Toyota production system - beyond large scale

is an excellent book edited by Taiichi Ohno (isbn 978-0-915299-14-0). As usual I'm going to quote from a few pages:

There is nothing very complex in the magic of Mr. Ohno's teachings. In fact, it is often confusing listening to him because he talks so simply, often just saying to look for and eliminate waste. We cannot believe it is that simple - but it is true.

Henry Ford was able to mine iron ore on a Monday and, using that very same ore, produce a car coming off the assembly line on Thursday afternoon.

In the pull method, the final process withdraws the required quantities from the preceding process at a certain time, and this procedure is repeated in reverse order up through all the earlier processes.

The principal objective of the Toyota production system was to produce many models in small quantities.

Even worse, there would be no distinction between normal and abnormal states on each assembly line.

If materials or machines are repaired without the managing supervisor's being made aware of it, improvement will never be achieved and costs will never be reduced.

There is no waste in business more terrible than overproduction.

In modern industry, harmony among people in a group, as in teamwork, is in greater demand than the art of the individual craftsman.

In a swimming relay, a swimmer cannot dive before the previous swimmer's hand touches the wall.

I feel the most important point in common between sports and work is the continuing need for practice and training.

They would have had difficulty understanding the system without seeing it in action.

A half-hearted introduction of kanban brings a hundred harms and not a single gain.

Improvement is eternal and infinite.