This book is a very good introduction to "lean manufacturing". I would say it is aimed at managers or other interested people in implementing lean manufacturing in their organizations. It is a perfect book to gain adepts for the lean cause, so if you are finding resistance in your organization to implement it, you could give out some copies of this book.

This book is more a general reading book (basics & benefits, resistance you might encounter, etc.) than a deep study or detailed guide. If you need deeper knowledge of the different tools, more specific applications or more detail on how to apply them, you will require other literature.

Another introduction to the subject is a novel called The Gold Mine: A Novel of Lean Turnaround, both books address the topic highlighting different key aspects of lean, so reading both gives you probably a broader perspective. The gold mine goes a little deeper into the subjects and its emphasis on key concepts is very appealing.

The only way to be competitive in the world marketplace is to be much more efficient. In other words "lean and mean." Efficient at engineering, efficient at manufacturing and efficient at meeting/exceeding customer expectations are all keys to becoming more competitive.

This book and their Machine that Changed the World are good resources for manufacturing facilities more lean. And...lean thinking leads to more lean thinking.

Using the Toyota system as a guide, Womack and Jones address how companies can eliminate waste and increase profits. They write:

"Our earnest advice to lean firms today is simple: To hell with your competitors; compete against perfection by identifying all activities that are muda and eliminating them. This is absolute rather than a relative standard which can provide the essential North Star for any organization."

Well written with many telling examples. Recommended!

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

Lean is a specific management technique to make an organization more efficient (and a private sector company more profitable). This book is a well written introduction to the subject. The authors, James Womack and Daniel Jones, provide lots of examples to illustrate their basic points. Thus, this is a very useful introduction to the subject, for those of us who are not experts on this matter.

To start at the beginning. . . . The enemy is "Muda," a Japanese word that means "waste," in all of its manifestations. Lean is an approach to reducing Muda. Pie in the sky? Toyota is one of the pioneers in this movement, and it is now the # 1 automaker in the world--so, maybe, we ought to pay some attention to the concept. As the authors note (Page 15): ". . .Muda is everywhere." And the antidote to muda is lean.

The Introduction itself does a nice job of laying out the key concepts of Lean. Then, each part of the book builds on that foundation. Key points: (1) Value. Value is defined by the ultimate customer. The problem? Corporations and other organizations often think that they know best and do not really understand what the end user wishes as value. As the authors note (Page 19): "Lean thinking therefore must start with a conscious attempt to precisely define value in terms of specific products with specific capabilities offered at specific prices through as dialogue with specific customers." (2) The Value Stream. This is the actions needed to bring (Page 19) ". . .a specific product (whether a good or a service. . .) through the three critical management tasks of any business." (3) Flow. Outline the step-by-step process by which goods and services are delivered and identify muda, so that waste can be reduced/eliminated. (4) Pull. Develop a process such that customers pull the product from the source/supplier. (5) Perfection. Keep working on improving the product/output, by incremental changes leading to further reduction of muda.

Examples abound. Think of the miserable experience these days of flying from place to another. Muda is everywhere (see the discussion on pages 32-35).

Part I lays out the lean principles in much more detail (Value through Perfection, steps 1 through 5 already summarized). Part II explores lean in more detail (including comparing lean versus the German approach). And so on.

Want to know about lean? This is a pretty good introduction, as far as I can tell, for a lay audience. I'm not an expert, but I think that I have learned quite a bit of value from reading this work.

Did these guys get paid by the page? I thought it would never end. There were lots of examples of Lean success with the help of experts and the in-depth details were lacking. I was disgusted with the harsh attitudes toward all the leftover employees once the waste is removed from a process.

The book was truly eye-opening for me! Having spent more than enough time with management consultants and the "programs of the week," misguided Six Sigma projects, etc., I am very cautious about "new" programs. The simple, clear, transformational philosophy of the book was amazing to me. While the book does not outline the steps to take for making a Lean transformation, it should be required reading, before any venture into Lean management. Without an understanding of the philosophy behind Lean, many people mistakenly try to use it as a "tool" to cut costs, which will fail miserably. Lean - the new paradigm.

Lean Thinking illustrates principles from Eliyhu Goldratt's "The Goal", using specific examples of organizations that have used a common sense approach to eliminating waste in obtaining a market advantage. The book advocates using internal talent to re-examine processes and discourages benchmarking. This is a bit ironic as the book is full of benchmark examples. The company I work for is currently implementing lean principles with a good degree of success. The book has been a great resource for our continuous improvement champions as it has shifted the ways in which they think.

I found this book to be interesting, but I hard trouble finishing it because the writing was so boring. Despite the dullness the book did get me thinking of product in a different way.

Lean Thinking- A very well written account of a long study of the theory of customer driven value thinking. The elimination of waste in accomplishing customer driven trade is the main goal of this theory. The book has been tuned over a series of revisions, so it is well polished. While I am no expert on the topic, I can at least attest to the fact that the volume is well written and referenced. Their views are spread over a period of many years, giving them the benefit of tracking case study performance over the long term. Companies both large and small have been studied and tracked to determine the benefits of these theories.

