Three Recent Productivity Press Publications Receive the 2012 Shingo Prize

May 11, 2012 - PRLog -- Productivity Press is pleased to announce that Drew Locher, Charles Kenney, and Raymond C. Floyd have been honored with the prestigious Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence, Research, and Professional Publication Award. This prize is awarded to authors who advance the Lean body of knowledge into new areas and promote a broad understanding of operational excellence.

Lean Office and Service Simplified: The Definitive How-To Guide (2011; ISBN: 978-1-4398-2031-5; 194 pp.; $39.95) by Drew Locher, Transforming Health Care: Virginia Mason Medical Center’s Pursuit of the Perfect Patient Experience (2010; ISBN: 978-1-56327-375-9; 248 pp.; $41.95) by Charles Kenney, Liquid Lean: Developing Lean Culture in the Process Industries (2010; ISBN: 978-1-4200-8862-5; 346 pp.; $51.95) by Raymond C. Floyd are Productivity Press’ most recent recipients of this highly sought after prize.

Lean Office and Service Simplified goes beyond the basic tools to detail the key concepts of Lean as they apply to office and service environments.  Drew Locher draws on his more than two decades of practical experience and provides implementation strategies on a function-by-function and department-by-department basis. He examines the most common obstacles that readers are likely to encounter and supplies strategies to address those obstacles.

“… a valuable and enthusiastically recommended instructional reference for anyone faced with the responsibility of managing a business to its effective maximum performance in both its physical plant and its human resources. … highly recommended for personal, professional, academic, and community library Business Management reference collections and supplemental reading lists.”
—James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief, Midwest Book Review, in Library Bookwatch, March 2011

Over the last several years Virginia Mason has become internationally known for its journey towards perfection by applying the Toyota Production System to healthcare. Transforming Health Care takes you through their pursuit of the perfect patient experience through the application of lean principles, tools, and methodology.

“If you work in the health and medical care field and you believe you and your institution are as good as it is possible to be, you should read this book. It will reset your standards and show you how to produce more value for your patients at a lower cost. This is a front line story, not a pie in the sky theory or project of the month. It is a story about real people dedicated to the pursuit of habitual excellence.”
— Paul O’Neill, 72nd Secretary of the U.S. Treasury & former Chairman and CEO of Alcoa

Written by Raymond Floyd, an unparalleled leader of Lean transformations, Liquid Lean: Developing Lean Culture in the Process Industries provides potential process industry change agents with the no-nonsense guide needed to eliminate waste and achieve sustainable optimal efficiency. Presenting lessons in lean as they apply within the liquid industries, the book focuses on developing the four measures of Lean as defined by the Shingo Award: business results, consistent Lean enterprise culture, continuous process improvement, and cultural enablers.  

“This book is about ‘walking the talk.’ Ray provides uniquely valuable insight from having personally led several organizations to achieve exceptional results applying lean principles.”
— H. Eugene McBrayer, Former President, Exxon Chemical Company

These books can be found at http://www.crcpress.com