Introduction

A major goal of this book is to demonstrate that POLCA is not just a theoretical concept; it has been implemented in factories around the world with impressive results. Part III of this book documents six such implementations, with case studies from the U.S., Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, and Germany. The companies involved range in size from a large multinational to a factory with only a dozen employees! Industrial applications span from the more common metalworking operations such as extrusion, metal-cutting, and fabrication, to more unusual factories such as glass and even pharmaceuticals. It was important to us that you, the reader, should experience these case studies from the eyes of the people who were involved. Thus, the six case studies in Part III are all written by guest authors—senior managers, employees, and consultants at the companies that implemented POLCA—who share their personal journeys, insights, and of course results. This also lends credibility to the results presented, as they are directly supported by the writings of these guest authors.