustenance. Diverse situations such as meeting the demand fluctuations, designing a facility, or improving profit margin etc. are included in the case studies from multiple sectors, to ensure that every reader finds a situation similar to their organizational situation. While the publicly available literature on lean offers a large collection of tools and techniques, given each organization’s unique context, the choice of the right sequence of tools differ. The book offers guidelines in terms of which solutions work in which context, backed by real-cases, which is a big help to the resource constrained SMEs. This book is an equally good resource for the organizations that have already implemented lean, as it provides realistic pointers about sustaining, tackling supply chain uncertainties and going beyond Lean by integrating emerging technologies and management principles. It is an excellent resource for students and researchers studying this area and also for corporates, professionals and industry watchers.
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9789811943393
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
This book provides a step-by-step guide to implementing lean at SMEs using an approach that has been tested and fine-tuned at over a hundred organizations across India, South East Asia and the Middle East. The book approaches Lean through an implementation project cycle flow and enables the reader to understand the imperative for Lean, how to diagnose current operations, how to plan and deploy Lean and shows a path for long-term sustenance. Diverse situations such as meeting the demand fluctuations, designing a facility, or improving profit margin etc. are included in the case studies from multiple sectors, to ensure that every reader finds a situation similar to their organizational situation. While the publicly available literature on lean offers a large collection of tools and techniques, given each organization’s unique context, the choice of the right sequence of tools differ. The book offers guidelines in terms of which solutions work in which context, backed by real-cases, which is a big help to the resource constrained SMEs. This book is an equally good resource for the organizations that have already implemented lean, as it provides realistic pointers about sustaining, tackling supply chain uncertainties and going beyond Lean by integrating emerging technologies and management principles. It is an excellent resource for students and researchers studying this area and also for corporates, professionals and industry watchers.
Industry 4.0 in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)
Author: Ketan Kotecha
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1000548945
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 217
Book Description
Focusing on the broader areas of Industry 4.0 as it applies to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), this book offers a smooth adoption of techniques and technologies and presents advances, challenges, and opportunities for implementation. It will also enhance the role of academia by training new engineers on Industry 4.0 and digital transformation. Industry 4.0 in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs): Opportunities, Challenges, and Solutions presents concepts of predictive maintenance, digital factory, digital twin, additive manufacturing, and machining for sustainable development. It discusses the challenges faced by adopting Industry 4.0 including new security and privacy measures in the whole smart manufacturing setup while also explaining the impact of Industry 4.0 on Lean production systems. Implementation recommendations in the form of case studies, research studies, and the role academia can play are also provided. Practitioners, research scholars, academicians, and those studying or working in the Industry 4.0 sector will find this book of interest.
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1000548945
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 217
Book Description
Focusing on the broader areas of Industry 4.0 as it applies to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), this book offers a smooth adoption of techniques and technologies and presents advances, challenges, and opportunities for implementation. It will also enhance the role of academia by training new engineers on Industry 4.0 and digital transformation. Industry 4.0 in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs): Opportunities, Challenges, and Solutions presents concepts of predictive maintenance, digital factory, digital twin, additive manufacturing, and machining for sustainable development. It discusses the challenges faced by adopting Industry 4.0 including new security and privacy measures in the whole smart manufacturing setup while also explaining the impact of Industry 4.0 on Lean production systems. Implementation recommendations in the form of case studies, research studies, and the role academia can play are also provided. Practitioners, research scholars, academicians, and those studying or working in the Industry 4.0 sector will find this book of interest.
