ABSTRACT
In 1997 in an inconspicuous factory on Northwood Drive in a small industrial park in Maryland, I began my first factory Lean transformation. By that time I had earned the APICS certification, including the Just In Time module certification test, and traveled to Japan and Taiwan conducting quality system audits and studying Japanese manufacturing techniques. I had read Just in Time for America by Henry Wantuck, 20 Keys to Workplace Improvement by Iwao Kobayashi, and several other Lean or Just in Time books. I had attended demand flow technologies training and had gained some practical experience in applying some of the Lean tools, such as affinity, pareto, mapping, one-piece flow, and Kanban, line balancing and leveling, Takt times, Visual management, Andon, and Jidoka. And now, I had my very own Gemba!
