Lean thinking is a concept that is widely discussed and used on many levels across various business processes. The application of Lean has been visible in many industries such as automotive, health care, manufacturing, banking, and government. Lean involves instituting practices that will eliminate nonvalue-added steps or activities that will reduce waste and create value, while fostering a culture that is supportive of continuous improvement. The value that is created can be beneficial to both the customer and the company. Lean thinking and reengineered processes are helping companies to increase productivity, meet and exceed their customer expectations, and improve their financial goals. Vignettes are used to illustrate and provide examples of potential issues and solutions that can be considered for resolving issues as well as identify key references that can be consulted for additional information on key concepts. A case study is included demonstrating ways to address the technical and people aspects of implementing Lean to ensure project success. Provides a comprehensive look into lean implementation and the challenges faced by leaders and ways to overcome many of these challenges, Highlights and discusses the hidden costs and organizational issues that must be addressed to ensure success of Lean implementation and provides some ways of overcoming these issues, Outlines and provides the attributes of a Lean-thinking team and discusses means to remain Lean once changes have been implemented, Offers ways to evaluate an organization when contemplating or embarking upon the Lean journey, Lean Implementation: Applications and Hidden Costs covers key organizational issues when implementing Lean business practices, provides a resource that leaders can use in addressing cultural and regulatory issues, addresses the associated people issues, and discusses the challenging task of knowledge retention and succession planning.

Book jacket.