Lean Evolution

Lean thinking is a powerful method that allows organizations to improve the productivity, efficiency and quality of their products or services. Achieving these benefits requires good teamwork, clear communication, intelligent use of resources and a commitment to continuous improvement. This book shows how lean thinking can be applied in practice, highlighting the key challenges and pitfalls. The authors, based at a leading centre for lean enterprise research, begin with an overview of the theory of lean thinking. They then explain the core tools and techniques and show how they can be applied successfully. The detailed implementation of lean thinking is illustrated by several case studies, from a range of industries, in which the authors had unprecedented access to the management teams. With its focus on implementation and practical solutions, this book will appeal to managers at all levels, as well as to business students and researchers in lean thinking.

Learn how Lean IT can help companies deliver better customer service and value Lean Enterprise Systems effectively demonstrates how the techniques derived from Lean Manufacturing, combined with the thoughtful application of information technology, can help all enterprises improve business performance and add significant value for their customers. The author also demonstrates how the basic concepts of Lean Manufacturing can be applied to create agile and responsive Lean IT. The book is divided into three parts that collectively explore how people, processes, and technology combine forces to facilitate continuous improvement: * Part One: Building Blocks of the Lean Enterprise sets forth the essentials of Lean. Readers discover where, when, and how Lean IT adds substantial value to the Lean Enterprise through integrated processes of planning, scheduling, execution, control, and decision making across the full spectrum of operations. * Part Two: Building Blocks of Information Systems explores the primary components of an enterprise information system and how these components may be integrated to improve the flow of information supporting value streams. Readers learn how information systems help organize and deliver knowledge when and where it's needed. * Part Three: Managing Change with IT demonstrates how the skillful combination of process and information technology improvements empowers people to continuously improve the Lean Enterprise. Readers develop the skills to exploit emerging information technology tools and change management methods, crafting a Lean IT framework-reducing waste, complexity, and lead time-while adding measurable value. Executives, managers, and improvement teams across a broad range of industries, as well as IT professionals, can apply the techniques described in this publication to improve performance, add value, and create competitive advantage. The book's clear style and practical focus also makes it an excellent textbook for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in business, operations management, and business information systems.

The main purpose of this paper is to compare and discuss the evolution of six important management systems: Japanese Total Quality Control (JTQC), Total Quality Management (TQM), Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge, Business Process Reengineering (BPR), Lean Thinking and Six Sigma. Indeed the contribution of this work lies in the concurrent analysis and classification, by the means of a literature review, of the results and critical implementation factors of the six systems. Deming’s Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) has been used to classify the findings from the literature review.

The Flow System is a holistic FLOW based approach to delivering Customer 1st Value. It is built on a foundation of the Toyota Production System (TPS/LEAN) and the new Triple Helix of Flow creating the DNA of Organizations. The Flow System enables business growth through eliminating non-value-added activities, fostering an environment for innovation, enabling the rapid delivery of value, and shortening the time to market. The Flow System provides a re-imagined system for organizations to understand complex problems, embrace distributed leadership, and build high performing teams. The Triple Helix of Flow relates to the interconnected nature of the three helixes: Complexity Thinking Helix - A new form of thinking to aid the understanding of uncertainty and complex adaptive systems. Distributed Leadership Helix - An emergent hybrid leadership model that is capable of making bold and disruptive moves across an industry. Team Science Helix - A multidisciplinary field that studies all things related to teams and small groups in the workplace. The Triple Helix identified the interactions between and among agents (people, machines, events...) that emerge into new patterns, networks, and knowledge to advance an organization's ability to be more innovative, adaptive, resilient, and agile when operating in complex environments. Endorsements: "The Flow System shows how to generate and nurture self-organizing teams that mobilize the full talents of those doing the work to cope with dizzying change and complexity, while also drawing on the contributions of those for whom the work is being done-the customers."-Steve Denning, author of The Age of Agile "Organizations that pull off this triple helix trick of thinking about the complexity of their systems and the environment in which they're operating, distributed leadership to engage the collective intelligence and creativity of the organization, and building teams of teams so the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, have a good chance of keeping up and staying ahead."-Steve Spear, MIT Sloan School senior lecturer, author of The High-Velocity Edge "The Flow System's Triple Helix provides many of the tools and ways of thinking we will need to do that; it is agile without being doctrinaire about Agile."- David Snowden, creator of the Cynefin Framework, Chief Scientific Officer of Cognitive Edge.

Have you thought about using Lean in your business or organization, but are not really sure how to implement it? Or perhaps you’re already using Lean, but you need to get up to speed. Lean for Dummies will show you how to do more with less and create an enterprise that embraces change. In plain-English writing, this friendly guide explores the general overview of Lean, how flow and the value stream works, and the best ways to apply Lean to your enterprise. You will understand the philosophy of Lean and adopt it not as a routine, but a way of life. This highly informative book teaches you: The foundation and language of Lean How to map the value stream and using it to your business’s advantage The philosophy of Kaizen Different tools to improve management, customer service, and flow and pull How to “Go Lean” within your business and across the industry Avoid common mistakes in implementation Seek out resources for assistance This simple, continuous improvement approach that minimizes waste and adds customer value is changing organizations of all sizes all over the world. Lean for Dummies will show you to take charge and engage your enterprise in a Lean transformation!

Lean Thinking was launched in the fall of 1996, just in time for the recession of 1997. It told the story of how American, European, and Japanese firms applied a simple set of principles called 'lean thinking' to survive the recession of 1991 and grow steadily in sales and profits through 1996. Even though the recession of 1997 never happened, companies were starving for information on how to make themselves leaner and more efficient. Now we are dealing with the recession of 2001 and the financial meltdown of 2002. So what happened to the exemplar firms profiled in Lean Thinking? In the new fully revised edition of this bestselling book those pioneering lean thinkers are brought up to date. Authors James Womack and Daniel Jones offer new guidelines for lean thinking firms and bring their groundbreaking practices to a brand new generation of companies that are looking to stay one step ahead of the competition.

This is an honest look at the origins of lean, written in the words of the people who created the system. Through interviews and annotated talks, you will hear first-person accounts of what these innovators and problem-solvers did and why they did it. You¿ll read rare, personal commentaries that explain the interplay of (sometimes opposing) ideas that created a revolution in thinking.

A growing, aging population; the rise to epidemic proportions of various chronic diseases; competing, often overlapping medical technologies; and of course, skyrocketing costs compounded by waste and inefficiency - these are just a few of the multifarious challenges currently facing healthcare delivery. An unexpected source of solutions is being imported from the manufacturing sector: lean thinking. Lean Principles for Healthcare presents a conceptual framework, management principles, and practical tools for professionals tasked with designing and implementing modern, streamlined healthcare systems or overhauling faulty ones. Focusing on core components such as knowledge management, e-health, patient-centeredness, and collaborative care, chapters illustrate lean concepts in action across specialties (as diverse as nursing, urology, and emergency care) and around the globe. Extended case examples show health systems responding to consumer needs and provider realities with equal efficiency and effectiveness, and improved quality and patient outcomes. Further, contributors tackle the gamut of technological, medical, cultural, and business issues, among them: Initiatives of service-oriented architecture towards performance improvement Adapted lean thinking for emergency departments Lean thinking in dementia care through smart assistive technology Supporting preventive healthcare with persuasive services Value stream mapping for lean healthcare A technology mediated solution to reduce healthcare disparities Geared toward both how lean ideas can be carried out and how they are being used successfully in the real world, Lean Principles for Healthcare not only brings expert knowledge to healthcare managers and health services researchers but to all who have an interest in superior healthcare delivery.