How many IT books have you read that are long on theory and short on practical application? They are interesting, but not very impactful. They provide a framework from which to think and understand, but lack a process from which to act. Addressing this urgent need for the IT community, The Lean IT Field Guide explains how to initiate, execute, and sustain a lean IT transformation.Illuminating a clear path to lean IT, the authors integrate more than two decades of combined experience to provide you with a proven method for creating and sustaining a true lean IT workplace. This field guide not only highlights the organizational techniques of more agile and lean processes, but also the leadership work required to help management adopt these new approaches.Based on proven methods from different industries, including banking, manufacturing, insurance, food and beverage, and logistics, the book details a clear model that covers all the components you need to achieve and sustain a favorable work environment and culture in support of lean IT.Filled with anecdotes and case studies from actual businesses, the book includes pictures, templates, and examples that illustrate the application of the lean methods discussed.

El mejor libro sobre TPM que hemos editado hasta la fecha! El enfoque TPM resulta en mejoras dramaticas en calidad, costo de producci?n y entrega de productos. En este libro, nueve autores le ensenan todos los detalles que usted necesita para implementar el TPM, y ejemplos de industrias textiles, quimicas, de alimentos, entre otras. Una de las grandes ventajas de este libro es que le ayuda a conocer la implementacion del TPM a traves de la perspectiva de consultores especializados y reconocidos. Contenido: Vision general del TPM en las industrias de proceso Maximizacion de la eficacia de la producci?n Mejora orientada Mantenimiento Autonomo Mantenimiento planificado Gestion temprana Mantenimiento de calidad Promocion de tecnicas de operacion y mantenimiento TPM en los departamentos administrativos y de apoyo Creacion de un entorno grato y seguro Actividades de pequenos grupos TPM Medicion de la eficacia del TPM

This dictionary, specific to lean business processes, contains over 500 terms used in lean management and manufacturing. Easy to access, accurate, and comprehensive, LeanSpeak will become the desktop tool of choice for lean manufacturing practitioners, from the shop floor to the corner office. Here are some examples of entries in LeanSpeak: gemba: Japanese word of which the literal translation is "the real place." In the manufacturing field, gemba means the shop floor, where the actual product is being made, as contrasted to the office, where support services are provided. lean: shorthand to refer to a lean manufacturing system, of which the Toyota Production System is the foremost example, that has relatively little non-value-adding waste and maximum flow. The term has been used pejoratively to refer to anti-labor practices intending to reduce the number of workers within a company and to strong-arm tactics with suppliers. takt time: the rate at which product must be turned out to satisfy market demand. It is determined by dividing the available production time by the rate of customer demand. For example, if customers demand 240 widgets per day and the factory operates 480 minutes per day, takt time is two minutes. If customers want two new products designed per month, takt time is two weeks. It is a calculated number, not a reflection of your capability. It sets the pace of production to match the rate of customer demand. Also available as an ebook in Microsoft Reader, Adobe Acrobat Reader, or Palm Reader formats.

Part of the Lean Tools for Healthcare series, this user-friendly book will help to improve your understanding of kaizen. It describes exactly what a kaizen event is and details all the phases necessary for implementing continuous improvement practices in your healthcare organization. Kaizen Workshops for Lean Healthcare walks you through the steps of conducting an effective kaizen workshop one that is well planned, well implemented, and well monitored. The information is presented in an easy-to-assimilate format. Numerous illustrations reinforce the text and margin assists call your attention to key terms, healthcare examples, and how-to steps. Throughout the book, you will be asked to reflect on questions that will help you apply the concepts and techniques in your own workplace. Defining the key concepts and elements of the "production" of healthcare services, the text delineates the differences between healthcare processes and the individual cycles of work that those processes link together. It also: Provides foundational information on kaizen and kaizen workshops defining the key roles for success Explains exactly how to plan and prepare Presents examples of how to present workshop results and how to follow up Includes a concise summary of kaizen workshop steps Supplies a list of additional resources for learning more about the different kinds of improvement methodologies you might want to implement in your kaizen workshops If your healthcare organization fully applies the steps detailed in this book, it will gain much more than the knowledge of how to conduct a workshop. Through kaizen, you will empower your employees to make positive change a reality. And incrementally, kaizen workshops will become more than isolated events they will become the way all work is done in your organization.

