Resources

Title	Description
Lean Briefing	*The newsletter of Lean Manufacturing & Factory Science*. Past & current issues.
Lean Manufacturing: Principles, Basic Tools, Techniques and Definitions	Article discusses basic principals, tools and techniques including socio-technical aspects of Lean Manufacturing. Excellent overview with links to more detailed information.
A Brief History of Lean Manufacturing, Toyota and Just In Time	How Lean Manufacturing evolved from Just In Time, Toyota and Ford systems. History back to Eli Whitney.
Pioneers of Lean Manufacturing- Ohno and Shingo	Norman Bodek recalls his experience with Taiichi Ohno and Shigeo Shingo, the originators of Just In Time, Toyota Production and Lean Manufacturing. Includes biographical sketches of Ohno and Shingo.
"A Bomber An Hour"	How Ford Motor Company and Charles Sorensen built as many as twenty five 4-engine bombers a day at Willow Run, Michigan in 1943. This enormous project holds many lessons on Takt Time, Scheduling, Plant Layout and Lean Manufacturing.
Benefits of Lean Manufacturing (Article)	Typical results from Lean Manufacturing implementations. Tables detail range of improvement in five areas and 26 metrics. Explanations.
Lean Manufacturing Success	Case study of a successful implementation of Lean Manufacturing.
Lean Manufacturing Defined & Explained	Article: Broad overview of Lean Manufacturing with links to detailed explanations and topics. (Strategos Home Page)
World Business Review-- Lean Manufacturing (Video)	A televised discussion with General Alexander Haig, Dan Miklovic and Quarterman Lee. Visit Haldex Brake Products with interviews of employees and video of workcells. Video available or streaming video.
Lean Assessment Tool	A Lean Manufacturing assessment tool that rates your factory with respect to Lean principles. Answer the questions (not always easy) and see where your organization stands.
Recommended Reading & Videos	Recommended books and mini-reviews by Strategos. Expand on the ideas and concepts presented on our site.
Useful Links	Sites and URLs with additional information, tools useful stuff.
Lean Manufacturing Downloads	All of the download files from this website in one location.
Lean Manufacturing Case Studies	This page collects case studies from all over our site. They illustrate both successes and failures. These cases also cover or emphasize different aspects of Lean Manufacturing and Manufacturing Strategy.
Implementing Lean Manufacturing	Q. Lee's series of articles on planning and implementation of a Lean Manufacturing Strategy. Published in the Institute of Management Services Journal.
Kamigo Engine Plant--1983	Origins of JIT and Lean Manufacturing. A personal recollection of Toyota's Kamigo Engine Plant and how it contrasted with US engine plants of the time.
Jidoka & Autonomation	Series explains these more obscure concepts of Lean Manufacturing and how they fit into a Lean Manufacturing Strategy.
Lean Manufacturing Elements	Short glossary describing the top 40 Lean Manufacturing elements, tools & techniques.
A Lean Glossary	Extensive glossary of Lean Manufacturing and related terminology from or Canadian affiliate, ValuCurve Management.
Strategos Training	Lean Essentials & Experience Lean Assessment

Strategic Issues

Title	Description
What is Strategy? (Article)	Definition and characteristics of strategic actions and issues.
The Great Nuclear Fizzle at Babcock & Wilcox	Classic case study in Manufacturing Strategy reviews the troubles of Babcock and Wilcox's entry into the nuclear pressure vessel business. Download case study and facilitator notes.
The Focused Factory	Focused factories are small, simple and highly competitive. Summary of Wickham Skinner's classic 1974 article for the Harvard Business Review. Link to Amazon.com for original article.
Leadership for Lean Manufacturing	This series of articles examines the role of leadership in Lean Manufacturing strategy. It uses the U.S. Army's Charismatic Leadership Model. Several classic films on leadership make the lessons come alive.
Lessons In Leadership Twelve O'Clock High (Article)	Major Attila Bognar discusses charismatic leadership as portrayed in the classic film "Twelve O'Clock High". Reprinted from "Military Review"
Factory Science-- What You Should Know About Factories (Article)	What is the body of knowledge necessary to understand a modern manufacturing operation? What is the science behind Lean Manufacturing? Here are some answers.
The Socio-Technical System	Article introduces Socio-Technical concepts.
Lean Manufacturing - A Dynamical System (Article)	Short, illustrated piece on "Systems Thinking" in Lean Manufacturing.
Lean Accounting Series	Activity Based Costing (ABC), product costing and Volume Adjusted Costing are explored in this series on accounting issues. A simple analysis reveals product cost distortion that leads to a deadly spiral.
Capacity, Inventory, Variability, Delivery & Little's Law	How high utilization and Little's Law leads to decreased delivery performance. The role of variability. This has important implications for manufacturing, finance and marketing strategy.
Strategos Training	Lean Strategy- The Workshop for Wagonmasters

