First as a member of a senior management team and more recently as a business consultant specializing in lean manufacturing implementation, Howard Thomes has enjoyed a long career of business improvement and turn-around assignments, small and large. His experiences led him to write Lean Roadmap, a step-by-step process illustrating the building block steps that must be mapped and designed to ensure a successful lean implementation.

Lean Roadmap is a relatively new term, and the processes defined in this book will also be new to many of you. The author has successfully implemented lean processes at many manufacturing businesses and has worked with aggressive management and implementation teams as both an employee and external resource.

This book is a contribution to those of you who are struggling with lean—what to do and how to get there. Lean Roadmap removes the mystique of lean, and will make the lean improvement process at your business logical. A company president or CEO who lacks the time to be sufficiently trained in the lean practices will easily learn the process steps required to achieve the desired results.

Howard Thomes began his “real job” career as a machinist/toolmaker and progressed to Vice President of Manufacturing Operations for a successful division of a Fortune 1000 business. In 1991, he formed Bottom Line Consultants, a virtual business model, with a pool of seasoned professionals who are called upon to support client needs as required. This business model allows for the matching of resources to specific client needs, providing real value in shortened implementation times.