Some of the first books published by Productivity Press were translations of the works of leading Japanese industrial experts on the Toyota Production System (TPS) - the heart of the improvement strategy now called lean manufacturing.
These included writings by Shigeo Shingo, a Japanese industrial engineer at Toyota and one of the foremost experts on TPS, as well as the works of Taiichi Ohno, a top Toyota executive and the man whom Toyota credits with doing the most to structure TPS as an integrated framework.
The early publications also included key works on process improvement by leading American authors.
In the more than 20 years that have passed since the publication of these books — which they still offer today — Productivity Press has developed the largest catalog available anywhere of publications and learning tools about continuous improvement. Today they are the premier source of authoritative information on organizational improvement.