You already know the feeling. Two people have called out before the shift even starts. A machine is iffy. A customer is breathing down your neck about an order that should have shipped yesterday. Then a senior leader shows up asking why you are behind, like you personally scheduled the chaos.
You do not need another book explaining lean theory. You have sat through that training and watched the shadow boards collect dust three weeks later. This is not that book.
A philosophy first, then a working system
Managing for Daily Improvement (MDI) is a philosophy first, which is what lets it flex with real constraints: short staffing, high turnover, mixed skill levels, union and non-union floors, and a schedule that never asks permission before it falls apart.
Inside are the mechanics of a daily management system built for a real floor:
- Pace boards that drive decisions instead of collecting dust
- Tiered meetings that solve problems instead of reporting them
- Leader standard work that holds up on a bad Tuesday
- A way to tell a skill problem from a will problem before you coach the wrong one
- The templates to run all of it, starting with your very next shift
Who this book is for
Production supervisors, value stream and area managers, plant managers, and continuous improvement leaders who own a floor and want to stop firefighting it. If you have ever launched a daily management system that faded within a quarter, this book explains why, and what to build instead.
Built from installations, not theory
Ivan Heyboer has spent 30+ years turning around manufacturing and distribution operations, from single-plant crisis fixes to leading continuous improvement across 100+ locations. He has worked union and non-union floors, small machine shops, and 500,000-square-foot plants. This book is built from what actually worked on the plant floor, not a theory he read about.
You do not need a miracle. You need a rhythm. This book will help you build one, starting with your very next shift.