Creating a Lean Culture: Tools to Sustain Lean Conversions [Paperback]

"The new insights included in this second edition of Creating a Lean Culture, affirm our examiners recommendations in 2006 to recognize this original work with the Research and Professional Publication Award."
　　　　 —Robert D. Miller, Executive Director, The Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence

Praise for the First Edition

David Mann has provided an excellent review of one of the most common implementation issues in a lean transformation -- the essential day to day work practices of team leaders/supervisors/value stream managers that enable the lean system.
     -- George Koenigsaecker, President, Lean Investments, LLC

The purpose of lean systems is to make problems glaringly obvious. If implementation does not include standard leadership and cultural support systems to constantly address problems, the point of the system is missed. Many books address lean tools and initial conversion, but if you want the system to stick, read David's book.
     --Robert (Doc) Hall, Editor-In-Chief, Target, Association for Manufacturing Excellence

Mann's book is an excellent start toward Lean Leadership as 'process-dependent' rather than 'person-dependent' in style. The idea of leader standard work is simple and valuable.
     --Ross E. Robson, Executive Director, Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing

At last! A book that bridges the huge gap between the lofty visionary outcomes of Lean Leadership books - and the practical thinking and tools needed to put competitive outcomes in place. This practitioner approach spells out real work needed. All of us should use Mann's first five chapters to crystallize a 'Lean Management System' with the following five chapters to inspire us to roll up our sleeves.
     --David Hogg, P. Eng., President High Performance Solutions, Inc.

Lean production has been proven unbeatable in organizing production operations, yet the majority of attempts to implement lean end in disappointing results. The critical factor so often overlooked is that lean implementation requires day-to-day, hour-by-hour management practices and skills that leaders in conventional batch-and-queue environments are neither familiar nor comfortable with.

Creating a Lean Culture helps lean leaders succeed in their personal batch-to-lean transformation. It provides a practical guide to implementing the missing links needed to sustain a lean implementation.  Mann provides critical guidance on developing and using the key elements of a lean management system, including:  leader standard work, visual controls, daily accountability processes, maintaining a process focus, managing key HR issues, and much more.  In addition, a questionnaire is included to help assess current management practices and monitor progress.

David Mann is currently the principal of David Mann Lean Consulting. During a 21-year career with Steelcase, Mann developed and applied the concepts of a Lean management system. In his service with the company, he supported 40+ Lean value stream transformations, as well as developing and leading an internal team that completed over 100 successful office and product development Lean business process conversions.

Mann’s teaching and coaching experience includes Lean transformation in manufacturing, enterprise business processes, and healthcare organizations. His practice includes Lean and Lean management implementation in production and enterprise business processes, troubleshooting stalled Lean initiatives, as well as frequent training and speaking engagements on Lean management.

Mann is the author of Creating a Lean Culture: Tools to sustain Lean Conversions. Awarded the Shingo Prize in 2006, the book is now in its eighth printing, and is being translated into Chinese, Russian, and Thai.

Mann serves as a Shingo Prize examiner and assessor for the Honda Lean Network. He is a member of the Saint Mary’s Healthcare Lean Transformation Advisory Board in Grand Rapids, Michigan and is an invited contributor to Frontiers　of　Health　Services　Management. Mann is a frequent contributor to and member of the editorial board of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence’s publication Target, edits Target’s Single Point Lessons feature, and also serves on the board of AME’s Great Lakes Region. He is a faculty member in the Operations Management program at the Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University.

Mann is an organizational psychologist, earning his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in 1976.