“Potain, a manufacturer and supplier of tower cranes in La Clayette, France, where it made all the mechanical and electrical systems, safety devices and cabs for cranes manufactured in Europe. The diversity of components manufactured was wide and production was in small runs, indeed in single units.

The factory, on a hill, had a handicap in terms of flow as, each time the business grew, a new building had to be built at a different altitude from the others. The organisation was by trade, which penalized production flows.