Relentless Improvement

Relentless Improvement

by Bill Trudell
Released November 2012
Publisher(s): CRC Press
ISBN: 9781466554313

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Book description

Tracing the author’s decades-long continuous improvement journey, Relentless Improvement: True Stories of Lean Transformations walks readers through vivid shop floor experiences to convey a genuine feel for the environments in which Lean Six Sigma transformations occur. Recounting numerous Lean Six Sigma transformations, it illustrates the spectrum of successful operational tactics.

The story starts just outside Detroit, Michigan in the 1970s when the auto industry was booming, and most people in the area worked in the car factories, or in one of the component factories that supplied the Big Three. The complexity and detail of the projects grow chapter by chapter. The book begins by explaining how to manage Lean basics such as applying 5S, shortening product cycle times, and creating standard work. It then progresses to factory Lean Six Sigma transformations. Providing implementation guidance geared to functions on the operational level, the book:

  • Presents stories based on the author’s interactions with company leaders and shop-floor employees in the midst of great change
  • Illustrates real-world plant politics and manufacturing situations using compelling stories
  • Highlights valuable lessons learned at the end of each chapter

Using an engaging story format, the book recounts the author’s career experiences to provide you with a real-world understanding of how to use Lean tools. The stories in the book illustrate everything from standard work and takt time to Kaizen events and Total Productive Maintenance. The text also includes accounts of "front end" or administrative processes such as product development and materials handling.

Table of contents

  1. Front Cover (1/2)
  2. Front Cover (2/2)
  3. Dedication
  4. Contents (1/2)
  5. Contents (2/2)
  6. Introduction (1/2)
  7. Introduction (2/2)
  8. Chapter 1 - A Manufacturing Family (1/2)
  9. Chapter 1 - A Manufacturing Family (2/2)
  10. Chapter 2 - My First Factory (1/3)
  11. Chapter 2 - My First Factory (2/3)
  12. Chapter 2 - My First Factory (3/3)
  13. Chapter 3 - Maybe Not Lean, But Lean Things (1/2)
  14. Chapter 3 - Maybe Not Lean, But Lean Things (2/2)
  15. Chapter 4 - My First Process Improvement Project (1/2)
  16. Chapter 4 - My First Process Improvement Project (2/2)
  17. Chapter 5 - Process Improvement Project #2 (1/2)
  18. Chapter 5 - Process Improvement Project #2 (2/2)
  19. Chapter 6 - My Lean Journey Begins (1/3)
  20. Chapter 6 - My Lean Journey Begins (2/3)
  21. Chapter 6 - My Lean Journey Begins (3/3)
  22. Chapter 7 - Outboard Marine Corporation — Marine Power Products Group (1/4)
  23. Chapter 7 - Outboard Marine Corporation — Marine Power Products Group (2/4)
  24. Chapter 7 - Outboard Marine Corporation — Marine Power Products Group (3/4)
  25. Chapter 7 - Outboard Marine Corporation — Marine Power Products Group (4/4)
  26. Chapter 8 - Japan (1/5)
  27. Chapter 8 - Japan (2/5)
  28. Chapter 8 - Japan (3/5)
  29. Chapter 8 - Japan (4/5)
  30. Chapter 8 - Japan (5/5)
  31. Chapter 9 - Lean Transformation # 1 (1/9)
  32. Chapter 9 - Lean Transformation # 1 (2/9)
  33. Chapter 9 - Lean Transformation # 1 (3/9)
  34. Chapter 9 - Lean Transformation # 1 (4/9)
  35. Chapter 9 - Lean Transformation # 1 (5/9)
  36. Chapter 9 - Lean Transformation # 1 (6/9)
  37. Chapter 9 - Lean Transformation # 1 (7/9)
  38. Chapter 9 - Lean Transformation # 1 (8/9)
  39. Chapter 9 - Lean Transformation # 1 (9/9)
  40. Chapter 10 - Components Plant (1/3)
  41. Chapter 10 - Components Plant (2/3)
  42. Chapter 10 - Components Plant (3/3)
  43. Chapter 11 - Lean Transformation #2 (1/6)
  44. Chapter 11 - Lean Transformation #2 (2/6)
  45. Chapter 11 - Lean Transformation #2 (3/6)
  46. Chapter 11 - Lean Transformation #2 (4/6)
  47. Chapter 11 - Lean Transformation #2 (5/6)
  48. Chapter 11 - Lean Transformation #2 (6/6)
  49. Chapter 12 - Improve Design Engineering Process (1/2)
  50. Chapter 12 - Improve Design Engineering Process (2/2)
  51. Chapter 13 - Improve Materials Management Process
  52. Chapter 14 - Lean Transformation Strategies (1/2)
  53. Chapter 14 - Lean Transformation Strategies (2/2)
  54. Chapter 15 - Various (1/2)
  55. Chapter 15 - Various (2/2)
  56. About the Author
  57. Back Cover

Product information

  • Title: Relentless Improvement
  • Author(s): Bill Trudell
  • Release date: November 2012
  • Publisher(s): CRC Press
  • ISBN: 9781466554313