This is the Participant Guide to support team leaders in implementing an autonomous maintenance team. This is usually sold with Autonomous Maintenance: Shopfloor TPM Implementation. This is for extra copies.

Hospitals and health systems are facing many challenges, including shrinking reimbursements and the need to improve patient safety and quality. A growing number of healthcare organizations are turning to the Lean management system as an alternative to traditional cost cutting and layoffs. "Kaizen," which is translated from Japanese as "good change" or "change for the better," is a core pillar of the Lean strategy for today's best healthcare organizations.Kaizen is a powerful approach for creating a continuously learning and continuously improving organizations. A Kaizen culture leads to everyday actions that improve patient care and create better workplaces, while improving the organization's long-term bottom line. The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen is the perfect introduction to executives and leaders who want to create and support this culture of continuous improvement.The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen is an introduction to kaizen principles and an overview of the leadership behaviors and mindsets required to create a kaizen culture or a culture of continuous improvement. The book is specifically written for busy C-level executives, vice presidents, directors, and managers who need to understand the power of this methodology. The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen shares real and practical examples and stories from leading healthcare organizations, including Franciscan St. Francis Health System, located in Indiana. Franciscan St. Francis employees and physicians have implemented and documented 4,000 Kaizen improvements each of the last three years, resulting in millions of dollars in hard savings and softer benefits for patients and staff. Chapters cover topics such as the need for Kaizen, different types of Kaizen (including Rapid Improvement Events and daily Kaizen), creating a Kaizen culture, practical methods for facilitating Kaiz

While more and more companies are aggressively pursuing Operational Excellence by employing Six Sigma, Lean, and other continuous improvement methods, the concept has yet to be defined in a way that can be easily taught and applied, especially in industries other than manufacturing. This book fills that need.Beyond the Lean Office uses a compelling novel format to illustrate what it takes to create and sustain flow and Operational Excellence in the office. Readers learn as they follow the main character through initial attempts to correct late responses to a primary customer and the evolution to an approach based on Operational Excellence. The story illustrates the day-to-day issues that most organizations face in their pursuit of Operational Excellence.To achieve Operational Excellence, it takes more than just a strong leader with passion and drive. The key ingredient is practical knowledge that can be applied quickly and easily by following a process. This book supplies step-by-step guidance on how to move your office services from point A to point B. The practical insights and guidance presented here create a road map that can be shared with each employee to rapidly move your organization forward. All chapters also include a From the Author section that shares authoritative insights on the topic at hand.After reading this book, you will understand how to design and create self-healing flow that provides reliable, predictable output in the office and operates without the need for management intervention to deliver the services provided by the office. Instead, management focuses on the activities that grow your enterprise.

Workshop leaders play a central role in your company's efforts to implement TPM. Once your workers have been divided into small groups to learn the fundamentals of TPM, it is the group leader who spearheads ongoing training and implementation activities. With quick-reading, people-oriented practicality, this new book addresses the role of the workshop leader in maximizing the benefits of TPM.A top TPM consultant in Japan, Kunio Shirose: Incorporates cartoons and graphics to convey the hands-on leadership issues of TPM implementation Uses case studies to reinforce his ideas on training and managing equipment operators in the care of their equipment Itemizes specific activities that must be undertaken to search out, correct, and control defects to remedy equipment shortcomings. He also addresses the cooperative relationship necessary between maintenance and production and leaves you with an understanding of the three imperatives for successful TPM implementation to change the quality and functioning of the equipment, the way operators think about equipment, and the workplace. (Originally published by the Japan Management Association.)

