For a selection of case studies, White Papers, reports, presentations & more, why not take a look at our original BTOES Insights content, or our excellent premium contributor content? 

What is Lean?

Kaizen : The key to Japan's competitive success

Masaaki Imai
Level: Introductory

"A comprehensive handbook of 16 Kaizen management practices that can be put to work. KAIZEN uses more than 100 examples in action and contains 15 corporate case studies."

One Small Step Can Change Your Life

Robert Maurer
Level: Introductory

A cornerstone for all Kaizen Practitioners, this book serves as a practical and inspirational guide to incorporating Kaizen and its powerful principles into one's daily life.

The Spirit of Kaizen: Creating Lasting Excellence One Small Step at a Time

Robert Maurer
Level: Introductory

Filled with practical tips and ready-to-use tools for managers, innovators, and entrepreneurs, The Spirit of Kaizen is the essential handbook for a changing world. You’ll learn how to think outside the suggestion box, remove mental blindfolds, manage stress with one-minute exercises, and handle rising health-care costs.

Creating a Kaizen Culture: Align the Organization, Achieve Breakthrough Results, and Sustain the Gains

John Miller, Mike Wroblewski, Jaime Villafeurte
Level: Moderate Experience

Co-written by leaders at the Kaizen Institute, Creating a Kaizen Culture explains how to enable an adaptive, excellent, and sustainable organization by leveraging core kaizen values and the behaviors they generate.

Kaizen and the Art of Creative Thinking: The Scientific Thinking Mechanism

Shigeo Shingo
Level: Moderate Experience

Along with Taiichi Ohno, Dr. Shingo co-developed TPS (LEAN) with his deep understanding of how to improve the overall process of production. Dr. Shingo reveals how he taught Toyota and other Japanese companies the art of identifying and solving problems.

Kaizen in Logistics and Supply Chains

Euclides Coimbra
Level: Experienced

This book includes more than 200 photographs, flow diagrams, value stream maps, and tables--and features a case study that illustrates how a company became more competitive by successfully implementing kaizen principles.

Gemba Kaizen: A Commonsense Approach to a Continuous Improvement Strategy, Second Edition

Masaaki Imai
Level: Experienced

Written by Masaaki Imai, pioneer of modern business operational excellence and founder of the Kaizen Institute, Gemba Kaizen, Second Edition is an in-depth revision of this renowned, bestselling work.

A Revolution in Manufacturing: The SMED System: Single-minute Exchange of Die System

Shigeo Shingo
Level: Expert

Written by the industrial engineer who developed SMED (single-minute exchange of die) for Toyota, A Revolution in Manufacturing provides a full overview of this powerful just in timeproduction tool. It offers the most complete and detailed instructions available anywhere for transforming a manufacturing environment in ways that will speed up production and make small lot inventories feasible.

Kaizen for Quick Changeover: Going Beyond SMED

Keisuke Arai, Kenichi Sekine
Level: Expert

The book first outlines the tactical principles for improving the three phases of the changeover procedure. Next you'll learn how to improve changeover on a processing line. All of the ideas presented are based on kaizen improvements that require very little, if any, expenditure. Process razing and the implementation of one-piece flow are also examined as means for eliminating wasteful transportation and searching.

The Lean Turnaround: How Business Leaders Use Lean Principles to Create Value and Transform Their Company

Art Byrne, James P. Womack
Level: Wider Reading

Whatever type of company you run, Lean can be used to improve virtually every aspect of operations, from training and leading employees to accounting and payroll issues. The Lean Turnaround explains all the ins and outs of applying Lean strategy to:

• Eliminate waste in every value-added operation
• Deliver consistent value to customers
• Stimulate growth and add jobs
• Increase wealth for all your stakeholders
• Build a company culture of continuous improvement (kaizen)

Click here to learn about Lean!