Your processes are running more smoothly. You’ve got the flow going. And yet, as soon as customer demand fluctuates, the pressure on your system spikes. Inventory levels rise, delivery times lengthen, and your sense of control vanishes in an instant.
The problem isn’t the flow itself; it’s what happens before and around that flow. As long as your production system reacts to the whims of the moment rather than to a balanced signal, improvement will remain fragile. “How to Create a Balanced Pull System” shows you how to fundamentally change that.
What will you learn in "How to Create a Balanced Pull System"?
This workbook is the third and most challenging volume in the series that began with *Learning to See* and continued with *How to Create Continuous Flow*. While those workbooks teach you where pull is needed and how flow works, this book teaches you how to build a fully leveled pull system, step by step, using a detailed and realistic real-world case study full of complications, exceptions, and special situations.
Author Art Smalley, a former Toyota employee in Japan, guides you through the full complexity of pull systems in practice. You’ll learn the difference between the two types of leveling— by volume and by mix — and discover when to apply each. You’ll be introduced to the three types of pull: replenishment pull, sequential pull, and mixed pull, and learn how to make the right choice for your situation.
We will also cover the three types of inventory and how to determine the required levels, the role of 5S in a pull system, the four main types of kanban and when to use each one, and how to effectively implement pull systems for batch and flexible processes.
The title“How to Create,” deliberately chosen over“How to Implement,” says it all about the approach. Leveled pull is not a blueprint that you simply apply to an existing situation. This workbook teaches you to identify what needs to change in your specific situation so that a functioning pull system can then become a reality.
Why should I read *How to Create a Balanced Pull System*?
Pull and leveling are at the heart of the Toyota Production System and are among the concepts most frequently applied superficially in Western Lean practice. Michael Ballé and Dan Jones put it aptly: you must truly master the mechanics of a pull system in all its forms, because pull is a Lean-specific technique that creates the conditions for learning.
That is exactly what this workbook does. It guides you through all the exceptions, edge cases, and complex scenarios you’ll encounter in real life. Once up and running, a functioning, balanced pull system will feel like what Lean experts describe as true Lean magic, and you’ll truly begin to understand the depth of Lean as a whole.
This is the Dutch translation of *Creating Level Pull*, published by the Lean Management Institute.
Who is *How to Create a Leveled Pull System* written for?
- Lean practitioners who not only want to understand pull and leveling, but also want to be able to actually implement them
- Operations and production managers who are struggling with fluctuations in customer demand and the impact this has on their system
- Anyone who has read *Learning to See and How to Create Continuous Flow* and wants to take the next logical step
- Lean Black Belt students and graduates who want to deepen their understanding of systems
What do fellow writers think of this book?
"Understanding pull is one thing. Actually creating pull in a complex, real-world environment is something else entirely. Art Smalley demonstrates how this works like no one else." — Mike Rother, author of Seeing Is Learning and Toyota Kata
"This is the workbook that completes the Lean series. Without leveled pull, any improvement remains vulnerable. With this book in hand, you have no more excuses." — Jim Womack, founder of the Lean Enterprise Institute
Additional Information
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Language
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Dutch
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ISBN
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9789078413141
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Publisher
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Lean Management Institute
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Number of pages
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128
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Type
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Paperback workbook
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About the author
Art Smalley is one of the few Western Lean experts who gained his knowledge directly at Toyota in Japan. He worked for Toyota Motor Corporation for many years, which put him in a unique position to learn the Toyota Production System from the inside out—not from books, but on the shop floor.
After his time at Toyota, he became a sought-after consultant and author, known for his ability to make the most complex Lean concepts concrete and applicable. In addition to this workbook, he also wrote *Four Types of Problems*, also available in the Lean Management Institute’s webshop.