Lean Transformations for Small and Medium Enterprises: Lessons Learned from Italian Businesses summarizes two decades of research, teaching, and practice on lean thinking. Based on quantitative analysis of 100 cases of Lean transformations and 20 in-depth case studies of successfully transformed SMEs, it explains how to undertake lean transformations that lead to operational and financial performance improvement, and uses the Lean Transformation Framework --conceptualized by John Shook at the Lean Enterprise Institute as a practical approach to design and de-risk the transformation process. SMEs leaders wishing to undertake and sustain a lean transformation must: Make a serious and lasting commitment to transform, avoiding the temptation to change course of action; Choose accurately the value streams that require improvement as defined by strategy deployment; Build capabilities to sustain the transformation; Lead by example by going to gemba and creating a culture of respect for people that goes beyond the visible devices and artifacts of Lean tools.

For Florida Power and Light, Hewlett-Packard, and Texas Instruments, policy deployment has created a critical bridge between corporate goals and their company-wide deployment. Hoshin Kanri offers top and middle managers a guide to customizing a policy deployment program especially suited to their company. This book is a compilation of examples of policy deployment and demonstrates how company vision is converted into individual responsibility. It contains practical guidelines, 150 charts and diagrams, and five case studies that illustrate the procedures of Hoshin Kanri. The six steps to advanced process planning are reviewed and include: a five-year vision; one-year plan; deployment to departments; execution; monthly audit; and annual audit. The practice of Hoshin Kanri will enable you to: Align all departmental and individual project goals to corporate goals and eliminate duplication of effort. Communicate to every employee his or her role in achieving the company vision. Closely monitor performance using carefully devised measures of progress. Learn how Hoshin Kanri can increase your company's responsiveness to social, economic, and technical changes through flexible strategic management. (Originally published by the Japanese Standards Association)

We are in an era of high volatility and uncertain outcomes, driven by accelerating technologies, shortened product cycles, fast-changing information, an increasingly mobile workforce, more demanding customers, complex financial markets, ad-hoc public policies, and many other factors that add layers of uncertainty to all future possibilities. While most believe that good management requires better prediction of the future and better planning, Gill Eapen instead contends that the best way to manage effectively in an uncertain world is through the conscious application of flexibility - an ability to absorb constantly shifting variables and adapt quickly. Flexibility: Flexible Companies for the Uncertain World explores ways in which organizations can systematically enhance their ability to survive and succeed without the guarantees that come with certainty. In these pages, Eapen details: Specific attributes of status-quo organizations that hinder their capacity for flexibility in their three primary components: structure, systems, and strategies A tool and process for diagnosing flexibility-related problems within an organization Specific actions companies can take to improve flexibility, regardless of their size or age A case study of a technology company progressively losing flexibility due to management actions, as well as a detailed project plan for remedial actions Based on the author's years of experience working with a variety of industries, including life sciences, energy, technology, financial services, and manufacturing, and his expertise in decision options, Flexibility offers a holistic alternative approach for managing risk and making the best decisions possible in these especially uncertain times.

Listed as one of the 30 Best Business Books of 2002 by Executive Book Summaries Proactive Risk Management's unique approach provides a model of risk that is scalable to any size project or program and easily deployable into any product development or project management life cycle. It offers methods for identifying drivers (causes) of risks so you can manage root causes rather than the symptoms of risks. Providing you with an appropriate quantification of the key factors of a risk allows you to prioritize those risks without introducing errors that render the numbers meaningless. This book stands apart from much of the literature on project risk management in its practical, easy-to-use, fact-based approach to managing all of the risks associated with a project. The depth of actual how-to information and techniques provided here is not available anywhere else.

For many years collectors and dealers alike tended to overlook dolls made of cloth in favor of their china and bisque contemporaries. Fortunately, this situation has changed dramatically in recent years. This book covers the story of cloth dolls from their ancient ancestors through to present day examples. This one easy-to-use volume with over 500 illustrations provides the most comprehensive study guide for this area in doll collecting available today. A value range is also included with each caption for easy reference.

