
ix
Introduction
At rst glance, the improvement techniques within the Lean philosophy appear
to provide a solution to many types of production-related issues. A powerful and
effective improvement philosophy, Lean can prevent company failure or launch
an organization into world-class operational excellence.
I have been a Lean practitioner for more than 15 years and have been
involved in many Lean transformations. It does not matter the industry you
work in, the product you produce, and even the processes your company uses
to transform something to a nished good, the problems and opportunities you
face are the same as those of everyone else. Y