The New Lean Toolbox: Towards Fast, Flexible Flow

This is probably the most comprehensive guide available to the full range of Lean tools and concepts. It serves as a stand-alone guide or a supplement to Womack and Jones’ classic Lean Thinking.

The book is written in a no-waffle style relevant to everyone (CEO to shop floor, design to customer) in any Lean-aspiring organization requiring basic instruction, inspiration or review.

The first and second editions sold in large numbers, almost entirely by word of mouth, and hundreds of unsolicited commendations were received. Large multiple orders were placed by, among others, the Welsh Development Agency, Ford, Delphi, Corus, Rolls Royce and BNFL. The second edition was used by The Manufacturing Institute, The Institute of Operations Management, and the universities of Ashridge, Cambridge, Cardiff, Cranfield and Warwick. The UK Manufacturing Advisory Service reprinted 5000 copies with their own logos.

The third edition, re-titled The New Lean Toolbox, represents a considerable upgrade, reflecting the huge progress made in the Lean body of knowledge over the past three years. The book will help extend Lean beyond manufacturing – hence The New-Lean.

John Bicheno is the Director of the MSc program in Lean Operations at the Lean Enterprise Research Centre (LERC) of the Cardiff Business School, Wales. At the time of writing, this is the only Masters program in the world devoted to Lean, and is taught on-site at factory locations.

John has graduate degrees in Engineering, Systems and Management, and is CFPIM certified by APICS. Following 10 years in operations management and engineering, he started his Lean journey while at the University of the Witwatersrand in the early 1980’s, and continues to learn. He has been a mentor, trainer and consultant to scores of companies, and is on the board of AME UK.