A most readable book on an important subject of productivity. The comment on outsourcing is insightful and the emphasis on human element is so crucial. Productivity is not all about bigger and better machines but about management and employee been willing to take risks to think out of a box. Mr. Womack has made a significant contribution to the on-going dicussion of productivity in a globalized world.

My husband loved this book so much that this was actually purchased as a gift for another man in his office.

My husband loved this book so much that this was actually purchased as a gift for another man in his office.

This book provides many case studies of companies outside of the auto industry that converted to lean production. It details the personnel changes they had to make, changes in factory layout, differences in the supply chain and much more. Where "The Machine that Changed the World" was a primer to lean production, "Lean Thinking" is more of a how-to book. Together, they make a great pair and provide a fairly in-depth view of the subject. As in, "The Machine that Changed the World", there is plenty of hard data to back up the claims that these companies improved after switching to lean thinking.

I am a college student majoring in mechanical engineering and read this book and "The Machine that Changed the World" to get a broad understanding of lean production. The two books did just that and even gave me many ideas on how to convert a student organization I am involved with (SAE) to more of a lean organization. As much as possible anyway.

This book is a practical guide through lean thinking & principles. Highly readable, immediately applicable. A must for any professional rolling out Lean. I have been going through the chapters and returning time and again for bits and peaces that I can use in my own work. Excellent,usable and exciting to read.

Lean Thinking is the second of the lean books from Womack and Jones. First was "the machine that changed the world", which changed my way of thinking. Lean Thinking picks up where "the machine" left and tries to abstract the learning from "the machine" into 5 values of lean. The 5 values are "Value, Value Stream, Pull, Flow and Perfection". By abstracting these values, Womack and Jones enable the lean manufactuing ideas to be used in different industries, which is exactly what happened. That makes this book a landmark book that maybe changed the world even more than their first book.

The book itself is a nice and very very easy read. The authors get to the point, their explanation is clear and their stories made me enjoy the book very much. All in all, an excellent book and a absolute must read for anyone interested in lean, in whatever industry.

I think it would have been better in print, some of the concepts are hard to follow on tape

I think it would have been better in print, some of the concepts are hard to follow on tape

Lean thinking shift management concern away from assets and finance and focuses them on the perspective of the customer. Value is provided when the supplier gives the customer exactly what they want when they want it and the producer creates value. Lean thinking provides immediate value by converting waste into value. Value is a conscious attempt to precisely define value in terms of a specific product with specific capabilities at a specific price through a dialogue with the customer. Managers need to rethink along product line and not existing assets and technologies.

The value stream has three components: 1. the problem solving task 2. Information management 3. and transformation task. The value stream exposes and finds many steps that create no value and should be immediately avoidable. How does so much waste occur for such a long time? The departments or parties are not accountable nor forced to explain their products, processes, or service to others. Secondly, there exists the matter of confidentiality where non-disclosure creates barriers and artificial dependency. Third, the matter of the obvious circumvents the desire to continual improve and reexamine process and product.

Value stream begins with "one thing at a time" as more efficient than batch processing. Batch processing is the culture of the farmer. The farmer culture has replaced the hunter culture. The hunter culture is more efficient, as it seeks to "build what the customer wants when the customer wants it" or in other words "on-demand production". On-demand production destroys the need for forecasting and lets the customer pull the product from the product when needed. Lean thinking cuts production through times by 90% and reduces inventories by 90%. Batch processing or mass production thinking results in stagnation which leads to cost cutting, an innovation incentive killer.

Lean thinking starts with analysis of flow. The manufacturing process is divided into cells. Each cell represents one or more sequence of assembly and transformation processes. A tub is passed between each cell and triggers a series of events to start in the cell. The parts associated with the tub are built exactly and immediately. Any process or resource that does not contribute value in the flow is removed. Higher demand cells are place at the beginning of the flow. Cells can be run in parallel creating economy of scale load balancing. A critical failure can stop all the production. Quality teams constant analyze the flow for defect and workers in the cell are allowed to respond and communicate problems and suggestions for improvement.

Lean thinking begins with pull. Customers pull products from the producer and remove the need for forecasting and excessive inventories size. Machines are equipped with fast transforming technology allowing for a diverse combination of assembled options for parts and products moving from cell to cell. Lean thinking is better than MRP. Lean thinking removes the slack time in scheduling errors and miscalculations in forecasted quantity amounts and types.

Lean thinking must be applied to all aspects of product creation and delivery. Lean thinking removes any flow issues associated with getting the correct product to the customer, quickly, accurately, and efficiently. Lean thinking replaces mass production process engineering and exposes process weakness and factories have tolerated and managed these failures as a part of the mass production cycles. Lean product exposes these weaknesses and replaces them with more feasible solutions.

Manufacturing Perfection is impossible, however thinking about perfection leads to inspiration and innovative solutions. Lean thinkers bring abundance to the market, transform nonstandard products into standardized products, and increase customer value. The value of lean thinking is continuous improvement in quality, design, and product.

