ABSTRACT
The initial development of the Toyota production system and the related technologies of lean manufacturing in Japan followed the introduction of statistical process control (SPC) to Japanese industry so closely that they are often considered contemporaneous. Certainly, they are completely aligned and the differences between the two approaches are more complementary than conflicting. This is one reason for the recent growth in Western industry of combined programs, sometimes called “lean six sigma.” This is not a new concept. It is more a reunification of historic companions. Lean manufacturing and statistical process improvement are made for one another.
