Is your path to solving problems riddled with silos, endless analysis, ownership issues, and personal bias? There are several tools that will help you get to the root cause of an issue and know with certainty that the solution is the right one. Six Sigma is one methodology that will ensure you address and evaluate your options with discipline. Hear from our presenters how they use tools to eliminate issues for good.
This course blends the benefits of Six Sigma quality improvement tools with phase gates to increase collaboration and reduce risk. An improved gate process is presented that consists of four major elements: Product business teams, Core teams, Business decision points, and Program decision points.
The course will introduce tools for tracking both milestone-based activities and task-based activities including methods for manager visibility and employee engagement.
Using simulations and exercises, this workshop will demonstrate the importance of aligning teams around shared goals. Techniques are provided for defining roles and responsibilities, effective group processes and building inter-group relationships. As teams are often formed around process change, leaders must foster buy-in to new ideas. Participants will learn how to lead with persuasion, get their ideas heard and negotiate agreements that provide win-win outcomes.
Learn and see how to design components and assemblies that will reduce the risk of non-conformance to the established specifications, and how to introduce this concept into your company. Break down the “wall” that stands between Design and Manufacturing.
Every new design or design/process change should be preceded by an FMEA. This will convert qualitative concerns into specific actions, identify what negative effects could occur, and make sure that all possible ramifications are understood. FMEA will also guide you to reduce unforeseen problems, highlight concerns of both the customer and internal process owners and keep people attuned to risks associated with planned implementations.
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$219.00
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February 11th, 2012
Is your product offering burdened with the high cost of internal design and manufacturing complexity? Learn how principles of modular design can dramatically reduce part number count while simultaneously improving your ability to offer the product variations your customers value the most. Take your product development methodology to the next level using principles of modular design.
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$219.00
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February 12th, 2012
There are many toolsused under the “lean manufacturing” banner. How do they actually increase your bottom line? We work in a world that expects the utmost speed in processing orders. You need the speed and reliability in all of your processes while taming the 3 process laws that many methods ignore or try to violate. This workshop will provide you with the information that is necessary to start gaining velocity in your shop and in the office.
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$219.00
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February 13th, 2012
It takes more than a title and some authority to effectively lead people; ask anyone newly promoted into a leadership role! And it’s even harder without the title. This workshop takes team leaders to the next level by showing them how to finesse their way to team success, navigating the politics and personalities that are sometimes roadblocks to success.
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$319.00
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February 19th, 2012
“You get what you measure” is a truism among managers. Therefore, it is of critical importance that you “measure the right things” to get the performance you desire. In this case, the intended outcome is performance improvement. So, don’t get caught in the trap of using historical accounting measures to measure and motivate current and future performance improvements!
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$219.00
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February 20th, 2012
You know the basic continuous improvement tools. But, how do you use them to effectively transform the company? You need to know how to start, how much to tackle at once, who you need to involve, what results to expect, and what kind of resistance you will encounter.
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$319.00
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February 26th, 2012
A successful Lean journey begins with a champion, leadership commitment, and engaging the workforce: Getting real “buy-in” vs. compliance can be a challenge. Following orders is not the same as bringing forth your best ideas every day. Hear how our presenters made the transition from using Lean Tools to creating a Lean Culture that works. The methods may vary, but the lessons learned along the way apply to everyone.
Attendees participate in an interactive business simulation game that demonstrates, in a practical manner, the application of lean principles. They will be split into competing companies and will work on a simulated manufacturing floor, building product during four business cycles. Between each business cycle the competing company teams will have the opportunity to utilize the tools they learned in the workshop.
These courses will allow all attendees to participate in interactive exercises that demonstrate in a practical manner the application of basic 6 Sigma principles and problem-solving tools. The application of these improvement techniques applies equally to the plant or office, whether service or manufacturing.
The cornerstone of implementing a Lean Enterprise is getting a critical mass of people on board headed in a direction toward improvement. For that you need champions and leaders that others will commit to working with as a team. And, you want these leaders to have the skill set to be able to effectively transmit skill and knowledge to others. This workshop will help you do that well!
This workshop also includes Office Visual Management & 5S
Customers, employees and suppliers can tell a well-run plant and office without a narrated tour. The visual clues are everywhere. This is a straight-forward approach that impacts your customer and employee image, productivity and sales.
Successful companies understand the competitive edge that can be gained by engaging their workforce in implementing daily improvements. However, just asking for suggestions without having a way to deal with them can result in overwhelming a company’s resources and frustrating everyone. Discover effective tools and methodology for developing a continuous improvement idea system that builds teamwork, energizes employees, and builds a sustainable competitive advantage for your business.
This workshop will provide the education and experience that is necessary for you to deploy rapid improvement teams at work. You will learn to measure what is important, gather the necessary resources, decide who does what, and set and accomplish a one week schedule for project completion. Most importantly, you will see how to accomplish more in less time than most teams take to agree on what they should be doing.
Pull systems and Kanbans are tools and concepts that can be used across the whole value stream. Over the years, Kanban systems have been developed and adapted to support very specific needs. They can be found to manage a finished goods supermarket, to schedule batch process equipment, to manage and reorder purchased parts, to deliver material to an assembly line or to level production across an entire mixed model value stream. All these types of pull systems help to simplify decision making, improve cash flow and provide superior delivery performance. This workshop demystifies many versions of Kanban systems. Participants learn many practical details that make a difference in the effectiveness of the supply chain.
Value Stream Mapping is one of the most important tools for lean manufacturing. It lays out a visual picture of the vision you and your employees have created for your more productive future. It identifies individual process steps where waste can be removed. This hands-on workshop will provide you with the information and experience that is necessary to start implementing value stream mapping on the shop floor andin the office.
