Made-to-order Lean: Excelling in a High-Mix, Low-Volume Environment

Toyota Production System methods have rendered remarkable results in high-volume manufacturing plants, but they have not been fully understood and correctly applied in high-mix, low-volume environments. While lean principles do apply, the implementation methods and tools must be adapted and alternate methods embraced in a low-volume environment. This volume is specifically geared for manufacturers that have hundreds to thousands of active part numbers with few or no ongoing forecasted volumes, and for job shops that build only to order. The primary focus is eliminating non-value-added activities and instituting improvements on the most repetitive jobs, a strategy that gives you more time to produce your low-volume work or one-offs.

About the author:

Greg Lane is a faculty member of the Lean Enterprise Institute and an advisor to the Instituto de Lean Management in Spain. During his time with Toyota, he was one of a handful of candidates selected for a one-year training program conducted by the company’s masters. He became certified as a Toyota Production System (TPS) Key Person and continued his work with Toyota, training others in TPS.

He has been highly active in working on implementing lean around the world, supporting large and small companies alike. In 1998, he began to focus his lean endeavors on meeting the specific needs of high-mix, low-volume enterprises. During his time as an independent consultant, Greg purchased and operated his own manufacturing company, which specialized in fast turnaround on high-mix, low-volume parts. Greg used TPS to grow the business and nearly double its sales.

Greg and his associates have experience not only at adapting the methods contained in this book, but also in applying other tools that are too numerous to detail here. They can be reached for further support with your lean transformation via email: glane@lowvolumelean.com