Sustainable product design is more than eco design: it goes beyond 'green' to consider the work environment, community impacts, consumer health, and economic viability, as well as environmental attributes. "Beyond Child's Play" explores the concept of sustainable product design in the context of the global doll-making industry. To initiate this research, the author reviewed eco design parameters and developed criteria for sustainable product design in the doll-making industry. Using this framework, she conducted three case studies of do I making: the American Girl doll produced in China, the Kathe Kruse doll produced in Germany and the Q'ewar Project doll produced in Peru. Themes emerged from this research that have relevance beyond the doll-making industry: the value of making a product with care; designing work for human dignity; intention and vision for sustainability; the implications of materials choices; and, transparency and sustainability. Sustainable product design calls for fundamentally new thinking. By connecting the term 'sustainable' to 'product', we raise expectations for a radically different approach to design, production, and consumption. This framework integrates the eco design principles of detoxification and dematerialization with the principle of 'humanization', to ensure that the work environment where the product is made is safe and healthy and that local communities benefit from production. This approach places increased responsibility on the industrial designer and decision-makers throughout the supply chain, including governments, corporations, and citizens. Sustainable product design can be implemented effectively only when systems are in place that support sustainable production and consumption.

For all the interest that wireless sensor networks have created over the past decade, there are few examples to show that they are truly delivering on this promise and anticipation. What is missing? Deviating from the usual focus on routing and energy efficiency, Building Sensor Networks: From Design to Applications attempts to stitch together the path from conceptual development of applications, on one end, to actual complete applications at the other. With this change in perspective, the book examines important facets of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) that are not often discussed in the literature. From Design Practices to the Networking Protocols that Glue Applications Together Organized into three sections, the book presents insights from international experts representing both industry and academia. The first section, on design practices, explores alternative ways to approach the tasks of developing a suitable WSN solution to an application and assisting that development in a manner that is not necessarily tied to a particular application. The second section, on networking protocols, illustrates the impact of the intermediaries-the "glue" of putting applications together. Chapters look at ways to address traffic, delays in network clustering, and the coexistence of a WSN with other systems on a frequency band. The final section of the book delves into experiences with applications in chemical sensing, defense, global trade and security, and ecosystem monitoring. Although these applications may fail the purist definition of an ideal WSN, they offer valuable lessons for the future development and deployment of WSNs. Challenge Your Thinking about Designing WSN Applications Emphasizing the need to build applications, the contributors present examples of what applications of WSNs could look like and identify the constraints. Throughout, the book challenges and illuminates your thinking about how to tame the complexity of designing a WSN application. It is essential reading for anyone interested in future wireless technologies.

Furniture Studio explores the origins, methods, results, and influence of the unique and highly successful furniture design and fabrication studios offered by the University of Washington Department of Architecture. The furniture program, initiated by Andris Vanags, is an immersion into the role of materials, design, and making in architectural education. Students directly engage the physical properties of materials, and the knowledge gained through this engagement enriches the design and fabrication process. The experiences of its graduates reveal that the studio fosters creative thinking that truly integrates design and making. Ochsner presents historical background to shop-based courses, including furniture studio; traces the careers of four representative graduates of the program; and suggests implications from this program for architectural education and individual achievement beyond the University of Washington. Eleven students and the projects they created in the winter 2009 studio are profiled, and the book contains a fully illustrated catalogue of exemplary student projects from 1989 to the present. Illustrations and descriptions throughout the book showcase the heirloom-quality projects created by the students, many of which won awards in competitions.

Interfaces between dissimilar materials are met everywhere in microelectronics and microsystems. In order to ensure faultless operation of these highly sophisticated structures, it is mandatory to have fundamental understanding of materials and their interactions in the system. In this difficult task, the traditional method of trial and error is not feasible anymore; it takes too much time and repeated efforts. In "Interfacial Compatibility in Microelectronics," an alternative approach is introduced.

In this revised method four fundamental disciplines are combined: i) thermodynamics of materials ii) reaction kinetics iii) theory of microstructures and iv) stress and strain analysis. The advantages of the method are illustrated in "Interfacial Compatibility in Microelectronics" which includes:

solutions to several common reliability issues in microsystem technology,

methods to understand and predict failure mechanisms at interfaces between dissimilar materials and

an approach to DFR based on deep understanding in materials science, rather than on the use of mechanistic tools, such as FMEA.

