To Pull or Not To Pull: What is the Question?

The world of manufacturing management seems to affirm Newton's Third Law of Consultants: "For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert." Within Lean Manufacturing circles, this is especially true. Even the basic definition of push and pull has been confused. This talk provides a short history of Lean Manufacturing, and separates the myth from the science to determine the true reasons for the successes (and the failures) of Lean Manufacturing. The audience, armed with this knowledge, will be able to apply these basic principles to create a "lean" production system that might or might not look like that of Toyota but will be uniquely suited for his or her particular plant.