Moderator: Austin Weber, senior editor, ASSEMBLY magazine
Speakers: Jamie Flinchbaugh, partner, Lean Learning Center; Rick Harris, president, Harris Lean Systems Inc.
There is a big difference between understanding the theory behind lean manufacturing and putting it into practice on a daily basis. Lean does not happen overnight; it takes hard work, focus and time to eliminate waste and improve a company's production processes. Unfortunately, the road to inefficiency is paved with well-intentioned kaizen events. This session will address the following critical topics:
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to Lean Leadership - Management is maintaining current reality; leadership is moving to the ideal state. Often, manufacturers attempting lean transformation have too many managers and not enough leaders. Leaders only add value by creating change. This discussion will outline the five most significant ways that you can be a lean leader and create needed change in your organization.
- Creating Continuous Flow and Making Materials Flow - Continuous flow is the ultimate objective of lean production. While it is the goal of numerous kaizen events, many organizations fail to achieve it. The problem frequently is the lack of a lean material-handling system to support small-batch processing and traditional assembly lines. This discussion will explain how to implement effective continuous-flow cells, pull signals and value-stream mapping.
