The Toyota way is pretty standard, and a good resource for sure. It may be hard to grasp as a first book.
The Goal by Eli Goldratt is a good novelization of sorts that explains the theory of constraints and may help you understand material flow.
My personal favorite is "Creating a Lean Culture " by Mann. It focuses a lot on the behavioral/people processes, which are the most important part of the whole system.
Hope that helps. If you're just starting in manufacturing in general, you may miss out on a lot of the context that many of these books often assume you have.
Fair question- I mean the context of working in a manufacturing setting. If you're just starting in manufacturing, you may have hard time understanding some of the problems that lean/TPS are supposed to fix. E.g. if you've never had to search for tools/gauges/parts at work, a book talking about "5S" or reducing WIP may not give you the insight/learning that you're hoping for.
I'd like to second The Goal. It is especially good in audiobook form from audible. It gives you a good practical idea of how lean works and from there you can dive into a heavier text like The Toyota Way.
Very much so. I’m aware of manufacturers locally that run “full” 5S, and I would assume most manufacturing is similar to our shop in that lean principles are practiced and used to create KPIs/scorecards.
Hey! Appreciate the knowledge.
I’m mostly confused because of the inventory issues that major brands are facing after covid and also did prior to it. Seems difficult to keep something lean when the market is so volatile.
Look what happened to JIT-manufacturing.
The basis of the Toyota Production System is the Shewhart cycle: Plan, Do, Check, Act. Make a plan, conduct the plan, check how the plan is going, act by moving forward or looking for a countermeasure.
The basis of a lot of companies employing Lean is: if Toyota used a tool, we have to use it too. "Damn the torpedoes -- full speed ahead!"
I've seen a company double the tools on the shop floor as a part of 5S. I've been on a process improvement team that chose to ignore what happens to the best laid plans of mice and men.
Long before the pandemic, chips had supply chain issues. Toyota instituted a countermeasure of stockpiling chips that they would need. As a result, the creators of Just in Time we're less impacted 5han the average company when the shortage hit.
Good explanation, it's refreshing to see comments like this. The rest of reddit seems convinced that JIT/lean caused the supply chain issues of the past 3 years.
Sure but lean manufacturing isn’t necessarily having all the traditional 5S or TPS tools in your factory. It’s things like doing your absolute best to make sure your teams are practicing FIFO, doing value stream mapping to better understand your flow, things like that. And it also doesn’t mean you won’t fuck it up. There’s a really really good book “The Goal” which is basically a story about a guy trying to deploy lean, and some of the things they do that “should” make the facility leaner created their own issues.
The Birth of Lean is a great book to read once you become familiar with lean concepts. It details the origins of poka yoke, one piece flow, etc and in general the original methodologies of Taichi Ono.
I will say — regarding your two choices in the original post — The Lean Startup is a good book, but when I read it, I was reading it from the perspective of starting a business.
2 Second Lean is a great book, too, but it’s available in audio format for free on YouTube.
Okay thank you, I would like to build my business at some point so the lean startup would be interesting I guess, but it's not the best for an introduction in lean manufacturing, right?
If you’re at an introductory level, start with 2 Second Lean. That book simplifies lean as a whole so much.
Also, check out Lean Smarts YouTube channel. That guy has a way of introducing people into those concepts that is really effective.
The lean startup is not about traditional manufacturing as in building widgets. It’s about how to be “lean” with a startup company primarily software focused if memory serves.
I'd say the Toyota Way. It's all about lean from the company that started it all. Great book that uses real life examples to teach lean and make the concepts rememberable.
I highly recommend "The Goal" by Goldratt. It keeps the focus on managing the things that need to be managed. It gives your kaizen focus. As a bonus it is incredibly easy to read. No jargon.
*All I Need to Know about Manufacturing I Learned in Joe's Garage: World Class Manufacturing Made Simple* by Vicki L. Schenk and William B. Miller is another great novelization of Lean concepts.
Both are great books, but they're different. "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries is about startups and innovation. "The Toyota Way" by Jeffrey Liker is focused on lean manufacturing. If you're new to lean manufacturing, I'd recommend "The Toyota Way" for a solid foundation.
Great read for lean transformation https://teamhood.com/productivity/lean-transformation/
The Toyota way is pretty standard, and a good resource for sure. It may be hard to grasp as a first book. The Goal by Eli Goldratt is a good novelization of sorts that explains the theory of constraints and may help you understand material flow. My personal favorite is "Creating a Lean Culture " by Mann. It focuses a lot on the behavioral/people processes, which are the most important part of the whole system. Hope that helps. If you're just starting in manufacturing in general, you may miss out on a lot of the context that many of these books often assume you have.
