Expected Publication Date: October 2010

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Chapters

Preface
1. Toyota and the Culture of Kaizen
2. Looking for Waste in All the Wrong Places
3. Jidoka - Respect for People – Your Spouse Probably Thinks You’re Nuts
4. Hoshin Kanri & A3’s – Begin with a Plan
5. 5S – Attacking the Garage
6. Value Streams
7. Quick Changeover – The Luxury of Sleeping In
8. One Piece Flow and Cellular Manufacturing – The Joy of Christmas Cards
9. Kanban and Inventory Reduction – Less is More in the Pantry
10. Standard Work – Just in Case
11. Visual Management – Keep Everyone Informed
12. Total Productive Maintenance – Chimney Sweepers
13. Training Within Industry – Teaching Teens to Drive
14. Five Why’s – Getting to the Root Cause
15. Poka Yoke – Never Let it Happen Again
16. Lean Accounting – Clear Financials
17. 3P – Time for a Vacation!
Appendix: A Brief History of Lean Manufacturing
Glossary
Further Reading

How Lean Manufacturing Methods
Can Help Create a Simple, Ordered, Peaceful and Productive Life

by Kevin L. Meyer

"We make a big mistake in implementing the Toyota Production System thinking it is just a production system." – Taiichi Ohno

The Toyota Production System, also known as lean manufacturing, has helped turn many inefficient factories into globally competitive powerhouses. As many of us become steeped in the environment and philosophy of lean, we begin to recognize inefficiency and waste all around us… not just on the factory floor.

The purpose of this book is two-fold. First, I am convinced that many of the principles and methods of lean manufacturing can be applied to every-day living. All of us could stand to improve how we organize and plan our lives, reduce clutter, and especially interact with our family, friends, and co-workers. Some of the suggestions I give may sound extreme or unreasonable, and they very well may be, but use them as kindling for new ideas. I don’t pretend to use all of them myself; in fact, some aspects of my life seem to perform better with a healthy dose of chaos. Just as with lean manufacturing itself, there is no singular right way. The methods must be selected and tailored for each individual circumstance.

Lean manufacturing can often be counter-intuitive. For example, processing tasks as a batch just seems more efficient that performing each individual activity to completion, one at a time. This presents a problem when attempting to teach the concepts to people who haven’t experienced lean. Sometimes you just have to see a new idea in action in order to believe it works and to truly understand it. In addition to improving how we live our lives, I’m hoping that this book will also be a tool to help draw that real-world connection as we train business and factory people in lean.