ABSTRACT
Lean manufacturing (LM) and Lean systems surged onto the shores of the United States almost like a ninja from the East. The American automobile industry and other U.S. manufacturing sectors were having their lunches eaten by the Japanese, the same Japanese that just a few years earlier had goods that were synonymous with poorly made, cheap, throwaway products. Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, quality, reliability, and design were associated with these companies.
