Title
Kaizen Assembly: Designing, Constructing, and Managing a Lean ...

Author(s)/Editor(s)
Chris Ortiz


Published By
Taylor & Francis



Description
"Kaizen Assembly" presents step-by-step instruction on planning, implementing, and maintaining a successful lean manual assembly line. The book presents the design of an actual assembly line to demonstrate each step and concept in detail. It includes more than 140 figures and illustrations to allow clear visualization of the workstation and line design. Operator and supervisor training is emphasized to build the proper infrastructure to support continuing improvement. The importance of management commitment as well as training, accountability, and monitoring is also explained.
It is easy to learn the philosophy and the concepts of kaizen. It is quite another challenge to translate the philosophy into action. While most books expound on the underlying principles and theory, "Kaizen Assembly: Designing, Constructing, and Managing a Lean Assembly Line" takes you step-by-step through an actual kaizen event. This approach demonstrates in detail the mindset, processes, and practical insight needed to transform your current assembly line into a world-class lean operation.

Chris Ortiz brings the experience of over 150 successful kaizen events to the pages of this unique guide. Using clear, succinct, and unambiguous language rather than more general and esoteric terms found in other books, he explains how to implement waste reduction, 5S, time and motion studies, line balancing, quality at the source, visual management, and workstation and assembly line design. Taking a unique approach, the book follows an example of the assembly process for an electric bike including illustrations of nearly every step along the way. Ortiz even includes the most valuable teaching tool of all: past mistakes, how they were overcome, and how to identify and avoid them.

Providing expert guidance that will last long after the consultants have left, "Kaizen Assembly" supplies the tools you need to make kaizen and lean assembly a permanent fixture at the heart of the shop floor.