TITLE : MACHINE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD, THE.

PREFACE

We have now spent five years exploring the differences between mass production and lean production in one enormous industry. We have been both insiders with access to vast amounts of proprietary information and daily contact with industry leaders, and outsiders with a broad perspective, often very critical, on existing practices. In this process we've become convinced that the prin ciples of lean production can be applied equally in every industry across the globe and that the conversion to lean production will have a profound effect on human society-it will truly change the world.

We therefore decided not to write an academic report on our work, a dry summary of findings by a committee seeking a consensus. Instead, in the pages that follow, the three of us, as leaders of the Program, tell the story of how human society went about making things during the rise, and now the decline of the age of mass production, and how some companies in some countries have pioneered a new way of making things in the dawning age of lean production. In the last part of our book, we provide a vision of how the whole world can enter this new age.

Our story draws on the 116 research monographs prepared by IMVP Research Affiliates, as listed in Appendix D, but necessarily provides only a small fraction of the evidence behind our analysis. Readers with further interest in specific topics should consult Appendix D and write for copies to the IMVP, Center for Technology, Policy and Industrial Development, E40-219, MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139 U.S.A.

Readers should realize that with such a rich diversity of global intellectual resources and viewpoints, IMVP researchers have not agreed on every point. This volume presents the personal view of the three Program leaders and should not be taken as an official statement agreed to by all participants. Certainly, they should not be blamed for any errors or omissions.

Our story is not just for an industry audience but for everyone-government officials, labor leaders, industry executives, and general readers-in every country with an interest in how society goes about making things. In the process, we necessarily make some unflattering comparisons of companies and countries. We ask the reader to take these in the proper spirit. We have no wish to embarrass, or for that matter to compliment, but rather to illustrate the transition from mass to lean production with concrete examples that readers can understand.

We also ask the reader to understand that our sponsors have been extraordinarily supportive of our work. They have sent senior executives to our annual meetings and several have given us a critique of a draft of this volume-in some cases voicing disagreements. However, they have neither exercised veto power over our findings nor endorsed our conclusions. The views in the pages ahead are strictly our own. For our sponsors' willingness to let us think big thoughts without interference at a time of profound transition, we are deeply grateful.