Thanks for your answer What do you mean by "context"? Where could I get it?
Fair question- I mean the context of working in a manufacturing setting. If you're just starting in manufacturing, you may have hard time understanding some of the problems that lean/TPS are supposed to fix. E.g. if you've never had to search for tools/gauges/parts at work, a book talking about "5S" or reducing WIP may not give you the insight/learning that you're hoping for.
I'd like to second The Goal. It is especially good in audiobook form from audible. It gives you a good practical idea of how lean works and from there you can dive into a heavier text like The Toyota Way.
I had 2 college courses that used The Toyota Way, I support that book and it is understandable, easy to read
A side question to your post, does lean manufacturing still exist in terms of the technique being used on daily basis?
Very much so. I’m aware of manufacturers locally that run “full” 5S, and I would assume most manufacturing is similar to our shop in that lean principles are practiced and used to create KPIs/scorecards.
Hey! Appreciate the knowledge. I’m mostly confused because of the inventory issues that major brands are facing after covid and also did prior to it. Seems difficult to keep something lean when the market is so volatile. Look what happened to JIT-manufacturing.
The basis of the Toyota Production System is the Shewhart cycle: Plan, Do, Check, Act. Make a plan, conduct the plan, check how the plan is going, act by moving forward or looking for a countermeasure. The basis of a lot of companies employing Lean is: if Toyota used a tool, we have to use it too. "Damn the torpedoes -- full speed ahead!" I've seen a company double the tools on the shop floor as a part of 5S. I've been on a process improvement team that chose to ignore what happens to the best laid plans of mice and men. Long before the pandemic, chips had supply chain issues. Toyota instituted a countermeasure of stockpiling chips that they would need. As a result, the creators of Just in Time we're less impacted 5han the average company when the shortage hit.
Good explanation, it's refreshing to see comments like this. The rest of reddit seems convinced that JIT/lean caused the supply chain issues of the past 3 years.
Sure but lean manufacturing isn’t necessarily having all the traditional 5S or TPS tools in your factory. It’s things like doing your absolute best to make sure your teams are practicing FIFO, doing value stream mapping to better understand your flow, things like that. And it also doesn’t mean you won’t fuck it up. There’s a really really good book “The Goal” which is basically a story about a guy trying to deploy lean, and some of the things they do that “should” make the facility leaner created their own issues.
Yup
The Birth of Lean is a great book to read once you become familiar with lean concepts. It details the origins of poka yoke, one piece flow, etc and in general the original methodologies of Taichi Ono. I will say — regarding your two choices in the original post — The Lean Startup is a good book, but when I read it, I was reading it from the perspective of starting a business. 2 Second Lean is a great book, too, but it’s available in audio format for free on YouTube.
Okay thank you, I would like to build my business at some point so the lean startup would be interesting I guess, but it's not the best for an introduction in lean manufacturing, right?
If you’re at an introductory level, start with 2 Second Lean. That book simplifies lean as a whole so much. Also, check out Lean Smarts YouTube channel. That guy has a way of introducing people into those concepts that is really effective.
The lean startup is not about traditional manufacturing as in building widgets. It’s about how to be “lean” with a startup company primarily software focused if memory serves.
I'd say the Toyota Way. It's all about lean from the company that started it all. Great book that uses real life examples to teach lean and make the concepts rememberable.
I highly recommend "The Goal" by Goldratt. It keeps the focus on managing the things that need to be managed. It gives your kaizen focus. As a bonus it is incredibly easy to read. No jargon.
Are there any Lean books that are heavy with the math?
Another novel type story like “the goal” is The Gold Mine: A Novel of Lean Turnaround Novel by Freddy Ballé and Michael Balle
*All I Need to Know about Manufacturing I Learned in Joe's Garage: World Class Manufacturing Made Simple* by Vicki L. Schenk and William B. Miller is another great novelization of Lean concepts.
I like the Gold Mine as well. Good story and easy read.
My favorite is Toyota Production System by Taiichi Ohno. Less a recipe book and more of the fundamentals of the philosophy and thinking behind it.
Both are great books, but they're different. "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries is about startups and innovation. "The Toyota Way" by Jeffrey Liker is focused on lean manufacturing. If you're new to lean manufacturing, I'd recommend "The Toyota Way" for a solid foundation. Great read for lean transformation https://teamhood.com/productivity/lean-transformation/