A manager can’t pick up a business magazine or book that doesn’t extol the virtues of lean manufacturing. The benefits—reduced costs, less scrap and improved customer service, to name a few—are well documented. But few small manufacturers are implementing “lean.” Maybe it seems like a big-company strategy requiring the hiring of consultants and additional training, and maybe it seems like it’s just not for your company. After all, everybody talks about the Toyota Production System but is anybody telling us what assembling cars and stamping metal parts have in common? Or,maybe it’s just the name of the concept itself.  After all, you’re probably pretty lean as it is. Read the rest of this entry »