Lean and TPS concepts have also been applied successfully in software development. In software engineering the process begins with a requirement review, to eliminate unnecessary requirements, and substitute mechanical and electrical components with software. Software generally has a lower per-component cost than other disciplines, especially in the large production runs typical of a lean product. The design then attempts to eliminate costly software components, especially those that are purchased. Lean in the Software industry is quite similar to "Agile Methods" of Software Development - some of which explicitly state TPS as a source of inspiration.
One of the recent trends in healthcare has been the application of lean principles to improving patient care and reducing medical errors. The Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative has been one of the leaders in applying lean and Toyota Production System methods in hospitals. Steve Spear, formerly of Harvard, and now with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, has written multiple Harvard Business Review articles on applying the "Toyota DNA" to healthcare settings.
Many nations around the world are feeling the pinch of reduced defence budgets. Amoung them are the United States and the United Kingdom. Both are using the principles of Lean to manage their reductions whilst still preserving their fighting capability. The United Kingdom's government has anounced cuts both in maning and funding due to bite in 2008. Previously these would have been handled by an external review. This time the chosen method is using the Lean methodology centred around the philosophy that the person at the "sharp end" knows best where the waste is which gives ownership of the efficiency to the very grassroots level. Applying what by many is seen as a "Manufacturing Tool" to a repair and, more importantly, highly reactive environment is, to say the least, a controversial strategy.