The Complete Guide to Mixed Model Line Design: Designing the Perfect Value Stream

In today’s hyper-competitive world, organizations need to make high performance and continuous improvement their highest priority. From a variety of process improvement philosophies and methods, one has emerged as the clear winner: Lean. Based on work by pioneers like Frederick Winslow Taylor, and Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, matured by global organizations like the Toyota Motor Company, and adapted world-wide since the 1980’s, companies that have embraced Lean have consistently risen to the top of their industries. This is true for both manufacturing and non-manufacturing organization, like hospitals.

The heart of the Lean method for manufacturing is flow, the ability to do work as a continuous, uninterrupted process, without waste, mistakes, or delays. The more that work can flow, the closer the company gets to high profitability, fast response time, zero waste, happy customers, and a host of other benefits. All of the extensive tools of Lean are focused on this objective: to be able to flow work. More specifically, organizations need to flow work of different types, the concept of Mixed Model production.

The Complete Guide to Mixed Model Line Design is a practical guidebook that explains the Lean line design method, step-by-step and in plain English. This data-driven approach has been implemented successfully thousands of times, and has been proved in every industry. The Complete Guide to Mixed Model Line Design, and the methodology it explains, should be a part of every organization’s improvement strategy, and be a part of the training for everyone involved in continuous improvement.

Richard D. Rahn and Gerard Leone have been leaders in Mixed Model Line Design and Lean Material Management since the early 1990's. They have worked with companies like Toyota, John Deere, GE, and many other manufacturing leaders. They have also been active in introducing Lean to hospitals, and have co-authored five other books on the Lean Hospital.