LEAN
Production
Implementing A World-Class System
John Black
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Black, John R.
Lean production : implementing a world-class system / John R. Black. —
1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-8311-3351-1 (hard cover)
1. Production management. 2. Production control. 3. Industrial productivity. I. Title.
TS155.B5246 2008
658.5—dc22
2008010927
Industrial Press, Inc.
989 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10018
First Edition, 2008
Acquisitions Editor: John Carleo
Managing Editor: Suzanne Remore
Interior Text and Cover Design: Janet Romano
Developmental Editor: Robert Green
Copyright © 2008 by Industrial Press Inc., New York. Printed in the
United States of America. All rights reserved. This book, or any parts thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publisher.
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This book is dedicated to all the workers at Boeing, who work hard and never give up. I would like to express my thanks and appreciation to you all. As described in this book, we have traveled far and learned much on our road to world-class production. All of us, together, made and continue to make that progress possible. And The Boeing Company that we have worked to change and improve is not just today’s Boeing. It is a company that will last through all our lifetimes and those of our children as well.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: What is a Lean, World-Class Production System?
Chapter 2: Getting Lean — the Route to World-Class Production
Chapter 3: Japanese Roots — Toyota, Toyota, Toyota
Insight: Defects, Mistakes, and Inspections
Insight: The Boeing 737 Lean Story
Chapter 5: Erecting the Roof — the Crucial Role of Leaders
Insight: What a Great Leader Looks Like — the Selby Philosophy, the Staples Conversion, and the Mulally Factor
Chapter 6: Promoting the Process — the Power of the Promotion Office
Chapter 7: Japan Study Missions — the Power of Learning and Doing
Chapter 8: Champions, Consultants, Sensei — the Differences and Their Key Roles
Insight: About Inventory and Kanban
Chapter 9: The Roadmap — Striving for Perfection Through Kaizen
Insight: Implementation in a Small Company
Chapter 10: Beyond Manufacturing — the Office and Service Industry Wasteland
Insight: Lean Production in a Service Organization
Summary: The Opportunity Is Yours to Choose
Appendix I: Ten Lessons for a Lean, World-Class Production System
Appendix II: Further Reading
Glossary
References
About the Author
Index
I have spent my 45-year career primarily in two fields: war and manufacturing. These endeavors are not so different as might be imagined. I have learned much about people and the way work is done, not only in two decades at Boeing and another decade as a management consultant, but also as part of an Army that was facing issues of education, motivation, and the successful or unsuccessful waging of war. My journey has taken me all over the world, and I believe that journey has formally concluded at the intersection of people, lean principles, and the Toyota Production System. Along the way, I have gained the understanding that striving for perfection is a way of life, one that applies equally to not only a lean, world-class production system, or to business in general, but also to every human endeavor, from war to the delivery of health care.
My experience was won the hard way. After receiving my ROTC commission at Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA, in 1963, I served two tours in South Vietnam as an infantry advisor and adjutant general, five years in Europe as an Army major in the Human Resource Development Division of U.S. Army Europe, and in a number of stateside assignments, helping West Point graduates and three-star generals administer what would soon become an all-volunteer army. My education included the U.S. Army Infantry School, the Army’s Adjutant General Career Course, and the Army Command and General Staff College. One of my most challenging assignments was writing and organizing implementation of the Race Relations Education Program for the Armed Forces in Europe during the late 1970s. The Army also sent me to graduate school, and Boeing later put me through the University of Washington’s manufacturing course and an MBA program.
When I arrived at The Boeing Company in 1978, it slowly became evident that many of the same concepts I had dealt with in the Army applied in the corporate realm. I joined the company’s headquarters staff, then located in Seattle, WA, at a time when the aerospace industry was on an upward cycle, and Boeing was just beginning