Creating Continuous Flow: An Action Guide for Managers, Engineers and Production Associates (Lean Enterprise Institute)

Rating:
Summary: A weak attempt to explain flow
Review: I bought this book after having spent a couple of years learning lean at a company that does it pretty well. I didn't feel as if true flow was being implemented, and was hoping to find some knowledge that only highly experienced consultants could give from years spent at multiple sites. This book disppointed me greatly in my expectations. The way the authors deal with flow is on the surface at best. They talk of taking timings, but don't give details on how to do it well (like leave the stopwatch running so as not to lose observations). They fail to discuss movements of the operator that add to lack of flow. Instead they focus on "cells" that are created where there are piles of WIP between stations. Well, no kidding, they didn't get flow implemented. The book leaves you with the feeling of not having really gotten the whole story, and wondering if this was just a Lean Enterprise attempt at getting you to buy the next book they can come up with meant to answer all unanswered questions.
Stick to Learning to See as far as I'm concerned and move on to other authors.