New Site Redirect

Friday, June 28, 2013

Greenbelt Toronto Spring 2013 Grad Photos

On June 14, 2013, the Toronto Spring Greenbelt class threw their hats in the air (figuratively speaking) as they graduated from the three-module Greenbelt program!
 
For most participants, graduation from Lean Sensei's Greenbelt program means more than just picking up a few Lean methods and tools. The two and a half month experience is often a milestone in self-development and opens the door to a completely new way of doing business.
 
Below are photos from this monumental day.




Grad Speakers: Tracey and Robert

Group Photo!

Medalist: Brian (silver) Tracy (gold) Ndukeabasi (Bronze)


Guest Speaker: Steve Little

 
Greenbelt is offered twice a year in Toronto. Your last chance to take get Greenbelt certified in Toronto is in the Fall.
 
The first module is Monday, September 30th, 2013 - Friday, December 6th, 2013. Call 604-264-1000 or email info@leansensei.com for more details.
 
 
 
 
 

Greenbelts go boating and fishing





Thursday, June 27, 2013

Greenbelt Operations and Service Summer Module 2!

After a busy Lean Summit last week, we are keeping up the pace with our local Greenbelt Summer program. This program is particularly special as it blends both Manufacturing and Service-related topics and Lean methodology.

The group kicked off with the cycle-time/process-time reduction exercise:


The group also began filming their Greenbelt Graduation video, which will be presented on the final day of the program.



The Greenbelt graduation video is the final project and involves everyone in the program. Throughout all the hands-on Kaizens and activities through the program, there is a lot of work within smaller teams. While this is useful for the scope of the projects at hand, it is the video that really ties the entire group together. It also serves as a memento for the participants of the time spent during the program and can act as a motivator to foster further teamwork and Lean projects within one's home organization. You can see an example of the most recent Greenbelt graduation video here:

http://www.leanreflections.com/2013/06/greenbelt-vancouver-spring-program.html

The theme of this group's movie is Zombies, so stay tuned for the finished product in July!

For the hands-on portion of this Module, the Greenbelts are at a host company working through some projects using value-stream mapping:



 

Friday, June 21, 2013

IT4BC Conference

Lean Sensei is honoured to be invited to the IT4BC conference. We have our Lean coaches, David, Bob and Jake, facilitating the two-hour workshop today!




Thursday, June 20, 2013

Lean Summit Day 3: Industry Speakers

It has been an insightful and enlightening week so far at the Lean Summit, and it continues on today with a focus on the Lean Journies of our Industry Speakers.

Jeff Adams, General Manager of Continuous Improvement at Canadian Pacific, speaks about the importance of  understanding how behaviours and consequences work together with the Lean processes and tools to produce effective Leader Standard Work.





Launi Skinner, CEO of First West Credit Union, gives an inspiring speech about how her organization has been transformed by Lean. Starting with a grassroots bottom-up method of using Lean tools and methodologies to empower employees, create clarity surrounding purpose and vision, and to foster innovation.




John Palazzolo, President of ZOLL Circulation, expresses how important a good mission statement is in aligning the entire organization. He shared how ZOLL was able to integrate Lean and double gross margin in a span of 4 years.



Scott McCarten, Manager of Strategic Initiatives and Innovation from Vancouver Coastal Health, shows how relevant Lean is in transforming healthcare. The patient is the customer and providing the best value to the customer and the best care possible is a key goal for any healthcare-related organization. How to implement workflow improvements that provide the right care, in the right location, at the right time in the most efficient way.


Stu McIntosh, Vice President of Operations at Cascade Aerospace, shared how the people truly are the most important resource you have. Having the right people are the foundation of your success, as they ARE the culture of the organization. He explains how to use Lean tools, top-down engagement and bottom-up ownership to foster a culture of problem-solvers.

 John Kalbfleisch, Chief Operating Officer at Alpha Technologies, shares his insights on how to transform from a culture of constantly "putting out the fire" to that of empowering employees and building an "A" team. Using Lean methodology, he describes how to cultivate excellence and relentless continuous improvement.


 A huge thank you to all our industry speakers, our keynote speakers Dr. Jeffrey Liker and Mike Hoseus, and all of the participants who attended this momentous event.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Lean Summit: Day 2 with Mike Hoseus

The Lean Summit continues with our keynote speaker Mike Hoseus. Focusing on the people side of Lean, Mike Hoseus is discussing Toyota culture and looking deeply at the process as opposed to a purely results-based system.


 

Ice Breaker Time!
 

 
Dr. Jeffrey Liker and Mike Hoseus take a moment with our Master coach David Chao and Lean coach Jake Cameron:



 
 
 Thank you everyone for making Day 2 a success! We are looking forward to the insights into Lean from our industry speakers tomorrow on Day 3.
 
 
 

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Lean Summit begins!

Today is the first day of our three day conference, The Lean Summit! The energy is amazing in the room with so many "Lean Gurus" under one roof. We are so excited to have Dr. Jeffrey Liker speaking today on his book and how to be a Lean Leader.
 

 
It's a wonderful day to learn about Lean!
 
Jake helps to list suggestions from the audience of the skills and qualities that embody what a "Lean Leader" is.
 
 
Brainstorming ideas of the skills needed for Lean Leaders