Rating: 
Summary: Readable for the layman
Review: Great book. I am no expert in manufacturing techniques, but I found the book readable, almost like a novel. Gives a good insight into the car industry up to 1990, and I would love to see a second edition of this, given all the changes in the 90's. The only downside I could find is that the book gets a little repetitive at the end.
Rating:
Summary: Readable for the layman
Review: Great book. I am no expert in manufacturing techniques, but I found the book readable, almost like a novel. Gives a good insight into the car industry up to 1990, and I would love to see a second edition of this, given all the changes in the 90's. The only downside I could find is that the book gets a little repetitive at the end.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Business Book
Review: I read this book while working for a major software firm--it was fascinating to me that Toyota could update their automobiles faster than we could bring out a new operating system. This study of the world automotive industry by a group of MIT academics reaches the radical conclusion that the much vaunted Mercedes technicians are actually a throwback to the pre-industrial age, while Toyota is far ahead in costs and quality by building the automobiles correctly the first time. The lesson that it cost more to fix it than to build it correctly should be applicable to a lot of industries--not just manufacturing. The description of the marketing information system that Toyota uses was very enlightening. They involve the entire company in generating marketing feedback. Even dealer sales staff spend time working on the new product teams. Trust me, very few high-tech firms methodically collect feedback from their customers, and none have a system this comprehensive. This is not just a book about lean production--this is guidance in understanding how your business operates and delivering good products that your customers want.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Business Book
Review: I read this book while working for a major software firm--it was fascinating to me that Toyota could update their automobiles faster than we could bring out a new operating system. This study of the world automotive industry by a group of MIT academics reaches the radical conclusion that the much vaunted Mercedes technicians are actually a throwback to the pre-industrial age, while Toyota is far ahead in costs and quality by building the automobiles correctly the first time. The lesson that it cost more to fix it than to build it correctly should be applicable to a lot of industries--not just manufacturing. The description of the marketing information system that Toyota uses was very enlightening. They involve the entire company in generating marketing feedback. Even dealer sales staff spend time working on the new product teams. Trust me, very few high-tech firms methodically collect feedback from their customers, and none have a system this comprehensive. This is not just a book about lean production--this is guidance in understanding how your business operates and delivering good products that your customers want.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Introductory Book
Review: I usually refer to this kind of books as "Open Minds", are written in a very simple way that may seem that the content is simple, BUT IS NOT. This book is in my opinion a must read for any Industrial Engineers, Managers, Supervisors. It can be used also for training and kaizen events.
Silly is that one that reads this book expecting that he will know everything about lean manufacturing, JIT, or modern IE.
In summary, this book is the entrance to a new world with a new way of thinking and doing thins and it is a necessary complement to any technical book.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't "Machine" - try "Lean" instead
Review: If you are just starting out learning about Lean Manufacturing, and you only have time to read one book, "The Machine that Changed the World" is an historically important book but "Lean Thinking" is the one that actually gets you started toward implementation. It's one of those rare occasions where the sequel was better than the original.
Rating:
Summary: Don't "Machine" - try "Lean" instead
Review: If you are just starting out learning about Lean Manufacturing, and you only have time to read one book, "The Machine that Changed the World" is an historically important book but "Lean Thinking" is the one that actually gets you started toward implementation. It's one of those rare occasions where the sequel was better than the original.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent in-depth analysis of the automobile industry.
Review: In "The Machine That Changed the World", Womack, along with several other individuals, give an analysis of the Automobile Industry within global boundaries. This book was the summarization of a five year, five million dollar study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Analysis was provided for both foreign and domestic automobile manufacturers with an eye toward the future. This book spoke "globally" far earlier than it was hip to speak in such terms, analyzing such foreign automotive powers such as Toyota, with their Toyota Production System, perhaps the greatest example of Lean Manufacturing in the world. For anyone who would like to learn anything about the automobile industry in general, or even further, would like to learn about successful business practices, I highly recommend this text.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent in-depth analysis of the automobile industry.
Review: In "The Machine That Changed the World", Womack, along with several other individuals, give an analysis of the Automobile Industry within global boundaries. This book was the summarization of a five year, five million dollar study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Analysis was provided for both foreign and domestic automobile manufacturers with an eye toward the future. This book spoke "globally" far earlier than it was hip to speak in such terms, analyzing such foreign automotive powers such as Toyota, with their Toyota Production System, perhaps the greatest example of Lean Manufacturing in the world. For anyone who would like to learn anything about the automobile industry in general, or even further, would like to learn about successful business practices, I highly recommend this text.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent account of lean production
Review: Lean production has its disciples, as well as its detractors. The future of automobile production, and general supply chain management is centred in lean production philosophies and management techniques. This book provides for the initiated, as well as the practitioner, a complete account of the major issues and problems faced with the introduction and management of lean systems. The Japanese, particularly Toyota, were the originators of this approach to manufacturing. The Japanese success has been closely followed throughout the world, with the Koreans modelling the technique, and US companies such as the GM Saturn closely resembling lean systems. The manufacturing and retail supply chain management in automobiles, but also in every other sector of economic activity, is closely following lean systems. This book is a very useful and immediate account of what this important production development and technique exactly is.
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