Sustainable Lean ─ The Story of a Cultural Transformation

If you’ve employed consultants and embarked on a Lean transformation only to find your efforts stall after the consultants leave, this book will teach you what you must do to stay the course over the long term. Using a compelling novel format, Sustainable Lean: The Story of a Cultural Transformation illustrates the process of implementing a sustainable Lean transformation.

The book follows Jim, the plant manager of an electronics firm that has already seen its first Lean initiative fail. Jim realizes that if he doesn’t act quickly, his job and the jobs of everyone in the factory might be in jeopardy. Jim meets a Lean consultant who agrees to help him implement and sustain a new transformation. Readers follow along as Jim learns invaluable lessons that help him and his plant see costs plummet, on-time delivery reach nearly 100 percent, and defects drop by close to 80 percent.

Using simple terms and an ongoing example, the book demonstrates how to use top-down metrics to identify strategic and tactical opportunities for improvement. It describes how to conduct Hoshin Kanri (strategic policy deployment). It also describes the relationship between top-down metrics, organizational accountability, the breaking down of "stovepipes," and the concept of "alignment" that comes about as the result of Hoshin Kanri.

Detailing a data-driven methodology to help you set boundaries for effective decision making, this book will inspire manufacturers to achieve world-class production and efficiency standards—one factory, one business at a time.

Robert B. Camp holds a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, and a Master of Business Administration from Franklin Pierce University, Rindge, New Hampshire.

Robert spent almost 20 years of his career working for Mobil and Lockheed Martin. Throughout his career, he has performed roles that have drawn heavily on his increasing body of Lean knowledge and experience. He has spent more than 10 years consulting to government and industry leaders on the topic of Lean. His consulting work has taken him throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.

Today, he is Vice President of Operations for a company making Specialty apparel for the healthcare industry. He is a board member of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME), an organization dedicated to the advancement of Lean concepts around the world.