Lean Manufacturing (3)

I find it very hard here to get a real professional engineering career in Quality field. The companies or recruiters ask for the most updated techniques, among them are 6 Sigma and Lean Manufacturing. I lost a good opportunity last year in Winnipeg because I didn’t even know what Lean Manufacturing was! After that, I started surfing the net and found the basics. Last weekend I found another opportunity, this one in Medicine Hat, as a Quality Manager who is familiar with Lean Manufacturing, again. Therefore it seams I have to take this serious. 6 Sigma is taught by ASQ but is very expensive course and split to different levels.
In order to apply for that position I decided to study more detail in Lean Manufacturing and apply that in my resume. This is what I found, (Sentences in brackets are by me):
Many think that lean manufacturing means coordinating schedules so the parts and materials arrive at their point of use just in time to avoid inventory and the space it consumes. [This is exactly what I thought! But when I surfed the net, found that lean manufacturing is the application of different method, probably simultaneously, to achieve JIT] Indeed that is part of lean manufacturing, an important part. But there’s considerably more than that to lean manufacturing. Lean manufacturing actually is a strategy for achieving significant continues improvement in performance through elimination of all waste of time and resources in the total business process. [Note that it’s said the total business. It means the technique is not just used in manufacturing. Procurement, management and probably all other departments profit its advantages]
(Photo: Taiichi Ohno who is known as the founder of lean manufacturing)