James P. Womack was the research director of the '' International Motor Vehicle Program (IMVP)'' at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT) in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

and is the founder and chairman of the ''Lean Enterprise Institute'', a nonprofit institution for the dissemination and exploration of the Lean thinking with the aim of his further development of the Lean Enterprise.

Life and work

Womack first became widely known as an author in 1990 with publication of the book '' The Machine That Changed the World'', which made the term

lean production Lean manufacturing is a method of manufacturing goods aimed primarily at reducing times within the production system as well as response times from suppliers and customers. It is closely related to another concept called just-in-time manufact ...

known worldwide. The book has been translated into eleven languages and has been sold more than 600,000 times. A revised edition was published in 2007. Womack received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in political science from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

in 1970. He earned his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in transportation systems in 1975 at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. His Ph.D in political science was received from the

(MIT) in 1982 for a dissertation on the comparison of industrial policy in the United States, Germany and Japan. From 1975-1991 Womack led a number of comparative studies on worldwide production practices. The study of the automotive industry (the International Motor Vehicle Program - IMVP), funded with more than US$5 million, was the most important. Womack left MIT shortly after the publication of his book and founded the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI)' in 1997. In addition, he also founded the Lean Global Network (LGN)Lean Global Network http://www.leanglobal.org together with Dr. Bodo Wiegand and José Ferro, which combines the interests and objectives of the Lean Management Community. The umbrella organization wants to ensure uniform standards when implementing learning concepts and to encourage the exchange among its members. He is married and has two daughters.

Works

*''Lean Solutions: How Companies and Customers Can Create Value and Wealth Together'' *''Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation'' *'' The Machine That Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production'' ,

References

External links

Womack personal page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Womack, James P. Year of birth missing (living people) 1940s births Living people Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences alumni University of Chicago alumni Engineering writers