Stop the Line: A Practical Guide to Standardized Work, Kaizen, and the Toyota Production System

When delivery slips, inventory piles up, and quality problems keep returning, most companies respond by pushing harder. Stop the Line shows a better way. Using a realistic plant-floor story, John Dotson demonstrates how the Toyota Production System can be applied to expose waste, solve problems at the root cause, and build a culture where abnormalities are addressed before they become expensive failures.

Part field guide, part operational story, this book walks readers through standardized work, kaizen, jidoka, visual management, and problem solving in a way that is practical, clear, and immediately usable. Stop the Line is for leaders who want more than lean theory—they want a system that works on the floor, develops people, and drives lasting results.