Going Lean: How the Best Companies Apply Lean Manufacturing Principles to Shatter Uncertainty, Drive Innovation, and Maximize Profits » (Abridged, 6 CDs, 7 hours)

Stephen A. Ruffa (Oak Hill, VA) is an engineer who worked for the American Defense Department and researched lean manufacturing across seventeen large aerospace producers. His previous book, Breaking the Cost Barrier: A Proven Approach to Managing and Implementing Lean Manufacturing was awarded the 2001 Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing Research.

In the wake of economic downturn, foreign competition, spiking oil prices, and even war, American business throughout this decade has been thrust into crisis. To improve their performance, corporations everywhere have adopted a wide range of tools and techniques, yet many continue to struggle. Going Lean points to a better way. Drawing from the lessons of a new breed of companies that have stood apart, it sets aside the notion that efficient operations and powerful innovations are possible only when business is steady and demand is growing. By using lean dynamics—based on principles from the now-famous Toyota Production System—it shows how companies everywhere can thrive across a broad range of changing conditions. In Going Lean, you will learn how to:
set a critical foundation for achieving sustained excellence • identify sources of lag and create robust value streams that thrive in today’s dynamic conditions • describe the underlying techniques to maintain steady and predictable flow • create a system driven by customer demand that consistently introduces new innovation even during downturns • strive for perfection • deliver industry-leading returns

Permissions     vii
Acknowledgments     ix
Introduction: Solving the Mystery of Success     1
From Crisis to Excellence     9
Awash in Chaos!     11
Shattering the Illusion of Stability     29
Creating a Roadmap for Change     46
A New System of Management     64
The Foundational Elements     79
Leading through Measurement     81
From Supply Chains to Value Streams     102
Leveling Process Variation     123
To Push or to Pull?     145
Implementing Lean Dynamics     163
A Plan for Action     165
Structuring the Transformation     182
Making Lean Dynamics Succeed     196
Conquering the Crisis     205
Constructing the Value Curve     213
Glossary     219
Notes     227
Index     257
About the Author     265