Value Stream & Process Mapping

Title	Description
Value Stream & Process Mapping Techniques	Overview of Value Stream and Process Mapping and where to use these techniques. Links to more detailed information.
How To Map Your Value Stream	Detailed, step-by-step instructions for Value Stream Mapping. Present and future states, Lean Manufacturing, VSM symbols and examples.
Guide to Process Mapping	Articles describe the details of Process Mapping (Charting) including detailed instructions, hits and facilitation.
Book: Strategos Guide To Value Stream & Process Mapping	Quarterman Lee's latest book, Value Stream and Process Mapping goes far beyond symbols and arrows. In over 150 pages it tells the reader not only how do it but what do with it.
Strategos Training	Thumbnail summaries of Strategos Training & Mapping Programs

Cellular Manufacturing, Cell Design & Facility Planning

Title	Description
Plant Layout & Facilities Planning for Lean Manufacturing	Series of short articles explains methodologies for facility planning & plant layout from site searches to workstation design. Includes the role of Manufacturing Strategy & the Focused Factory concept.
Facilities Planning & Workplace Design	Free download of entire book. Quarterman Lee's popular book on facility planning and plant layout. Originally published by IIE, now available as a download.
Video "The Human Side of Lean Manufacturing"	In this unique Lean Manufacturing video, five workers explain how they designed and built their own workcell. This video is the ideal introduction for the shop floor. Download preview clip.
Workcells - The Heart of Lean Manufacturing (Article)	Introduction to Cellular Manufacturing principles and why workcells are so important to Lean Manufacturing: Why cells work, how to design.
Workcell Design - A Rationalized Approach (Article)	A structured, rational approach to manufacturing work cell design. This is Engineering rather than sloganeering, perfected over many projects and presented in dozens of seminars.
Balancing The Work In Workcells	Balancing the work of machines and people is an important issue in cell design. Good balance is one of the major sources of workcell efficiency. The methods shown here go far beyond the usual "Line Balance" approach.
All About Takt Time	Takt Time- definition, benefits, uses and limitations. Takt time is a powerful concept with great benefits. Misapplied, it leads to big problems.
Workcell Design & Micro-Space Planning	All the details of manufacturing cell design from the forthcoming second edition of Quarterman Lee's book, *"Facilities and Workplace Design". Sixty-five pages of examples, procedures, description and tools. Free Download.*
One Piece Flow - Should You Use It? (Article)	One Piece Flow is not a moral imperative. Rather, it is an engineering decision that often involves compromise. This article explains.
Group Technology (Series))	Group Technology and Coding & Classification. Important tool for developing product families from a complex product mix. Series of articles.
Facility Planning Tools (Download)	Excel templates and paper forms for facility planning. Taken from "Facilities and Workplace Design".
Principles of Motion Economy	A summary of Ralph M. Barnes' Principles of Motion Economy and their use in workstation design.
Production Miracle at Willow Run	Production on a fantastic scale! How Charles E. Sorensen created the Willow Run Bomber plant that built a four-engine B-24 Liberator every hour!.
Ergonomics In Cellular & Lean Manufacturing	Series of introductory articles on Ergonomics and how this discipline can improve workcells, reduce injuries and increase productivity.
Mixed Model Production	Articles discuss the oft-ignored aspect of Lean known as Mixed Model Production.
Strategos Training	Workcell Design Plant Layout

Kaizen

Title	Description
The Meaning of Kaizen (Article)	Article defines and explains the Japanese word Kaizen and the variations used in the US.
Is The Kaizen Blitz Right For You? (Article)	Article explores the advantages and pitfalls of the Kaizen Blitz. When and where to use it, how to avoid the problems.
Quick & Easy Kaizen (Article)	Mini-Kaizen is not well known but is an effective cost reduction and improvement method. Taiichi Ohno and Dr. Shigeo Shingo pioneered the concept at Toyota and incorporated it as a key element of the Toyota Production System (TPS).
Strategos Training	Quick & Easy Kaizen Kaizen Blitz for Workcells & Processes Kaizen Blitz for Setup Reduction

