To achieve the SME/AME/Shingo Prize Lean Certification, you will be expected to read several books from this list. Be sure to check www.sme.org/leancert to be sure you are using the latest version of the document.

1. RECOMMENDED READING FOR LEAN
CERTIFICATION EXAM PREPARATION
Version 3.0 February–2008
These are the core reference materials upon which the exams for Lean Certification are based.
The exam is an open–book format. You may bring the exam reading books with you when you take your
test.
Lean Knowledge Certificate & Lean Bronze Certification Recommended Reading
Gemba Kaizen: A Commonsense, Low-Cost Approach to Management
Masaaki Imai, McGraw-Hill, March 1997, ISBN: 0070314462
Lean Production Simplified: A Plain-Language Guide to the World's Most Powerful Production System,
Second Edition
Pascal Dennis, Productivity Press Inc, September 2007, ISBN: 9781563273568
*(The previous version of Lean Production Simplified August 2002, ISBN: 1563272628 is also acceptable)
Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation, Second Edition
James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones, Free Press, June 2003, ISBN: 0743249275
Learning to See: Value Stream Mapping to Create Value and Eliminate Muda
Mike Rother and John Shook, Lean Enterprise Institute, June 2003, ISBN: 0966784308
Lean Silver Certification Recommended Reading
The Lean Design Guidebook: Everything Your Product Development Team Needs to Slash Manufacturing
Costs
Ronald Mascitelli, Technology Perspectives, June 2004, ISBN: 0966269721
Office Kaizen: Transforming Office Operations into a Strategic Competitive Advantage
William Lareau, ASQ Quality Press, July 2002, ISBN: 0873895568
Practical Lean Accounting: A Proven System for Measuring and Managing the Lean Enterprise (Book & CD
ROM)
Brian H. Maskell and Bruce Baggaley, Productivity Press, December 2003, ISBN: 1563272431
Real Numbers: Management Accounting in a Lean Organization
Orest J. Fiume and Jean E. Cunningham, Managing Times Press, March 2003, ISBN: 0972809902
The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles From The World's Greatest Manufacturer
Jeffrey Liker, McGraw-Hill, December 2003, ISBN: 0071392319
Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production
Taiichi Ohno, Productivity Press Inc, February 1988, ISBN: 0915299143
Lean Gold Certification Recommended Reading
Creating a Lean Culture: Tools To Sustain Lean Conversions
David Mann, Productivity Press, May 2005, ISBN: 563273225
Lean Solutions: How Companies and Customers Can Create Value and Wealth Together
James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones, Free Press, October 2005, ISBN: 0743277783
Lean Transformation: How to Change Your Business into a Lean Enterprise
Bruce A. Henderson and Jorge L. Larco, Oaklea Publishing, May 1999, ISBN: 0964660121
Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution
Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, L. Hunter Lovins, Back Bay Books, October 2000, ISBN: 0316353000
Today & Tomorrow
Henry Ford, Productivity Press, Reprinted June 1988, ISBN: 0915299364