Lean thinking shift management concern away from assets and finance and focuses them on the perspective of the customer. Value is provided when the supplier gives the customer exactly what they want when they want it and the producer creates value. Lean thinking provides immediate value by converting waste into value. Value is a conscious attempt to precisely define value in terms of a specific product with specific capabilities at a specific price through a dialogue with the customer. Managers need to rethink along product line and not existing assets and technologies.

The value stream has three components: 1. the problem solving task 2. Information management 3. and transformation task. The value stream exposes and finds many steps that create no value and should be immediately avoidable. How does so much waste occur for such a long time? The departments or parties are not accountable nor forced to explain their products, processes, or service to others. Secondly, there exists the matter of confidentiality where non-disclosure creates barriers and artificial dependency. Third, the matter of the obvious circumvents the desire to continual improve and reexamine process and product.

Value stream begins with "one thing at a time" as more efficient than batch processing. Batch processing is the culture of the farmer. The farmer culture has replaced the hunter culture. The hunter culture is more efficient, as it seeks to "build what the customer wants when the customer wants it" or in other words "on-demand production". On-demand production destroys the need for forecasting and lets the customer pull the product from the product when needed. Lean thinking cuts production through times by 90% and reduces inventories by 90%. Batch processing or mass production thinking results in stagnation which leads to cost cutting, an innovation incentive killer.

Lean thinking starts with analysis of flow. The manufacturing process is divided into cells. Each cell represents one or more sequence of assembly and transformation processes. A tub is passed between each cell and triggers a series of events to start in the cell. The parts associated with the tub are built exactly and immediately. Any process or resource that does not contribute value in the flow is removed. Higher demand cells are place at the beginning of the flow. Cells can be run in parallel creating economy of scale load balancing. A critical failure can stop all the production. Quality teams constant analyze the flow for defect and workers in the cell are allowed to respond and communicate problems and suggestions for improvement.

Lean thinking begins with pull. Customers pull products from the producer and remove the need for forecasting and excessive inventories size. Machines are equipped with fast transforming technology allowing for a diverse combination of assembled options for parts and products moving from cell to cell. Lean thinking is better than MRP. Lean thinking removes the slack time in scheduling errors and miscalculations in forecasted quantity amounts and types.

Lean thinking must be applied to all aspects of product creation and delivery. Lean thinking removes any flow issues associated with getting the correct product to the customer, quickly, accurately, and efficiently. Lean thinking replaces mass production process engineering and exposes process weakness and factories have tolerated and managed these failures as a part of the mass production cycles. Lean product exposes these weaknesses and replaces them with more feasible solutions.

Manufacturing Perfection is impossible, however thinking about perfection leads to inspiration and innovative solutions. Lean thinkers bring abundance to the market, transform nonstandard products into standardized products, and increase customer value. The value of lean thinking is continuous improvement in quality, design, and product.

Lean thinking shift management concern away from assets and finance and focuses them on the perspective of the customer. Value is provided when the supplier gives the customer exactly what they want when they want it and the producer creates value. Lean thinking provides immediate value by converting waste into value. Value is a conscious attempt to precisely define value in terms of a specific product with specific capabilities at a specific price through a dialogue with the customer. Managers need to rethink along product line and not existing assets and technologies.

The value stream has three components: 1. the problem solving task 2. Information management 3. and transformation task. The value stream exposes and finds many steps that create no value and should be immediately avoidable. How does so much waste occur for such a long time? The departments or parties are not accountable nor forced to explain their products, processes, or service to others. Secondly, there exists the matter of confidentiality where non-disclosure creates barriers and artificial dependency. Third, the matter of the obvious circumvents the desire to continual improve and reexamine process and product.

Value stream begins with "one thing at a time" as more efficient than batch processing. Batch processing is the culture of the farmer. The farmer culture has replaced the hunter culture. The hunter culture is more efficient, as it seeks to "build what the customer wants when the customer wants it" or in other words "on-demand production". On-demand production destroys the need for forecasting and lets the customer pull the product from the product when needed. Lean thinking cuts production through times by 90% and reduces inventories by 90%. Batch processing or mass production thinking results in stagnation which leads to cost cutting, an innovation incentive killer.

I personally do a vast amount of reading with lean enterprise being of special interest. Womack has done some great work, but this is a "tough read" even for serious lean enthusiasts. I typically finish a book of this length within 2-3 days then re-read it and highlight. It literally took me 11 weeks because I was lulled to a point in which reading further would be of no benefit and would have to put it back on the shelf and revisit it days later. I realize that scholarly and business writing is not especially exciting as I am constantly reading and doing research but this one was tough even for me, an avid reader.

This book provides a very unique perspective on how to run a business. These methodologies can be applied to any industry, as the authors suggest.

Read The Toyota Way as well to get a real example of how this works.

