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Chapter 1
The Birth of Lean
There are some possibilities to improve the production system . . .
Eiji Toyoda at Ford Rouge plant, circa 1950
New ideas are a response to concrete problems. To understand Lean produc-
tion we need to understand the mass production system that it is supplant-
ing.
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Let us take a brief historical tour.
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Craft Production
If you wanted to buy a car in 1900, for example, you would have visited
one of the craft producers in your area. The shop owner, usually an entre-
preneur who did a range of manufacturing and repair work, would take
your specifications. Several months later you would get your car. You would
roadtest it, ...