ABSTRACT
The first widely popular book to describe the impact of TPS on Western and global industry — and the one that introduced the term lean production, was
The Machine That Changed the World
,
published in 1990. Lean production refers to the overarching goal of the system, which is to eliminate waste — waste being everything in a process that does not directly contribute to the value of the output. Waste elimination is also what the concept “just in time” or JIT implies — no waste in waiting, just enough of what you want, when you want it. From here on, we will use the terms lean production, TPS, and JIT somewhat interchangeably, except in places where distinctions matter. In general, TPS refers to the particular set of practices and methodology of one company, Toyota, whereas lean production and JIT represent the broader, sometimes modified applications of these same practices everywhere else. The terms lean production and JIT are roughly identical concepts, although the former replaced the latter in common vernacular in the early 1990s.