Kanban, Inventory & Scheduling

Title	Description
The Fuss About Inventory (Article)	This white paper explores the central role of inventory in Lean Manufacturing systems.
Lean Lot Sizing (Article)	Series of articles on Lot Sizing during the Lean Journey. Includes analysis, Guidelines, and the effects of setup reduction. How to use analysis and reason rather than edicts and canons.
The Kanban System Game	Simulation of a Kanban system. Interactive program teaches operation and relationships between capacity, inventory, & lot size. Excel template.
How To Design A Kanban Scheduling System (Article)	Article, presented at an annual conference of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, summarizes the procedures, principles, and techniques for designing Kanban systems.
Chaos & Instability In Scheduling	Series of articles explores feedback and chaotic systems and shows how to apply lessons to manufacturing processes & scheduling.
Strategos Training	Kanban System Design Lean Scheduling Inventory Record Accuracy

Six Sigma/TQM & Process Improvement

Title	Description
Process Mapping & Value Stream Mapping	Process or Value Stream Mapping is one of the simplest, oldest and most valuable techniques for work process improvement. This article shows the basics and has examples of process maps.
The Psychology of Statistical Process Control	Example of how SPC affects the attitude and awareness and psychology of employees. The article also illustrates how to use SPC in simple, low-tech operations.
Does TQM Payoff on the Bottom Line?	TQM has been maligned as a costly fad that does nothing for shareholders. This quantitative study demonstrates otherwise.
The Cost of Quality (Article)	Article describes the journey of a defect through a window manufacturing plant and details the costs this defect attracts. The results will blow your mind.
Quality In The Balance	Six Sigma as a Socio Technical System. Article for ASQ publication explores the balance between socio and technical systems in Six Sigma and TQM success.
ISO 9000 - What Is It?	Article- Introduction and overview of ISO 9000
ISO 9000 Summary	Checklist for organizations considering ISO 9000 certification.
Quality Control Screensaver	An artist's view of "Quality Control" at some companies. This screensaver takes some "getting used to."
Deming's 14 Points	W. Edwards Deming's famous fourteen management principles that helped transform Japanese industry in the 1950's.
Strategos Training	Six-Sigma & Statistical Process Control Root Cause Analysis

Setup Reduction

The Human Side of Lean Manufacturing

Title	Description
The Human Side of Lean	Introductory page to aspects of Lean Manufacturing involving the Human Side.
Video "The Human Side of Lean Manufacturing"	In this unique Lean Manufacturing video, five workers explain how they designed and built their own workcell. This video is the ideal introduction for the shop floor. Download preview clip.
Lessons In Leadership --"Twelve O'clock High (Article)	Major Attila Bognar discusses charismatic leadership as portrayed in the classic film "Twelve O'Clock High". Reprinted from "Military Review"
The Work Team Series (Article)	Series of articles on work teams and team development. The power of teams, stages of development, team dynamics and motivation."
Decoding The DNA of Toyota	Article summarizes a classic Harvard Business Review article by Spear & Bowen. It explores the assumptions and rules built into Toyota's Corporate Culture and how this culture developed Lean Manufacturing.
Strategos Training	Peak Performance Teams Lean Leadership

Training

Warehousing & Distribution

Title

Description

Warehouse Design-- Transactions, Inventory and Technology

How to examine the primary issues, principles, and methodology for warehouses and picking operations.

Warehouse Design

Warehouse Modernization & Layout Planning Guide

NAVSUP 529 is the U.S. Navy's encyclopedic reference for all Navy warehouses. It was written by The Sims Consulting Group, a Strategos-International affiliate. This 700-page document is the most complete manual on warehouse design with hundreds of illustrations, charts, and tables of design data. Free Download.

Lean Manufacturing

Information, Articles, Training & Consulting

►General

►Strategic Issues

►Value Stream & Process Mapping

►Cellular Manufacturing, Cell Design & Facility Planning

►Kaizen

►Kanban, Inventory & Scheduling

►Six Sigma/TQM & Process Improvement

►Setup Reduction

►Teams & Human Issues

►Training

►Lean Warehousing & Distribution

►Maintenance, 5-S & Other Topics

General

Strategic Issues

Value Stream & Process Mapping

Cellular Manufacturing, Cell Design & Facility Planning

Kaizen

Kanban, Inventory & Scheduling

Six Sigma/TQM & Process Improvement

Setup Reduction

The Human Side of Lean Manufacturing

Training

Warehousing & Distribution

Maintenance, 5-S & Other Topics

The Human Side of Lean Manufacturing