Mr. Lean Buys and Transforms a Manufacturing Company

This is the true story of how, armed with only Lean improvement methodologies, a specially trained Toyota Lean expert purchased a business he knew nothing about, applied Lean techniques, and succeeded in doubling sales and increasing profitability, before he finally sold the thriving business.

With humility and humor, the author recounts his successes and failures, introduces his key employees and their struggles with change, and provides motivation and simple ideas for all readers looking to improve their businesses. He captures key points highlighted in text boxes and includes illustrative photos and examples of Lean tools at work.

This story dispels the fallacy that Lean management does not achieve excellent results in high variation companies and job shops. Toyota's OSKKK methodology is introduced to understand processes and guide a Lean transformation on the shop floor and in the office.

The Beginning - Observation & Documentation. Standardizing the Estimating Process. Learning the Office Processes. The First Days Alone. Creating & Selling Capacity. Getting Everyone Motivated for Improving the Machine's Output. Seeing the Administrative Processes from a New Angle. Moving the Business. Accurate Pricing through Better Cost Allocations. Upfront Delays. Making Money During the Good Times. Expanding into New Products. Business for Sale. Reflections. Appendix. About the Author.