Book: Mr. Lean Buys and Transforms a Manufacturing Company

After years of consulting, the entrepreneurial spirit took Greg Lane. He is confident in his background as a Lean practitioner. In fact, he is so confident he purchased a machine shop without ever having operated a CNC machine. This book details the transformation of a high mix, low volume (HMLV) manufacturing company using lean manufacturing principles. “Job Shop Lean” is a growing application area of lean manufacturing concepts. Many people feel lean is simply ill-suited to high mix environments. The author dispels this myth with results. In the end, Greg Lane doubles revenue (exact figures are not disclosed) and sells the business at a profit. The results are solid especially considering he had to learn the business. The book is an easy read. The author uses plain language. Lane describes his OSKKK lean implementation model, but leaves the lean tool specifics, such as SMED, to other books. This maintains the story feel which slightly reminds me of The Goal. If you want a starting point for lean manufacturing in a job shop, I recommend reading Mr. Lean Buys and Transform a Manufacturing Company.