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Budgeting & Finance Search Budgeting & Finance Budgeting & FinanceLean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation
Free Press Search Free Press by James P. Womack Daniel T. Jones Search James P. Womack Daniel T. Jones
Amazon.co.uk Review
Following on from their book, The Machine that Changed the World, Womack and Jones have developed their ideas further with Lean Thinking. This book is aimed at any manager interested in sustaining growth within their industry. They define "lean thinking" as the elimination of unnecessary waste in business, and by outlining the principles and applications of this they link their theories to value for the customer.
Womack and Jones demonstrate the effectiveness of their approach through their research in both the U.S. and Europe. Citing examples from both simple and complex manufacturing processes, and from traditional technologies to high-tech companies, they show how their theories have been put into action.
They develop their ideas further by suggesting the application of lean thinking to the whole product cycle, from suppliers to customers. Taking the travel industry as an example, the authors show how their methods could eliminate long queues and waiting times for customers.
Based on the belief that companies should compete against perfection rather than each other, Lean Thinking provides a valuable new insight into methods of production management. And by applying the theories outlined in this book, managers across all sectors of the economy will be able to reduce waste and increase profitability.
Customer Reviews:
Inspiring and well named book
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in business improvement. It is well thought out and easy to read.
I would have liked to see more visuals and summaries that could easily be referred to but this is just minor comments. This book does what it says on the cover and achieves its aim of getting people interested in the topic.
Lean Thinking 
Excellent book.This is a good book that shows you the way to eliminate waste in your organisation by applying a few concepts.Highly recommended.
Becoming Lean and Mean!
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 as a philosophy.
I have bought half a dozen `Lean' books from Amazon in addition to several from other book shops, and this book stands head and shoulders above the rest. The difference is this book provides the `Why' behind Lean with the primary five steps (define value, map value, create flow, create pull, strive for perfection) and solid examples from internationally recognised companies. You get the feel for the `philosophy' and key principles which allow you to see the bigger picture. You will need other books to give you the tools that you require and there are several excellent ones available. The best analogy I can give is that if Lean was cooking, the `Lean Thinking' teaches you to cook, most of the rest are a series of superb recipes. And if you can learn to cook properly, you can try your own recipes.
A Business Paradox: Less Really Can Achieve More
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.
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