After reading "The machine that saved the world" (which I recommend reading before this one) from the same great authors, I got more and more interested in the LEAN concept. As described in this book, by 1996, LEAN became a way of thinking and operating, expanding around the world in several industries. Although this book gives a clear explanation of LEAN principles, it is still oriented into manufacturing. This book is not enough if you are willing to implement LEAN in your organization, but rather convinces you of applying it if you are still hesitating. Check out the latest book in this series "Lean Solutions: How Companies and Customers Can Create Value and Wealth Together".

I think this book is largely bogus. Sure there is logic in having an efficient system to your manufacturing process and in buying the machines you actually need instead of something too big or too inflexible. But while the Japanese may have ninjas and 'Asian sexual secrets,' they haven't discovered any new principles of manufacturing that we insecure Americans didn't already know a long time ago. Despite the stylish Japanese mumbo-jumbo, there isn't much in this 'lean thinking' that Henry Ford didn't already have figured out by 1914, although the limitations of the technology of that day prevented him from implementing his ideas fully.

Speaking of Henry Ford, among the historical inaccuracies in this book is the oft-repeated untruth that all the millions of Ford Model T cars produced over 19 years were all exactly alike. The truth is that several body styles, ranging from open touring cars to 'Torpedo Roadsters' to closed sedans were produced, and the entire line went through at least two major styling changes and thousands of mechanical improvements.

Some parts of this book just don't make any sense at all, revealing amazingly poor writing on the part of the authors and -- given that this is the revised edition -- an astonishing lack of critical thinking on the part of eager readers. For example, on page 178 it is told how Pratt & Whitney replaced a particularly inefficient turbine blade grinding machine with 'eight simple three-axis grinding machines.' But in the very next paragraph they mention 'each of the nine machines,' and then go on to say, 'The number of parts in the process would fall from about 1,640 to 15 (one in each machine plus one waiting to start and one blade just completed).' Then to top it off, the text is accompanied by a diagram showing a grinding process with eight grinders and two EDM machines. I can see I'm not the only one who flunked math here.

Additionally, the book is full of stories of Japanese lean thinking gurus walking into American factories without advance notice and ordering that all the production machinery be uprooted and repositioned -- immediately. Supposedly, this is done and things brought up to running condition again in six or eight hours, with greatly improved efficiency. Where I come from, we have bothersome things like OSHA rules and the National Electrical Code that prevent us from just sliding around 100 ton presses and precision-levelled CNC machine tools like so many couches and chairs.

Also telling is the example the authors themselves picked to illustrate their concept of 'flow.' One of them asked his daughters, aged six and nine, what would be the best way to fold, address, seal, stamp and mail the monthly issue of their mother's newsletter. The girls naturally replied that you ought to concentrate on one task at a time, and process all the newsletters up to that point before moving on to the next step. But the authors assert that this is wrong, and that this type of work can be done more efficiently by carrying one workpiece through to completion before starting on the next workpiece. Aside from the cruelty of forcing his daughters to walk out to the mailbox and back 547 times, I can tell you from long experience that this is 100% pure BS. Flow is great, as Henry Ford used flow. But to make a blanket statement that it is better to keep one workpiece in hand and pick up ten tools, than it is to keep one tool in hand and pick up ten workpieces, is just plain wrong. It is the tool that requires technique and concentration and uniformity of use, not the workpiece. By spotlighting this ill-chosen example, the authors have revealed in their own introduction a total lack of real-world experience and a disdain for common sense that runs throughout the entire book.

This book reminds me of a "small business management" correspondence course I once took. I aced the course, but when I got done I didn't feel the least bit prepared to manage a small business.

Maybe I'm one of the "concrete heads" which this book repeatedly reviles, but much of what is said here is contrary not only to common sense -- the book tells us "common sense is always wrong" -- but to experience as well. A good example is the example the authors themselves selected in the introduction, to explain their concept of "flow." One of them asked his two young daughters, aged 6 and 9, what would be the best way to fold, address, seal, stamp, and mail the issues of their mother's monthly newsletter. The girls reply that you should put all the newsletters through one step, then move on to the next step, and so on. The authors assert that this is wrong, and that it is more efficient to pick up one newsletter at a time and carry it through to completion. The authors comment on the girls' "striking failure" to recognize the advantages of flow, and comment mockingly how the whole world operates by the logic of little girls.

Now excuse me, but I'm a professional machinist who works with situations very analogous to this letter-folding bit every day. I know from personal experience that it is more efficient to keep one tool in hand and pick up ten workpieces than it is to keep one workpiece in hand and pick up ten tools. If I tried to put the authors' idea of "flow" into practice I'd start thinking about the weekend and constantly be picking up the tools in the wrong order or forget steps completely. I'd lose my calibration of eye and my "muscle memory" from workpiece to workpiece, and use the same tool slightly differently on each of them. Quality and productivity would both go out the window.

And is he really going to make his daughters walk out to the mailbox 475 times?