Interfacial Compatibility in Microelectronics provides a clear and methodical resource for graduates and postgraduates alike."

This study of working conditions in shoemaking in the informal sector in Indonesia and the Philippines, along with their gender dimensions and national and international policy implications, is based on the author's experience in both countries during 2002, with applied qualitative research techniques: in-depth interviews and worksite visits. Intended audience: Occupational and environmental health policymakers, practitioners, and researchers; work environment specialists at international organizations; chemical safety specialists; footwear industry representatives; trade unions representing footwear employees.

The book Mechatronics: Recent Technological and Scientific Advances provides comprehensive and accessible coverage of the evolving disciplines of mechatronics for nanotechnology, automatic control & robotics, biomedical engineering, design manufacturing and testing of MEMS, metrology, photonics, mechatronic products majors. It is already the third volume following the previous editions in 2007 and 2009 providing a recent state of advances in mechatronics presented on the 9th International Conference Mechatronics 2011, hosted this year at the Faculty of Mechatronics, Warsaw University of Technology, Poland.

The carefully selected contributions give an insight into the current development of these scientific disciplines, present the new results of research and development and indicate the trends of development in the interdisciplinary field of mechatronics systems.

Even though many people believe that the presence of mechanical, electrical, electronic components, and computers make a system mechatronics, others do not feel the same as there is nothing wrong with the individual identity.

The enclosed material is original, and reflects the main research tendencies and developments in mechatronics among Mechatronics 2011 contributing countries. It helps to acquire the mix of skills needed to comprehend and design mechatronic systems and also provides with the frame of understanding to develop a truly interdisciplinary and integrated approach to engineering.

The enclosed material is original, and reflects the main research tendencies and developments in mechatronics among Mechatronics 2011 contributing countries. It helps to acquire the mix of skills needed to comprehend and design mechatronic systems and also provides with the frame of understanding to develop a truly interdisciplinary and integrated approach to engineering.

The phenomena of Japan emerging as one of the most competitive industrial nations in the twentieth century and the general shift of competitiveness to East Asia since the 1980s have been widely studied by many scholars from different fields of the social sciences. Drawing on sources from Japanese, Swiss, and American archives, the historical analysis of this book tackles a wide range of actors and sheds light on the various processes that enabled Japanese watch companies to transfer technology and expand commercially starting in the second half of the nineteenth century. By exploring the case of the watch industry, this book serves to establish a better understanding of the origins of the competitiveness of Japanese manufacturing and its evolution until its decline in the post-bubble economy (in the 1990s and 2000s).

All in Good Time is the remarkable story of George Daniels (1926-2011), the master craftsman, who was born into poverty but raised himself to become the greatest watchmaker of the twentieth century. Daniels stands alone in modern times as the inventor of the revolutionary co-axial escapement, the first substantial advance in portable mechanical timekeeping over the lever escapement, which has dominated ever since its invention in 1759. Daniels's love of mechanics embraced not only the minute, however - he was also a passionate collector and driver of historic motorcars. This revised and expanded edition of his autobiography also contains a new section that illustrates and discusses over thirty of the pocket and wrist-watches Daniels himself made over the years. Witness here the triumph of intelligence, ingenuity, matchless skill and singularity of purpose over the most unpromising of beginnings.

