A new book shows how lean principals can be used to maximize training efficiency and improve job performance. Training Within Industry: The Foundation of Lean (Productivity Press, 2005), by Donald A. Dinero, shows how training within industry (TWI) was originally developed by the United States during World War II, but was exported to Japan and elsewhere to standardize training processes. The book explores the four modules that compose TWI:

• Job interaction, in which employees are trained to perform their tasks as quickly as possible, with minimal waste
• Job methods, in which employees are taught to improve their processes using existing resources
• Job relations, in which personnel problems are solved in an analytical, nonemotional manner
• Program development, in which robust training plans are developed to meet a plant’s specific needs

The book includes a CD with the text of the original TWI bulletins issued by the U.S. government in the 1940s. For more information, visit www.productivitypress.com.

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