Chapter 11
Becoming Lean
In This Chapter
Tracing the history of craft and mass production
Examining the principles and tools of lean businesses
Explaining push systems, pull systems, and the customer interface
Most doctors advocate lean human bodies and point out the health benefits of high-functioning physical activity, including extended life and improved quality of life compared to the heavier alternative. This is true in body and also in business.
The lean philosophy centers on doing more with less by eliminating waste and producing only the products that customers demand. The lean approach to business has changed manufacturing throughout the world, and it applies to all aspects of business.
In this chapter, we describe the concept of lean from a business perspective. We explore the principles of lean and offer a brief history of how businesses came to embrace the lean approach. We also present useful tools for becoming lean.
Evolving to Lean
The techniques described in this chapter that have become known as lean manufacturing dramatically changed manufacturing industries. The concepts and techniques that the Japanese implemented to save their failing industries after World ...
Get Operations Management For Dummies now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
