Jennifer Ayers, Author at NWHPEC

25Feb 2025 by Jennifer Ayers

Building Your Lean Management System – April 2, 16, & 30th (FULL)

Application~, Deploying Strategy~, Developing People~, Events, Intermediate~

Reach out if you want to join the waitlist. Join us for this 12-hour Lean Management System workshop, spread out over five weeks to provide a fully immersive experience where you design your pilot program, tweak, or revamp your existing LMS. Summary Most initial attempts at lean and continuous improvement focus on tools and improvement events (aka kaizen events). Unfortunately, after a while, people notice that the “lean journey” has lost most of its momentum, energy, engagement, focus, and breakthrough results. The lean management system (LMS) is a framework for building a culture of continuous improvement and shared learning. Its focus is on developing people to solve problems to improve performance. In this environment, improvement is not driven by a few lean champions but by everyone. Now everyone has a…

25Feb 2025 by Jennifer Ayers

Value Stream Mapping Workshop – April 8 & 10th (FULL)

Application~, Events, Intermediate~

This 2-day workshop is beneficial for those looking to learn how to document, analyze and improve the flow of information or materials required to produce a product or service for a customer. While analyzing one of Tosoh Quartz value streams, following a part from order start to order ship, participants will document the current state, identify and document a future state, and create specific steps to help Tosoh Quartz move toward their ideal future state. Don't miss this excellent opportunity to learn and practice one of the foundational Lean tools (and one of the lean principles - Map the Value Stream). Key Concepts:• Understand how to see the flow of value across a value stream• Visualize functional areas of work and how they interact• Identify waiting and waste in workflows•…

25Feb 2025 by Jennifer Ayers

Webinar: Coherent’s Facilitator Training Program – April 9th

Application~, Webinar

In today’s fast-paced business environment, organizations must continuously refine their processes to remain competitive. At Coherent, we developed the Lean Velocity Kaizen to provide a structured, high-impact approach to problem-solving that accelerates improvements, engages employees, and delivers measurable results. Investing in Lean Velocity Kaizen Training equips employees with the skills and tools needed to drive continuous improvement, increase efficiency, and sustain long-term operational excellence. By training employees in this methodology, we gain a competitive edge through faster problem-solving and optimized workflows. The topics covered: Importance of Lean Velocity Kaizen Facilitator Training Program to Coherent Standardizing Lean Velocity Kaizen Training Program rollout process Key training components Benefits of trained facilitators Presenters: Marco Montalvo, Director Global Lean Transformation, and Bob Daly, VP of Global Lean Transformation. 📅 Date: Wednesday, April 9, 2025…

25Feb 2025 by Jennifer Ayers

Brewery Tour & Happy Hour – April 24th

Events

It’s time to connect, socialize, and network while enjoying some tasty food and beverages! What's better than connecting over a happy hour? Going on a brewery tour first, to learn more about the process before we consume the product. Please join us. This is a great opportunity to get to know others in the consortium better and to geek out on lean topics. Date: Thursday, April 24, 2025 Time: 3pm tour start; followed by Happy Hour Location: Lazy Days Brewing Co. 2326 N Flint Ave, Portland, OR 97227 RSVP link

25Feb 2025 by Jennifer Ayers

Process Analysis Deep Dive – May (6 virtual sessions)

Application~, Classes, Intermediate~, Solving Problems~

In the early 20th Century the job of process improvement was limited to a handful of industrial engineering specialists. They studied the work, organized the jobs, and told everyone else how it should be done. Today, however, we want as many people as possible - especially our front line leaders - to fully participate in process improvement; not only to help improve the work, but to develop as leaders. With these skills they can turn their challenges into meaningful action. In this course we will focus on the first critical steps of this process, "Grasp the Current Condition." This is a hands-on practicum over six sessions. In each session we will introduce a new topic, answer questions, and assign a task or exercise that deepens your understanding of that step or…

30Jan 2025 by Jennifer Ayers

Benchmarking Tour: Coherent – Feb 18th – FULL

Learning Tours

Tour Summary: Discover how the Wilsonville team has embraced an “Always Tour Ready” mindset, ensuring their operations are ready anytime, for anyone, whether it’s corporate leadership or major customers. This tour offers a firsthand look at their CI practices, tools, and team engagement strategies. What You’ll See and Experience Inventory Management Explore how their site optimizes inventory control to reduce waste and improve efficiency: · Kardex Auto Store Machine: Witness high-tech stocking efficiency and accuracy for part replenishment · Min-Max Kanbans: See how they minimize floor inventory while ensuring part availability · Point-of-Use Materials: Discover how supplies are strategically placed for optimal productivity · Milk Runs: Observe their efficient internal logistics system · Asset Tags: Learn how they keep a precise record of assets Employee Engagement Experience a culture where…

29Jan 2025 by Jennifer Ayers

Why you need a Lean Management System – Feb 18th

Events, Webinar

WEBINAR: Join us as Mike Orzen shares the purpose and value of a Lean Management System in your organization, with a follow up panel discussion including Andrea Avila and Andres Alamillo from Smith Gardens. Why an LMS is essential Overview of LMS elements Building an LMS (learning and applying) with an intro to the 1st Element: Purpose Panel discussion with members who are building an LMS Overview of the “Building a Lean Management System” workshop (scheduled Mar 19, Apr 2, and Apr 16; 4 hours blocks) 📅 Date: Tuesday, February 18, 2025 ⏰ Time: 2pm (PT) 📌 Venue: Online via Zoom NWHPEC Members can register by clicking below Register

Author: Jennifer Ayers