Lean Nation,
I frequently get asked what the best books are to read regarding lean. People prefer industry specific books that talk about the application of lean in their specific area of focus.
The best books are not industry specific and they come from the source of the Toyota Production System (TPS). In my opinion the two greatest minds with respect to TPS are Shigeo Shingo and Taiichi Ohno. Regrettably both are deceased. Toyota gives the majority of credit to their system to Ohno, the great production mind spanning the late 40's, the 50's and the 60's. Shingo has an award, the The Shingo Prize named after him and this award is given annually to worthy organizations that meet the lofty criteria. As an industrial engineer, I think Shingo was brilliant and the greatest production engineer of the 20th century.
Fortunately for all of us, these two left behind many books that have been translated to English. Ohno has books titled "Toyota Production System" , "Just in Time for Today" and TPS, "Beyond Large Scale Production"
Shingo has a series of books on zero defects, kanban pull systems, poka yoke, quick changeover among several others.
When you read this literature you are reading the source of the Toyota Production System. Each year I try to review several of these books. If you can understand the principles from the source, you can apply them anywhere work is done, regardless of your industry.
Lean Blessings,
Ron
Ron Bercaw
www.breakthroughhorizons.com
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