Kaizen and the Environment

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a section ontheir web site called "Lean Manufacturing and the Environment". It provides one of the best introductions to lean manufacturing techniques that I've seen. What I particularly like is that being a government site, it is not tryingto sell services. It just takes a clear, unbiased look at lean manufacturing and lean manufacturing techniques.

These pages are looking at how lean manufacturing applies to the environment. The introductory paragraph states:

"Lean manufacturing is a business model and collection of methods that help eliminate waste while delivering quality products on time and at least cost. EPA is interested in finding ways to maximize the environmental benefits of lean. This website will guide you to information on various aspects of lean manufacturing and its relationship to environmental performance."

However, I recommend clicking on the "What methods are used in lean?" link on the first page. This leads to excellent general information about lean techniques such as Kaizen, 5S, JIT and TPM.