This statement is a central truth of the Toyota Production System. Standard work defines the current best work process. It is the baseline for continuous improvement and is a tool used in auditing processes. Therefore, conformance to standard work contributes to the results you need to stay competitive, but is something we really don’t want to do. Until you can apply repeatable standard work successfully, improvements will yield less than their full potential and backsliding will be prevalent.
Visual Management Classroom Training plus Tour of Western Graphics
2010 Small Manufacturer of the Year Winner
You cannot afford to miss benchmarking a local world class application of visual management techniques benefiting a small company, its employees and its customers. Visual management is really about taking invisible or complex processes and making them easy to see. For an operator trying to understand the most efficient way to work or a manager who wants to understand the key variables of an operation, visual management provides for quick and effective decision-making.
This introductory overview course will allow attendees to participate in interactive exercises that demonstrate the application of 6 Sigma principles and the interaction of Lean tools. These improvement techniques apply equally to the plant or to the office, in service or manufacturing.
Lean Accounting provides better managerial accounting for decision makers without disrupting the financial accounting for tax reporting or day-to-day operations. Lean reporting can be the missing link between tangible operational improvements and financial results. Lean principles can improve Accounting’s own operations by improving throughput, waste reduction, and relevant metrics. You could even eliminate absorption, variances, shop transactions and more!
After determining what Human Resources is to accomplish each year, how do you know if efforts have been successful? How and when you communicate values, policy updates and employee concerns is critical and sometimes overlooked. With day-to-day issues consuming staff time and resources, how can you stay focused on longer-term goals? Join us to hear from HR peers who have developed metrics that really work!
Participants will learn the tools necessary to conduct a setup reduction event. These tools will then be applied to a simulated process, where they will identify wastes, make improvements and track their progress. Various options to “sustain the gains” achieved during the process will also be covered.
This workshop will teach critical success factors in capturing customer needs and perceptions and translating them into customer requirements and solution concepts. When you are able to uncover and balance your multiple customer needs and perceptions, you will then be able translate them into products that result in profits.
This introductory course will provide the knowledge and problem solving skills to arrive at the true root cause of your problems and prevent problems from reoccurring. You will learn the value of “Genchi Genbutsu” - Get your boots on, Go and See. You will also learn how to apply the 8-Step Problem Solving Methodologies and capture the findings in concise A3 Reporting. The 8 step approach is a practical method that can be rolled out to every person in the organization. You no longer have to limit your problem solving skills to a single group of technically minded individuals. This method of problem solving can be used both in a manufacturing or service environment. We will use examples from successful 8 Step projects, as well as case studies for you to review.
Companies are dependent on their supply chain partners for successful operation. Key success factors in performance are an unencumbered supply of materials and components that meet all design requirements. The control plan methodology, utilizing a variety of acceptance activities, enables supply chain partners to confidently transfer items through the supply chain.
As a Lean tool, A3 reporting addresses the root causes of problems that arise every day at work. When used properly, the A3 process dramatically increases the probability of success. Leading companies, such as Toyota, to use the A3 report to train engineers, supervisors and managers in a proven and structured problem-solving approach.
DOE statistical tools can be applied to improve quality, processes, designs and many Lean and 6 Sigma problems. It is a powerful statistical method to develop mathematical transfer functions (eg. V=IR, but too complex for first principles) or relationships of a result based on complex dependencies.
This proven and powerful approach is used by Toyota and many other global companies. When applied to strategy deployment, A3's enable any organization to focus and align its resources to get the right things done at the right time by the right people. A participative approach is used to transform a vision into actionable projects at all levels of the organization. Strategies are cascaded into effective annual plans that provide guidance and feedback for every employee, with an expectation of continuous improvement.
Differences in styles and personalities can cause tension among co-workers and breakdowns in team performance. Join us and learn to recognize, appreciate and adapt to style differences, and capitalize on the strengths of the various styles to maximize team performance.
Learn to avoid added costs and conflicts between Production and Maintenance. This workshop provides examples you can use immediately. The core of these activities include manufacturer suggestions, Early Management, and Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) or historical data to select the optimum mix of planned maintenance activities. Predictive (PdM), Preventative (PM), and Autonomous (AM) Maintenance will be included. Similar focus will be on writing truly effective procedures, and developing a maintenance inventory management system.
The new production system that companies create during their lean journey requires a new way of managing the operation: a lean management system. Standard work for leaders is the engine that drives the lean management system and is crucial to any successful lean implementation. Learn how to implement the daily practices of managers that are necessary to provide a cultural support system for your lean journey.
People don’t want to make mistakes, but all workers make them. Learn and see how simple Poke-Yoke fool proofing may remove the possibilities for error. Production devices or design for assembly criteria can eliminate mistakes before they happen. Achieve the reliable, continuous flow of Lean manufacturing.
Few organizations have found the right tools and processes to stay the course while leading their improvement journeys from “top to bottom.” While some may have mastered the use of a handful of Toyota Production System tools, results can be limited and short-lived. Learn the key elements of an integrated system that has proven to tie it all together.
Learn practical ways to use Lean Tools in your Human Resources initiatives. Your HR team can lead and model the lean transformation for the rest of your organization. This class is all about sharing ideas, best practices and learning from our mistakes.
Process validation and continuous improvement are an important part of a successful Operation. Completing a process change or product improvement can prove to be a long and costly process, requiring multiple process validations. This course provides insight and tools for the risk based approach to process validation, which promotes continuous improvement throughout the product life cycle. This approach provides the method to develop and justify the validation requirements, level of validation, and sample size that can be utilized on new and existing processes. The approach bases its method on process and product understanding and associated risk.
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$219.00
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September 9th, 2012
