7. Lean Management

7.1 Origins

Lean Management originated in the research work of James Womack and Daniel Jones of MIT (Massachussets Institute of Technology). The term "Lean" and the main principles of the approach were unveiled to the public in 1996 in their reference book "Lean System" .

Womack and Jones formalized their approach on the basis of the "just-in-time" system imagined and developed by Toyota engineers, in particular Taiichi Ohno and Shigeo Shingo, back in the 1960s. The Lean school of thought first spread to the United States, and arrived...