Some sections of the book are just plain nonsensical. On pages 178 and 179, it is told how Pratt & Whitney replaced an especially inefficient turbine blade grinding machine with "eight simple three-axis grinding machines." However, the very next paragraph mentions "the nine machines" and then goes on to say, "The number of parts in the process would fall from about 1,640 to 15 (one in each machine plus one waiting to start and one blade just completed)." Meanwhile, the text is accompanied by a diagram showing eight grinders plus two EDM machines in the new grinding process. Yeah, it beats me too. This being the revised edition, one can only come to the conclusion that the readers of the original edition all took the authors' advice and threw out their common sense.

Another idiocy is the repeated tale of Japanese lean thinking gurus walking into American factories and demanding that all the production machinery be re-arranged IMMEDIATELY -- which is done and completed in four or six hours. Now last I heard, machine tools can't be just slid around like couches and chairs. They need to be very carefully levelled if accurate work and proper machine life are expected. And then there's OSHA and the National Electrical Code to think about -- I don't think anybody's going to re-arrange a whole factory without specially trained labor and with no advance notice in six hours.

In my opinion, what good there is in this "lean thinking" is nothing more than what Henry Ford wanted to do in 1914, but could only approximate then because of the limitations of existing technology. The Japanese might have ninjas and "Asian sex secrets," but they have not discovered any new manufacturing secrets that we insecure Americans didn't already know long ago.

This book is great however one should know that the cd's are grossly abridged. It isn't well advertised on Amazon or on the actual packaging. Otherwise, there is a lot to learn in this book.

Buy this book, and pull up a stool! Thanks to Lean Thinking, I'm shedding waste right now. Wow! It's explosive!

I found the book to be quite informative, applicable to any business, and a "must have" in our company library and in any company laying claim to being a "learning organization."

This book offered very little new information other than the basics that any of us who have ever done process improvement already know. Although the authors mention how Lean works in non-manufacturing environments, their examples are almost purely manufacturing.

Not a bad read for a college student, but a waste of time for practitioners. Totally an introduction.

AS I DID NOT RECIVED THIS ITEM YET, I CAN NOT LET YOU KNOW ANY THING.

I'm not sure who the audience is for Lean Thinking. Call me naýve, but I assumed it was written by Womack and Jones to help organizations analyze their business processes and eliminate muda (Japanese for "waste"), thereby improving overall performance. However, after reading almost 250 pages of anecdotal success stories, the chapter entitled "Action Plan," where one would assume resides the punch-line of the text, I was met by the profound advice to "Get the knowledge" by hiring one of the numerous experts in North America, Europe or Japan, and read some of the "vast literature" available on lean techniques. Reminds me of the Steve Martin joke where he tells you how to be a millionaire. "First, get a million dollars."

After reading Lean Thinking, I'm struck by the irony that while the authors recommend removing waste from the manner by which your products are delivered to the end customer, they don't take their own advice. The text could have been distilled from 384 pages down to five or six, since there's no real substantive instruction on how to implement lean principles. Then again, maybe I completely misinterpreted the intent of the authors as to their audience and it really was written for the business historian who enjoys reading about how Pratt & Whitney started in 1855. That must be it, because after I ponder the title, I realize that Lean Thinking is for just that, thinking. What I really wanted was a book entitled Lean Doing.

Would you like to double productivity, cut development time by 60%, reduce inventory by 65%, reduce throughput time by 95%, reduce capital investment while doubling sales? Pre-existing assets, technologies, practices, organizations and concepts often cause enormous waste, i.e. activity which does not create value. This exciting book is about a way to do more and more with less and less - to create value instead of waste.

Lean Principles
1. Accurately understand VALUE (needs and preferences) from the customer's perspective.

2. Perform VALUE STREAM analysis. This will reveal three types of actions: 1) those that create value, 2) those that do not create value but are unavoidable in the present situation and 3) those that don't create value and are immediately avoidable.

3. After eliminating avoidable waste activities, make the remaining activities continuously FLOW. This requires the elimination of departmentalized "high speed" batch-and-queue "efficiency". It requires quick changeovers, "right-sizing" and close coupling of operations without buffers. The authors state that the results are always a dramatic reduction of effort and improvement in throughput.

4. Because of the radical reduction achieved in throughput time, you now are capable of Just In Time operations. You can now let the customer PULL the product.

5. Finally search for PERFECTION. Perfection is, of course, impossible. But the effort compels progress.

"Just Do It"
The lean approach is to "just do it" with dedicated cross functional product teams which often include suppliers and customers.

The beauty of this system is that it won't work at all unless everything works properly all the time. Thus 100% performance becomes an absolute requirement.

The authors present a number of very interesting case studies in which dramatic results were obtained. They conclude with advice as to how to get started - including a list of available resources. This book is especially well-suited to operations managers, but will also benefit any executive in a company that relies upon operational excellence as a part of their strategy.

(Robert Bradford is CEO of Center for Simplified Strategic Planning and co-author of Simplified Strategic Planning)

Russian edition of Lean thinking was published in Russia in January 2004. It's a interesting, necessary book for Russain managers and companies...

This book was translated and published in Russia in January 2004. We find that it will be interesting and usefull for russian managers and companies.

