Lean Execution

Many books explain how to construct a value stream map, but few explain the process conditions and characteristics required to ensure a value stream map can be completed successfully. Lean Execution: The Basic Implementation Guide for Maximizing Process Performance fills this need. Although the book explains Lean methods and tools that maximize process performance, its main focus is on providing readers with detailed guidelines, process conditions, and helpful tips for ensuring successful implementation. Based on Clifford Fiore’s insights and experiences gained through years of firsthand application and implementation of Lean methods, the book supplies easy-to-understand explanations of proven Lean tools, methods, and concepts. For example, the concept of flow/theory of constraints is reviewed using a garden hose analogy. The text introduces material in a manner that mirrors the natural sequence for general implementation. It provides simple calculations, worksheets, and examples to reinforce the key concepts involved with determining production rates and process variation. In addition to explaining how to apply Lean tools correctly, the book provides the big picture perspective required to select and apply the appropriate Lean tool at the right time, while gaining helpful insight about the process under review. Sharing valuable lessons learned by trial and error, the book can help practitioners save valuable time and resources by not repeating similar mistakes. The book concludes with a summary that outlines a blueprint for maximizing success during implementation. Clifford Fiore has spent more than 30 years at a Fortune 500 company and is a recognized leader in applying Lean and Six Sigma methodologies. He is also a certified black belt and Lean expert. Through his work in adapting process improvement techniques in engineering, manufacturing, and the supply chain, he has emerged as an industry leader in implementing concepts towards reducing product cost, quality defects, and development cycle times.

This informative volume explores the roots of high-performance materials management, and enables supply managers to make the right choice of process control at the right time.

Many organizations develop strategic plans that gather dust on bookshelves. Many other organizations employ Lean and Six Sigma methodologies to eliminate waste and reduce process variation only to find they are not moving the big bars that measure success for the organization. Driving Strategy to Execution Using Lean Six Sigma: A Framework for Crea

The Lean Manufacturing Implementation Guide is a "how to" book that describes and documents the proven steps necessary to complete a successful lean transformation in a manufacturing facility. It reduces the manufacturer's fear of change by providing proven, objective and standard how to methods that are understandable and can be easily applied. The book is designed for manufacturing and engineering management personnel.

The only current book to bring out lessons from actual Lean service initiatives Contains host of new tools developed and successfully used by author in Lean transformations Brings out leadership challenges encountered in Lean service deployment Provides Do’s and Don’ts that must be kept in mind on a journey of service Lean adoption Written in a jargon-free and easy-to-read manner so that the book can be read by both Lean change agents and those uninitiated to Lean thinking

Winner of a Shingo Research and Professional Publication AwardThe new edition of this Shingo Prize-winning bestseller provides critical insights and approaches to make any Lean transformation an ongoing success. It shows you how to implement a sustainable, successful transformation by developing a culture that has your stakeholders throughout the o

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.

Hands-on guidance for creating competitive advantages through strategy realization How can your supply chain create competitive advantages and help achieve business goals? Drawing from the author's abundant research and analysis, this resourceful book shows how aligning the supply chain design with business strategy helps build competitive capabilities, prioritize capital investments, and takes your firm beyond the industry best-practices to create competitive advantages, not just competitive parity. Summarizing the current literature on business and supply chain strategies, this book provides path-breaking new direction to build your own winning supply chain strategy. Real-life cases show how this strategy alignment has produced results for the most successful companies and how it can be achieved in your firm. An overview of the concepts of business strategy, the current thinking on supply chain strategy and why it is inadequate to drive competitive advantage through supply chain design Process for establishing your own supply chain strategy to build competitive advantage The place of technology in creating business capabilities in modern corporations and why managing technology should be a core competence and an integral part of strategy planning Step-by-step direction and examples for creating strategy alignment and designing a supply chain that goes beyond supporting your operations Case studies including Wal-mart, Cemex, Kmart, HP, Dell, and others Consolidating the lessons learned along with implementation guidance, Supply Chain as Strategic Asset is the must-read road map for designing a supply chain that will be vital in achieving your business goals.