
62 • Relentless Improvement: True Stories of Lean Transformation
were blast furnaces, dies, and castings everywhere, transfer lines, the smell
of machine oil, and people driving around on golf carts. And as always, it
was a very clean and organized facility.
GETTING TO KNOW THE GEMBA:
THE PRODUCT AND THE PEOPLE
As a boat builder, I installed components on small cruisers, worked with
gelcoat, berglass and resin, molds, and a variety of hardware; so I had a
fairly strong familiarity with the product and components. However, as
I transitioned to larger boats and yachts, all the way up to mega-yachts,
there were dierent components involved. I