This is a new and expanded second edition of a book first published in 1996. Of special interest to me was what Womack and Jones had to say in the preface regarding what has since happened to the companies previously discussed. Apparently lean thinking has enabled Toyota, Wiremold, Porsche, Lantech, and Pratt & Whitney to sustain operational excellence and economic prosperity.

Briefly, how do Womack and Jones define lean thinking? It is the opposite of muda (a Japanese) word for anything which consumes resources without creating value. In a word, waste. Lean thinking is lean because "it provides a way to do more and more with less and less -- less human effort, less equipment, less time, and less space -- while coming closer and closer to providing customers with exactly what they want." Lean thinking is thus a process of thought, not an expedient response or a stop-gap solution. The challenge, according to Womack and Jones, is to convert muda into real, quantifiable value and the process to achieve that worthy objective requires everyone within an organization (regardless of size or nature) to be actively involved in that process. Once again, in this new edition they address questions such as these:

1. How can certain "simple, actionable principles" enable any business to create lasting value during any business conditions?

2. How can these principles be applied most effectively in real businesses, regardless of size or nature?

3. How can a relentless focus on the value stream for every product create "a true lean enterprise that optimizes the value created for the customer while minimizing time, cost, and errors"?

In Part IV, Womack and Jones update the continuing advance of of lean thinking. They rack the trend in inventory turns and the progress of their profiled companies. Also of special interest to me was the discussion of what Womack and Jones have learned since 1996 which probably explains why they introduce a new range of implementation tools support value stream mapping initiatives and thereby "to raise consciousness about value and its components, leading to action."

Obviously, even if everyone involved within a given organization is committed to lean thinking, to creating value while (and by) eliminating waste, the process requires specific strategies and tactics to succeed. Hence the importance of the last chapter in this book., "Institutionalizing the Revolution." I presume to suggest that the process of lean thinking never ends. Inevitably, success creates abundance; abundance often permits waste. I also presume to suggest that priorities must first be set so that the implementation of lean thinking process does not inadvertently create or neglect waste in areas which influence the creation of value for customers.

Although highly readable, this is not an "easy read" because it requires rigorous thinking about what is most important to a given organization, rigorous thinking about the root causes (rather than the symptoms) of that organization's problems, and rigorous thinking about the most prudent use of resources to eliminate those problems. Because of the importance of the material which Womack and Jones share, I strongly recommend that decision-makers read and then re-read this book before getting together to exchange reactions to it. Out of that discussion, I hope, will come both a collective commitment to lean thinking and the personal determination of each executive to apply what she or he has learned from this book in operational areas where waste has most diminished value.

This book is a very easy read and has the information needed to take you to the next level in manufacturing.

If you are just starting out learning about Lean Manufacturing, start with this book. It's one of those rare occasions where the sequel was better than the original. If you only have time for one and wondering where to start, "The Machine that Changed the World" is a historically important book but "Lean Thinking" is the one that actually gets you started toward implementation.

This book was definately informative. Lean thinking is revolutionary in approach. The text reviews a lot of success stories. Would like to see another text that gets more into application, answering questions like...How to set up a kanban system..or How to accomplish quick changeover of machinery.

Would recommend this book as a good starting point!

Lean Thinking does an excellent job of detailing what is wrong with the standard business processes in North America and pretty much the rest of the world. The authors also do a very good job of introducing (I hadn't yet read The Machine that Changed the World) and explaining their ideas to make clear that there is a much better way available to companies.
I have long been a big believer that all employees are valuable resources that are all to often wasted due to 'right sizing' efforts to achieve immediate monetary targets. Lean Thinking has total employee involvement as a basic pillar of the theory.
The business examples they provide are bulletproof, and definitely make the case that what they suggest can be done.
The problems I had with the book had to do with credibly backing up many of the claims the authors make, like " quality always zooms when flow and pull thinking are put in place together." Is there any hard evidence to back up this assertion? No in the book. The authors make many guarantees about eye-popping improvements their theory will bring if it is implemented correctly.
Implementation is where I have the biggest problem with this book. Womack and Jones certainly do a good job of explaining their theory and backing it up with impeccable examples, but it all adds up to another book in which the authors tell you what you HAVE to do, but not how to do it. It is my opinion that made yet another contribution to the Knowing-Doing Gap (Pfeffer and Sutton, HBS Press 2000). The great ideas contained in the book lack any real, concrete action steps for successful implementation and so will rarely be successfully implemented.
It is similar to all of the talk about innovation. Everyone knows that it is important to do it, but few actually do it because they don't know how. It's not as simple as snapping your fingers. How do you actually go about involving all of your employees? I myself would involve the Simplex process (1995, The Power of Innovation, M.S. Basadur), but that's just me. The same logic applies to almost every section of the last third of the book. I kept saying to myself, "Wow, that's easier said than done."
The book leaves it to the reader to essentially make it up for themselves to make lean thinking a reality in their organization.
I realize that it would be impossible to provide a step-by-step action plan that woud fit any company or situation, but the authors could have done more than offer "Find a change agent." Gee, thanks for the tip! By the end of the book I realized why the implementation side of the book was so thin - the book is a marketing tool for the authors and their associates. Near the end of the book the reader is told to get a sensei, and hey, there happen to be alot of them in Japan you can hire! Also, we, the authors, do speaking engagements if you want to hire us!
The book is definitely a worthwhile read, as it does open the eyes to the reader of a better way of operating, how far away we currently are from it, and how we are all affected by it.

