Lean Production Simplified

The Lean production system evolved out of necessity. In Japan in 1950, mass auto production was not feasible.

Manufacturers built the first automobiles to customer specifications. They were expensive. Frederick Winslow Taylor introduced mass production in the early 20th century. It relied on standardization and measurement that focused on continuous improvement. Henry Ford took this further with the assembly line and interchangeability of parts. Workers had to adapt to the new mechanisms, resulting in pointless, soul-destroying repetition, which encouraged the union labor movement. Accounting systems in mass production depended on the wasteful practice of keeping inventory instead of satisfying customer demand. This system suited neither Japanese markets nor budgets. 

Taiichi Ohno, the great sensei of the Toyota Production System, spent 50 years perfecting it. Toyota had to produce a variety of car models to suit a segmented buying public. It contended with fixed and falling prices and tough competition. Cost for capital was rising, and workers demanded more involvement. After radical downsizing and cost cutting, Toyota, in ...