Editor’s Note: The following is excerpted from How to Implement Lean Manufacturing by Lonnie Wilson (McGraw-Hill; 2009) with permission from McGraw-Hill. Minor editorial changes have been made to the original text.

By Lonnie Wilson

Sustaining the gains is a key foundational topic. We will discuss its importance and its application, especially the more powerful techniques of product and process simplification. Unfortunately, to most of us applying Lean tools today, the product is designed and the process in place, so we have to work with what we have. Seldom is it practical to change the product, so we are left with improving the process.
Because of this, we will address how we can sustain gains in these circumstances.

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