David Meier is an internationally recognized authority on Lean Manufacturing and The Toyota Production System (TPS). David is the co-author of the best selling books, The Toyota Way Fieldbook, (2005), and Toyota Talent, (2007) with Jeffrey Liker. In these hands-on books David and Jeff detail the language, concepts, and tools that managers need to bring Toyota’s success-proven practices to life in any organization.
David had the opportunity to learn the Toyota Production System as one of the first group leaders hired at Toyota’s Georgetown, Kentucky facility in the plastics molding department. He was trained and mentored in Japan and Kentucky over a ten-year period by TPS experts including full-time coaching by several Japanese coordinators. In 2001, David founded Lean Associates, Inc., a consulting firm dedicated to supporting companies that are pursuing implementation of the Toyota Production System.
David has been a trainer and speaker for over ten years and he has presented training workshops in North America, Russia, Europe, and Asia for many groups including: the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, AME, The University of Michigan, the Montreal Board of Trade, ORGPROM Russia, Made In China, Inc., The Window and Door Manufacturers Association, AIM Inlines Thailand, Continuous Quality Improvement Network, and the Shingo Prize Conference. David has supported many companies in a variety of industries including healthcare, food, automotive, aerospace, wood and plastic products, chemical processing, metal machining, fabricating, welding, and assembly operations in both manufacturing and non-manufacturing work areas. He specializes in developing TPS expertise within organizations so that they become capable of achieving lean transformation.
The Toyota Way Fieldbook: A Practical Guide for Implementing Toyota's 4Ps