Lean for the Cash-Strapped Leader : The Path to Growth and Profitability

"Created by Lean practitioners with real-world, results-proven track records, this book is designed to help struggling managers and leaders, interested in the benefits of Lean but bereft of budgets to hire full-time consultants, start substantial change in their enterprises and begin to reap the benefits of Lean.At once a how-to manual and a strategic management guide, the book lays out, in simple English, all the steps for implementing Lean, from formulating a strategy and managing organizational change, to establishing a kanban-driven, level-loaded production system.Presenting strategies that will fit in most existing budgets, Lean for the Cash-Strapped Leader: The Path to Growth and Profitability uses easy-to-read language with flashes of humor to reveal proven methods that will help your organization initiate change and begin reaping the rewards of a Lean operations system in any industry.The book avoids acronyms, complex Lean terminology, and academic froth to convey the essential instructions, detail, and information you need. Identifying powerful methods for initiating a Lean value stream that require minimal investment, the book is designed to help owners of small businesses and senior managers of larger ones make their enterprises more efficient, more productive, and ultimately more profitable.Along the way, the book gives detailed attention to the need for the "soft message" that underwrites and supports the actions required for a business to achieve the transformation that Lean can bring. Lean for the Cash-Strapped Leader emphasizes the messaging and the degree of management involvement required to achieve a successful Lean result.Learn more about the book at: http://www.leanforthecashstrappedleader.com/"--Provided by publisher Front Cover 1 Contents 7 Preface: The “Why” of This Book 9 Acknowledgments 11 Authors 13 Introduction: About This Book 15 Chapter 1: Brief Overview of Lean and Elimination of Waste 19 Chapter 2: A Different Way of Thinking 27 Chapter 3: Rationalizing the Inventory 39 Chapter 4: Kanban Signals 51 Chapter 5: Deriving Dependent Demand for Kanban 61 Chapter 6: Documenting the Current State in a Process Map 73 Chapter 7: Creating the Future State Process Map 83 Chapter 8: Understanding Kanban–Heijunka Card-Flow Process 95 Chapter 9: Kanbans and Heijunkas 111 Chapter 10: Continuous Improvement, the Kaizen Event 123 Chapter 11: Beginning the Kaizen and Documenting Reality 135 Chapter 12: The Percent-Loading Chart 151 Chapter 13: Using the Percent-Loading Chart 165 Chapter 14: Dependent-Demand Manufacturing Kanbans 181 Chapter 15: The Total-Value Flow with Standard Work and Visuals 195 Chapter 16: Tying Up Loose Ends in the New Total-Value Flow 211 Chapter 17: Competition and Continuous Improvement 229 Recommended Readings 237 Back Cover 239 Content: Brief Overview of Lean and Elimination of WasteA Different Way of ThinkingRationalizing the InventoryKanban SignalsDeriving Dependent Demand for KanbanDocumenting the Current State in a Process MapCreating the Future-State Process MapUnderstanding Kanban-Heijunka Card-Flow ProcessKanbans and HeijunkasContinuous Improvement, the Kaizen EventBeginning the Kaizen and Documenting RealityThe Percent-Loading ChartUsing Percent-Loading ChartDependent-Demand Manufacturing KanbansThe Total-Value Flow with Standard Work and VisualsTying Up Loose Ends in the New Total-Value FlowCompetition and Continuous ImprovementRecommended ReadingsIndex Presenting strategies that will fit in most existing budgets, this how-to book uses easy-to-read language with flashes of humor to reveal proven methods that will help your organization initiate change and begin reaping the rewards of a Lean operations system in any industry. -- Edited summary from book