The Lean Manager
Author: Freddy Ballé
Publisher: Lean Enterprise Institute
ISBN: 1934109312
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 473
Book Description
In this groundbreaking sequel to The Gold Mine, authors Michael and Freddy Ballé present a compelling story that teaches readers the most important lean lesson of all: how to transform themselves and their workers through the discipline of learning the lean system. The Lean Manager: A Novel of Lean Transformation reveals how individuals can go beyond the short-term gains from tools, and realize a deeper, sustainable path of improvement. Full of human moments that capture the excitement and drama of lean implementation, as well as clear explanations of how tools and systems go hand-in-hand, this book will teach and inspire every person working to make lean a reality in their organization today. This book will help you learn both the how of doing lean, as well as the why behind the tools, enabling you to become lean. Lean is the most important business model for competitive success today. Yet companies still struggle to sustain enduring and deep-rooted business success from their lean implementation efforts. The most important problem for these companies is becoming lean: how can they advance beyond realizing isolated gains from deploying lean tools, to fundamentally changing how they operate, think, and learn? In other words, how can companies learn to go beyond lean turnaround to achieve lean transformation? The Lean Manager: A Novel of Lean Transformation, by lean experts Michael and Freddy Ballé, addresses this critical problem. As we move from what Jim Womack, author, lean management authority, and LEI founder, calls “the era of lean tools to the era of lean management,” The Lean Manager gives companies a definitive guide for sustaining their ability to learn and improve operations and financial performance, while continually developing people. “The only way to become and stay lean is to produce lean managers,” says Womack. “Every isolated effort will recede—or fail—unless companies learn to use the lean process as a way of developing individual problem-solvers with the ownership, initiative, and know-how to solve problems, learn, and ultimately coach new individuals in this discipline. That’s why this book matters so much.” The Lean Manager, the sequel to the Ballé’s international bestselling business novel The Gold Mine, tells the compelling story of plant manager Andrew Ward as he goes through the challenging but rewarding journey to becoming a lean manager. Under the guidance of Phil Jenkinson (whose own lean journey was at the core of The Gold Mine), Ward learns to use a deep understanding of lean tools, as well as a technical know-how of his plant’s operations, to foster a lean attitude that sustains continuous improvement. Where The Gold Mine shows you how to introduce a complete lean system, The Lean Manager demonstrates how to sustain it. Ward moves beyond fluency with tools to changing his behavior as a manager and leader. He shifts from giving orders and answers to asking the right questions so people identify and address problems. He learns how to use tools to unleash the creativity and motivation of people, so they learn how to solve problems as well as coach and teach others to solve problems. Ward learns how to create lean managers. “I am excited and have hopes that this book will enlighten readers about what it really means to live a business transformation that puts customers first and does this through developing people,” said Jeffrey Liker, author of The Toyota Way and professor of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan. “People who do the work have to improve the work. There are tools, but they are not tools for ‘improving the process.’ They are tools for making problems visible and for helping people think about how to solve those problems.”
Publisher: Lean Enterprise Institute
ISBN: 1934109312
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 473
Book Description
In this groundbreaking sequel to The Gold Mine, authors Michael and Freddy Ballé present a compelling story that teaches readers the most important lean lesson of all: how to transform themselves and their workers through the discipline of learning the lean system. The Lean Manager: A Novel of Lean Transformation reveals how individuals can go beyond the short-term gains from tools, and realize a deeper, sustainable path of improvement. Full of human moments that capture the excitement and drama of lean implementation, as well as clear explanations of how tools and systems go hand-in-hand, this book will teach and inspire every person working to make lean a reality in their organization today. This book will help you learn both the how of doing lean, as well as the why behind the tools, enabling you to become lean. Lean is the most important business model for competitive success today. Yet companies still struggle to sustain enduring and deep-rooted business success from their lean implementation efforts. The most important problem for these companies is becoming lean: how can they advance beyond realizing isolated gains from deploying lean tools, to fundamentally changing how they operate, think, and learn? In other words, how can companies learn to go beyond lean turnaround to achieve lean transformation? The Lean Manager: A Novel of Lean Transformation, by lean experts Michael and Freddy Ballé, addresses this critical problem. As we move from what Jim Womack, author, lean management authority, and LEI founder, calls “the era of lean tools to the era of lean management,” The Lean Manager gives companies a definitive guide for sustaining their ability to learn and improve operations and financial performance, while continually developing people. “The only way to become and stay lean is to produce lean managers,” says Womack. “Every isolated effort will recede—or fail—unless companies learn to use the lean process as a way of developing individual problem-solvers with the ownership, initiative, and know-how to solve problems, learn, and ultimately coach new individuals in this discipline. That’s why this book matters so much.” The Lean Manager, the sequel to the Ballé’s international bestselling business novel The Gold Mine, tells the compelling story of plant manager Andrew Ward as he goes through the challenging but rewarding journey to becoming a lean manager. Under the guidance of Phil Jenkinson (whose own lean journey was at the core of The Gold Mine), Ward learns to use a deep understanding of lean tools, as well as a technical know-how of his plant’s operations, to foster a lean attitude that sustains continuous improvement. Where The Gold Mine shows you how to introduce a complete lean system, The Lean Manager demonstrates how to sustain it. Ward moves beyond fluency with tools to changing his behavior as a manager and leader. He shifts from giving orders and answers to asking the right questions so people identify and address problems. He learns how to use tools to unleash the creativity and motivation of people, so they learn how to solve problems as well as coach and teach others to solve problems. Ward learns how to create lean managers. “I am excited and have hopes that this book will enlighten readers about what it really means to live a business transformation that puts customers first and does this through developing people,” said Jeffrey Liker, author of The Toyota Way and professor of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan. “People who do the work have to improve the work. There are tools, but they are not tools for ‘improving the process.’ They are tools for making problems visible and for helping people think about how to solve those problems.”