At NWHPEC, we believe continuous learning extends beyond our own offerings. On this page, you’ll find a curated selection of webinars and conferences from trusted external sources that align with our mission to support your efforts to foster a culture of continuous improvement. These recommendations are chosen for their quality and relevance and to compliment our offerings.
ALL TIMES PACIFIC
AME Webinar: Designing Flow Across Functions: Managing Lean Work as a System - Aug 27@10am
Cross-functional lean work is where most improvement efforts hit a wall not because individual teams are failing, but because the system connecting them was never designed for flow. When handoffs are invisible, dependencies are unmanaged, and WIP accumulates at the boundaries between functions, every initiative slows down – even the ones that appear to be progressing.
This session elevates leaders from local performance management to system-level thinking, giving them the tools to see, map, and actively manage the flow of Lean work across the entire organization. Participants apply value stream thinking to their own initiative portfolios, map the three most critical cross-functional dependencies for one active initiative, and explore how WIP limits – one of the most counter-intuitive concepts in systems design – actually improve throughput by reducing context-switching and queue buildup. The session closes with a walkthrough of an executive flow dashboard designed to drive decisions, not generate reports.
“The most common form of waste in lean transformation is not on the shop floor. It is in the white space between functions. Local optimization — every team performing well by its own metrics — frequently creates system-level waste.”
AME Webinar: Two foundational leadership requirements - Sept 1 @1pm
Colonel Athens will begin a conversation ‘Leaders: stay humble and kind … addressing the why and the how’. He will discuss where both attributes fitted in raising 10 children (!) along with the fine balance between kindness and ‘firmness’ as a leader. Colonel Athens will illustrate the immense need for humility and kindness in the leadership role he had with NASA following the Challenger accident.
Join us for the second of a series of four conversations with AME Milwaukee 2026 conference speakers facilitated by Oscar Roche.
AME Webinar: The Lean & AI Advantage - Eliminating Waste, Accelerating Value - Sept 10 @1pm
Organizations are rapidly investing in Artificial Intelligence to improve productivity, enhance decision-making and create new business value. Lean principles provide a proven framework for ensuring AI is applied where it matters most—eliminating waste, improving flow and creating value for customers and employees. In this webinar, Jun Chen and Pooja Nanjannavar will explore how organizations can combine Lean thinking with AI + Digitial capabilities to drive operational transformation.
Key takeaways: How Lean principles serve as the foundation for successful AI adoption – identifying AI opportunities that address real operational waste, moving initiatives from pilot to enterprise adoption, and prioritizing AI investments by measurable business value. Leave with a practical roadmap for combining Lean and AI.
AME International Conference - Oct 26-29, Milwaukee WI
AME hosts one of the most impactful and influential lean conferences each year. This year’s theme is People First, Progress Together.
Join other NWHPEC members in October as we learn together. Reach out to Jennifer for information and use this discount code when you register: NP-NWHPECSPECIAL.
KSC Webinar: When the People Who Hired You Won't Engage - Recording link below
You were brought in to lead change. Now the same people who hired you have gone quiet — meetings get rescheduled, decisions stall, momentum leaks.
Improving a process is one problem. Getting the people who sponsored the work to stay engaged is a very different one.
Let’s talk about what’s actually going on in these moments, and what change agents can do to keep the work alive past the launch. Join our coaches, Mark Rosenthal and Tilo Schwarz for this informal conversation.
What you’ll leave with:
- A clearer read on why sponsor engagement collapses after the kickoff
- Two or three coaching moves to test in your next stakeholder conversation
- A pattern you can recognize before momentum leaks
Who this is for: Internal change agents, Lean and CI practitioners, and coaches working with sponsors who started strong — and then went quiet.
Presenters: Mark Rosenthal & Tilo Schwarz
AME Webinar: Digital Transformation in Manufacturing - Recording link below
ICYMI: Recording link (available until July 18)
In today’s rapidly evolving industrial landscape, the lines between traditional manufacturing and cutting-edge technology are blurring. This presentation, “Digital Transformation in Manufacturing” explores how Roche not only adapted to this change but thrived by embracing a digital-first mindset. We will demystify the concept of digital transformation and illustrate why every company, regardless of its industry, is becoming a technology company and every leader is taking on the role of a tech CEO. We will dive into actionable strategies for seamlessly connecting digital initiatives with operational goals, ensuring that technology that includes AI serves as a powerful accelerator for efficiency and growth. The session will feature practical, real-world examples of projects that are driving tangible improvements.
Join us to uncover how digital tools and strategies can elevate your operational excellence and secure your company’s competitive advantage in the new era of manufacturing.
Presenter: Dhruv Bhatt is the Head of the Digital Transformation Office at Roche, Branchburg. With over five years dedicated to shaping the company’s future, Dhruv has been instrumental in transforming traditional manufacturing processes into a highly efficient, data-driven enterprise. His work centers on implementing a unified digital platform that leverages advanced technologies such as Snowflake, Tableau, and automated data pipelines. This initiative is designed to enhance reporting, improve data accessibility, and foster a culture of continuous improvement across all functions. Dhruv’s focus is on harnessing data as a strategic asset to streamline operations, reduce errors, and ultimately boost the company’s responsiveness and profitability.
Learn more and register (free)