The merging of the concept of introduction of asymmetry of the wave vector space of the charge carriers in semiconductors with the modern techniques of fabric- ing nanostructured materials such as MBE, MOCVD, and FLL in one, two, and three dimensions (such as ultrathin ?lms, nipi structures, inversion and accumu- tion layers, quantum well superlattices, carbon nanotubes, quantum wires, quantum wire superlattices, quantumdots, magnetoinversionand accumulationlayers, qu- tum dot superlattices, etc. ) spawns not only useful quantum effect devices but also unearth new concepts in the realm of nanostructured materials science and related disciplines. It is worth remaking that these semiconductor nanostructures occupy a paramount position in the entire arena of low-dimensional science and technology by their own right and ?nd extensive applications in quantum registers, resonant tunneling diodes and transistors, quantum switches, quantum sensors, quantum logic gates, heterojunction ?eld-effect, quantum well and quantum wire trans- tors, high-speed digital networks, high-frequency microwave circuits, quantum cascade lasers, high-resolution terahertz spectroscopy, superlattice photo-oscillator, advanced integrated circuits, superlattice photocathodes, thermoelectric devices, superlattice coolers, thin ? lm transistors, intermediate-band solar cells, micro- tical systems, high-performanceinfrared imaging systems, bandpass ?lters, thermal sensors, optical modulators, optical switching systems, single electron/molecule electronics, nanotube based diodes, and other nanoelectronic devices.

Here is a great introduction to the remarkable mind of Shigeo Shingo, indisputably one of the great forces in manufacturing. In this soft cover book, Dr. Shingo describes his approach to manufacturing improvements, developed and refined over the course of a brilliant career. He called it the Scientific Thinking Mechanism (STM). The Sayings of Shigeo Shingo leads you through the five stages of STM, with appropriate examples taken from notes Dr. Shingo collected during his consulting trips to American and Japanese plants. It shows how, in many cases, the most brilliant ideas are often so simple they're overlooked. Or they're dismissed because they seem ridiculous: - A Japanese plant, after first rejecting the idea as too silly, finds that unhulled rice is ideal for smoothing the rough surfaces on pressure-formed ebonite switches - Granville-Phillips, in Boulder, Colorado, reduced defects to zero in one process after Dr. Shingo suggested illuminating circuit boards from below to reduce errors involved in the insertion of diodes and resistors The Sayings of Shigeo Shingo is must reading for plant managers and engineers. It formalizes the powerful and creative way of thinking that Shingo himself used time and again to overcome problems that seemed virtually insurmountable.

Analog Electronics for Radiation Detection showcases the latest advances in readout electronics for particle, or radiation, detectors. Featuring chapters written by international experts in their respective fields, this authoritative text: Defines the main design parameters of front-end circuitry developed in microelectronics technologies Explains the basis for the use of complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors for the detection of charged particles and other non-consumer applications Delivers an in-depth review of analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), evaluating the pros and cons of ADCs integrated at the pixel, column, and per-chip levels Describes incremental sigma-delta ADCs, time-to-digital converter (TDC) architectures, and digital pulse-processing techniques complementary to analog processing Examines the fundamental parameters and front-end types associated with silicon photomultipliers used for single visible-light photon detection Discusses pixel sensors with per-pixel TDCs, channel density challenges, and emerging 3D technologies interconnecting detectors and electronics Thus, Analog Electronics for Radiation Detection provides a single source for state-of-the-art information on analog electronics for the readout of radiation detectors.

She's hit the big time...hasn't she?Personal shopper, Annie Valentine, is presenting her own popular TV fashion series. But despite this being Annie's dream job, success isn't all it's cracked up to be and suddenly Annie is feeling the pressure! Especially as boyfriend Ed is left at home looking after their brand-new twin babies, whilst Annie comes to terms with fame. And as Annie gets more and more sucked into the celebrity showbiz world, she feels like she's losing more and more of who she really is. Could the big break she's always wanted, actually be a big mistake? Fans of Sophie Kinsella, Lindsey Kelk and Paige Toon will love this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy from bestselling author Carmen Reid. What readers are saying! "If you love shopping as much as you love a great read, try this. Wonderful." Bestselling author, Katie Fforde "Annie Valentine is a wonderful character - I want her to burst into my life and sort out my wardrobe for me!" Bestselling author, Jill Mansell "You will enjoy getting to know Annie Valentine; laughing with her and crying with her. You may even fall in love with her . . . I have! A fantastic read!" Reader review "Fantastic read, couldn't put it down" Reader review "Can't wait to read the next one!" Reader review