Made-to-Order Lean: Excelling in a High Mix, Low Volume Environment

One of the more important things in being able to judge how effective the lean tools can be, consists in reading and participating in events that talk about this topic.

 

I got this information from a friend that is becoming a lean expert. This book seems to have valuable information for order fulfilling processes. I have not read it yet, so I can not share my opinion right now.

 

John Shook describes the book as :

"Finally, here is a practical guide to simply introduce the Toyota Production System (TPS) in job shop environments...If you own, manage, or work in a job shop and will simply give a try to the ideas, tools and principles described in this book, I predict you will find great success and will refer to this book over and over for years."

So I think I will give it a try,,,,, if you read it, please let me know what you think about the book..

Here the description about the book:

Toyota Production System methods have rendered remarkable results in high-volume manufacturing plants, but they have not been fully understood and correctly applied in high-mix, low-volume environments. While lean principles do apply, the implementation methods and tools must be adapted and alternate methods embraced in a low-volume environment.

Made-to-Order Lean is specifically geared for manufacturers that have hundreds to thousands of active part numbers with few or no ongoing forecasted volumes, and for job shops that build only to order. The primary focus is eliminating nonvalue-added activities and instituting improvements on the most repetitive jobs - a strategy that gives you more time to produce your low-volume work or one-offs.

This workbook is:

• Based on Toyota methodology and explains how to implement critical adaptations to high-mix, low-volume manufacturing.
  
• Fully illustrated with charts and photos from successful applications in low-volume environments.
  
• Comprehensive, including an Implementation Flow Chart that will help you customize for your shop.
  
• Written in a simple, logical fashion by a former Toyota employee with more than 15 years of hands-on experience.