The benefits of lean manufacturing - What lean thinking has to offer the process industries

How many people in the manufacturing industry can truly say that they have not heard of LEAN? Not many. Yet how many of these believe in lean, have implemented lean, are the passionate change agents who have convinced senior stakeholders than lean is the way forward for their company? Less. Much Less. Lean is a revolution-it isn't just about using tools, or changing a few steps in our manufacturing processes-it's about the complete change of our businesses-how the supply chain operates, how the directors direct, how the managers manage, how employees-people-go about their daily work. Everything. So what is this revolution, and how is it impacting the process industries? The background of lean thinking is based in the history of Japanese manufacturing techniques which have now been applied world-wide within many types of industry.