James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones sound a battle cry against institutional waste. What a pity, they say, that so much time, energy, and money are needlessly thrown away. They urge executives to redefine their values based on customer experiences and to track the flow of value from manufacturing to final sale. The result, they promise, is that companies will save time, energy and money - and will revolutionize their entire organizations in the bargain. Not content to simply study western problem-solving methods, the worldly authors guide their readers through a wide array of Japanese manufacturing wisdom as well. Their generosity and depth make this a pleasantly informative book, which defies the current trend in business books of proclaiming doom and then offering a quick fix. This book would rather proclaim hope, which is just one of the reasons that we [...] recommend it to serious managers who want to trim the fat.

The principals in this book are sound. However, top management must make the full commitment and follow the principals as defined. Trying to shortcut the process will have detrimental results if not disastrous. The concepts in this book my sound very radical but in actuality are common sense. And that is the pitfall. I have seen where a company makes a commitment toward lean manufacturing. But somewhere along the line management thinks they can modify the principals or they begin to not see immediate results and they don't follow the plan to fruition. They end up losing money or their shirt! The hard way is always the easiest way. If you own your own company or are trying to sell this concept to management in your present work environment, it is important that everyone in the organization makes a commitment to Lean thinking. Do not cut corners and stay the course. Don't play with fire.

The principals in this book are sound. However, top management must make the full commitment and follow the principals as defined. Trying to shortcut the process will have detrimental results if not disastrous. The concepts in this book my sound very radical but in actuality are common sense. And that is the pitfall. I have seen where a company makes a commitment toward lean manufacturing. But somewhere along the line management thinks they can modify the principals or they begin to not see immediate results and they don't follow the plan to fruition. They end up losing money or their shirt! The hard way is always the easiest way. If you own your own company or are trying to sell this concept to management in your present work environment, it is important that everyone in the organization makes a commitment to Lean thinking. Do not cut corners and stay the course. Don't play with fire.

This book is better than "The Machine That changed the World." For that matter this book is more useful than most in the field, and not just for lean thinking. James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones are unique in the approach this book takes in trying to understand the existing industry and realistic ways to implement lean thinking.

The major thing I found that helped me to read this book is that they are writing this book as some god consultant that tells how he single-handedly corrected a company as their all knowing all and seeing consultant. They took several industries and companies that there is no vested interest in and explain with realistic diagrams, how lean thinking differs from most traditional concepts and procedures.

The only thing I found disturbing was how they make the existing systems seem more complex than they are (The creation of soda cans from bauxite to bottler) and simplified the recycling procedure The point they are making is clear, It is just the way they show the examples that are skewed. It is like trying to sell a microwave egg cooker and telling you that this way the bacon grease will not splatter on your naked body. So who cooks eggs naked? And what if you still want bacon?

They describe that lean thinking is not just, an other form of existing systems, as MRP or JIT. I only wish they did not try to use so many Japanese words when the English ones work just fine.

Ignoring my quirks, this book is up to date and maybe ahead of its time. However while we just talk about other systems, we are implementing this one as we speak.

Unlike most cost-reduction books, Lean Thinking has a strong conceptual underpinning for thinking about improving your operations. The authors move beyond the narrowest application of the lean manufacturing model (the original Toyota system) to explore key concepts like value (what do the customers want? as opposed to what do they choose from the limited options we give them?), flow (continuous production is faster and more efficient than batch processing), pull (letting immediate demand determine what is produced rather than sales projections), and perfection (thinking through the ideal way to do things, rather than just improving from where you are today somewhat). Providing this conceptual framework makes it easier to understand the benefits of operating a lean enterprise. People who did not understand the message in Direct from Dell would find Lean Thinking to be a useful framework.

One of the strengths of this book is that it is deliberately full of examples of companies which took traditional methods in existing plants and converted them into lean operations. I know of no other set of case histories half as useful on this subject.

The key limitation of this book is that most people new to lean manufacturing would not be able to implement solely using the book as a guide. The conceptual perspective, while being uniquely valuable, leaves the inexperienced person with few guideposts. Some of the key requirements are simply described as "get the knowledge" and so forth. As a follow-up, I suggest that the authors team with those who have done this work and write a hands-on guide. Much more benefit will follow.

If you are interested in understanding how a new business model of how to provide your products and/or services might work and what the benefits might be, Lean Thinking is a good place to start. Most executives and operations managers have never seriously considered going from batch to cell-based production. This will open your eyes to the potential.

Based on my many years of experience with improving business processes, you will actually need to go visit some of the companies cited to fully understand the issues and what must be done. I know that visits to Pratt & Whitney can be arranged and are very insightful. You might try to start with that one.

