If you’ve driven on a Smart motorway and enjoyed steady, hassle-free progress rather than the stop-start of old, you are experiencing lean in action. Instead of the traditional battle for space, the techniques employed change our collective mindsets allowing us to ‘go with the flow.’ The principles, first brought into play in the car industry in Japan in the 1950’s, are now an integral part of our everyday lives. Despite this, there is still a mystery perpetuated about Lean Thinking. This book explains the first vital stage in introducing lean thinking to your enterprise.It covers the key subjects of Value and Waste, MCRS, the Seven Tools of Quality, 5S, TPM and Visual Factory in an easy to read way. It is written by an experience manufacturing manager who has practiced lean since 1988, initially as a major JIT supplier to a major UK pharmaceutical company and most recently as a lean consultant.