The journey to today’s understanding of lean has been an evolutionary one. If we associate ‘lean’ with standardization, this has been recognized and practiced for thousands of years. One of the earliest examples would be the standardization to make chariot wheels in Egypt (diameter, number of spokes, etc were specified – find reference). Similar examples would be found in Roman civilization. Their roads and water supply infrastructure are excellent examples of their skills. In the middle ages we have the example of the Venice boat building.
Standardization came first, then the development of interchangeable parts. The concept was proposed in France, but resistance from the Guilds stopped its implementation. It took root when the US government subsidized the development of the armory system. It was nearly fifty years before it became functional in a practical sense.
Flow began to be recognized about a century ago. One of the early successful industrial makeovers took place at the Ford Motor Company in 1906-7. Walter Flanders reorganized the machining and assembly operation for flow, as well as reorganizing the supplier system and the distribution network. Annual auto production jumped from less than 2,000 per year to over 10,000.
