In its most basic form, Lean Manufacturing is the systematic elimination of waste by focusing on production costs, product quality and delivery, and worker involvement. It is defined, in its modern form, by the Toyota Manufacturing system invented by Shigeo Shingo and Taiichi Ohno in the 1950's. While “waste” has always been thought of as an undesirable by-product of most factory production systems, many have also considered this an inevitable “end-of-pipe” control expense on the corporate balance sheet. Henry Ford was one of the first to realize that waste also represents inefficient (and more costly) production processes. Although.
