The quick answer is Yes and No. But that is not very helpful. Managers of job shops need to know "how" and "why" and "what does it mean?" The difference between Lean in a job shop versus higher-volume and lower variety shops comes in several areas:

Cellular Manufacturing
Group Technology
Value Stream Mapping
Kanban & Scheduling

Focused Factories
Work Standardization
Implementation

Our new web page on Job Shop Lean helps answer these questions. Along with our Implementation pages it can guide planning and help assure effective application of lean principles to specific operations.

Job Shop Lean 2009 Conference is another good place to gain knowledge and share experience. This conference has been organized by a colleague and old friend, Shahrukh Irani and features Richard Schonberger as the keynote speaker. I have attended in the past and can highly recommend it. Shahrukh is one of the few experts in Group Technology (GT), a key element of Lean for those in high-variety, low-volume manufacturing.

Best Regards,

Quarterman Lee

816-931-1414

qlee@lean-briefing.com

Please Forward Lean Briefing To A Colleague

Ohio State University - Columbus Ohio - 14-15 September 2009

JobshopLean (JSLEAN) provides concepts, tools and implementation strategies for the deployment of Lean Thinking in jobshops. many standard practices of Lean, as embodied in the Toyota Production System, do not address the special needs of high-variety, low-volume job shops. Participants can learn...

The nuts-and-bolts of a low-cost JobshopLean Simulation for your people.
Simplify any job Shop with Cellular Manufacturing & Group Technology
About leadership, culture & change management.
About successful implementation of technology enablers for Lean.
Meet like-minded peers from academia and industry who have experiences to share and questions they would like to get answered
From business owners and practitioners about strategies, pitfalls and surprises on their “Lean journey”
Participate in a 2-hour open discussion forum with peers