Origins of Pull and Kanban

In reading a book from 1915, Installing Efficiency Methods by C.E. Knoeppel, Jeff Maling pointed out this great excerpt:

Now, the methods outlined in Knoeppel's book do not tell the reader how to establish a kanban system, BUT this passage serves as proving the point that people have been trying to get at better ways to plan and execute production for the past 100 years. The spirit of doing things better is in everyone. It is up to managers to enable people to turn that spirit into action.