One area may turn you off. The cited examples moved forward pretty ruthlessly. That may not be your cup of tea. You may be reminded of some of the early reengineering. My own experience is that such changes can be done in a more positive and constructive way. Stay open to that possibility as you read the cases. They basically all use command and control to create more flexibility. You can also use other methods like those encouraged in The Soul at Work and The Living Company to create these kinds of results. Keep that in mind.

I recommend that everyone who uses batch and sequential operation methods read this book. It will open your eyes to great potential to grow faster and more profitably.

Lean Thinking has its strengths. The authors do a good job of explaining the principles behind lean manufacturing and show good data from varied case studies to convey the value in implementing lean manufacturing. They make a strong case that these principles can reduce waste and costs, reduce lead times, and improve quality and resource utilization. This book is not a practical guide, however. I found it to be somewhat of a "warm and fuzzy" overview aimed at top execs and business strategists as opposed to plant, production, and manufacturing managers. The details of certain key roadblocks aren't addressed, for example: 1. Across the board firings of managers who oppose lean principles. Not as easy as it sounds. 2. Vastly improving changeover times and rearranging big machinery without a generous budget. 3. Making radical changes on your shop floor despite heavy production demands. 4. Dealing with a union that is not willing to concede the initial layoff without a massive war, despite a company crises. There are many others. One thing that I got a kick out of - when Japanese consultants were called in to implement lean changes in a plant, they began taking machinery apart and moving it themselves. At many plants I've seen, if a foreign consultant were to do that, he'd probably be shot before he made it out of the parking lot. Though the authors are self-admitedly theorists and the book lacks a lot of "nuts and bolts" detail, they do a good job of teaching the principles and laying out the results.

The authors do a great job of helping anyone understand the whys and hows of how the Toyota Production System. At last, here is a well written book to help you understand the different elements of Lean Manufacturing (Toyota Production System). This is a must read for anyone wanting to implement Lean Manufacturing in their company.

I was disappointed in this tape. (The book may be better. I have not read it) The tape is a couple of hours of generalities. More like a promo for the author's consulting business. Without business specifics, without some detail on how the results were accomplished, I did not find it useful.

The Machine That Changed The World brought an entirely new perspective on manufacturing. This volume continues with the insightful features of the last one.

One of the significant departures from the earlier volume is the focus( or lack of it) on benchmarking. While the authors almost created the 'benchmarking industry' with that book, they no longer appear to be so fascinated by the concept.

They say- let us forget what others are doing- let us see how far can we go on our own understanding and analysis. Sounds remarkably similar to the motivational concpets of self actualization. They feel that this is the way to remove muda. After all, the entire benchmarking industry could not have produced the 10X jumps brought by Toyota Motors in the 1950-60s. So their ideas are acceptable.

Over all, the book represents an evolution of the thought and research done by these two manufacturing specialists.

Certainly a good reading. More than the price

I rank the book amongst the better books that I have read along with the Goal. The book is easy to understand and yet is specific in certain systems and means for measuring waste in an organization. This is refreshing when compared to some of the books on lean manufacturing written by authors who are primarily catering to MBA's and other non technical personnel. These authors rarely have specific solutions and are full of buzzwords which their readers can quote in presentations and meetings, even though the concept may not be applicable in the environment they work in. The only disappointment with the book is that just like all other books in Lean Manufacturing, the examples used are always in dicrete or batch processing and never in a continuous environment with significant set up times which are inevitable. If you work in a discrete or batch process where set up times are small or non existent and inventory turns are low, the book is a great application.

My sister was fortunate last week to visit the Pratt & Whitney plant described in Lean Thinking. She was in awe of the changes they made, their ability to integrate kaizen for five years into the way they run the business and the comparison between the Chaku Chaku line (the new grinding machines and flow) and the older Boehm machines. As she told me about it, the book came to life. These stories are real and lean thinking does make a difference. Lining up the value creating activities into a value stream focusing on what the customer really wants has many benefits. One that Lean Thinking approaches in described in "The 2,000 Percent Solution" by Mitchell, Coles and Metz as the Ideal or Theoretical Best Practice. This is one of the steps in The Master Eight-Step Problem Solving Process described in their book. It allows you to think about the best way to do a task or reach a goal, with no resource constraints or old baggage, knowing what you know now. People report that once they develop their Ideal Best Practice, they can find a way to get there, rapidly, with greater benefits and at less cost. Lean thinking is clearly part of the 2,000 percent solution many activities. These two books should be read together to create greater success and get you there faster.

If you are interested in learning how to really make significant breakthroughs in the value chain, this book is a must. The book has many great examples and then goes on to give you a process to follow for improving your own company and its value chain.

The book gives practical advances that can be made in reducing buffer sizes (if you're into Drum-Buffer-Rope - if not you should read The Race by Goldratt). Inventory turns of over 100 times are available if you stick with the program and make it really work. Quick gains are readily available as well.

We have combined this with Constraint Management and Drum Buffer Rope for a highly effective manufacturing process.