20Nov 2024 by Jennifer Ayers
Value Stream Mapping Workshop – Jan 7,9,14,16 (1/2 days, in person)

Value Stream Mapping Workshop – Jan 7,9,14,16 (1/2 days, in person)

Application~, Classes, Intermediate~
Availability: 3 spots left This 16-hour 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 Stumptown Coffee Roaster’s value streams, participants will document the current state, identify and document a future state, and create specific steps to help Stumptown move toward their ideal future state. This is an excellent opportunity to learn and practice one of the key Lean tools.  The focus of the VSM will be order to shipment of one of their product lines. 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•…
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05Nov 2024 by Jennifer Ayers
Book Club – Bringing Scientific Thinking To Life – weekly, Nov 15-Dec 13

Book Club – Bringing Scientific Thinking To Life – weekly, Nov 15-Dec 13

Book Club
Join our next Book Club. We'll be reading Bringing Scientific Thinking To Life: An introduction to Toyota Kata for next-generation business leaders (and those who would like to be) by Sylvain Landry. This is a fun, casual way to read and discuss a thought-provoking book and participate in some great conversations along the way.  Purchase the book and join us. Jennifer will send you the official reading schedule after you register. We'll be reading 23-31 pages per week. Bringing Scientific Thinking to Life offers a powerful framework for organizations and individuals looking to cultivate a culture of continuous improvement and innovation. Landry delves into the Toyota Kata methodology, showcasing how scientific thinking can be applied to tackle everyday business challenges and transform problem-solving capabilities. Through real-world examples, practical tools, and…
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05Nov 2024 by Jennifer Ayers
Benchmarking Tour: Danner Boots – Nov 19th (FULL)

Benchmarking Tour: Danner Boots – Nov 19th (FULL)

Events, Learning Tours
Using SQDPM to drive visibility and improvement Host company: Danner Boots/LaCrosse Footwear Danner is known in the industry for its high quality, rugged footwear, which is a result of their strong commitment to customer value. This commitment is deeply rooted in their approach to engaging and inspiring employees to actively participate in continuous improvement. Tour Summary: During this tour they will spotlight their key performance areas and examples of how they are engaging operators to drive improvement: Safety best practices Quality system (Rework/Defect Tracking/Six Sigma Events_)_ Delivery (Operator based maintenance/Preventative Maintenance Tracking) Cost (Efficiency Tracking/Kaizen Events) Morale (Employee suggestion system and surveys) Date: Tuesday, Nov 19, 2024 Time: 8:00am - 11:45am Location: 18201 NE Portal Way, Portland, OR 97230 (Map link) Registration required: Email [email protected], include name, email, job title. …
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22Oct 2024 by Jennifer Ayers
Webinar: Leveling UP Our 6S Program – Nov 6th

Webinar: Leveling UP Our 6S Program – Nov 6th

Webinar
Weir ESCO is a global leader in manufacturing highly engineered wear parts and replacement products for industrial applications, with a strong presence in the mining, infrastructure, and energy industries. Founded over 100 years ago, the company has a long-standing commitment to innovation and performance excellence. They have embraced continuous improvement and Lean methodologies to enhance efficiency, safety, and product quality across its operations. One of their key focus areas has been their 6S program—an enhanced version of the 5S workplace organization method, adding “Safety” as a critical pillar. Join us as we explore how Weir ESCO has taken their 6S program to the next level. In this webinar, Danielle Puga (CI Digital Specialist) and Megan Getman (CI Specialist) will share how ESCO strengthened the "Standardize" and "Sustain" pillars by identifying…
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30Jul 2024 by Jennifer Ayers
CI Open House – Sept 26th

CI Open House – Sept 26th

Events
A-dec is holding their 7th annual CI & Safety Open House on Sept 26th. This event was launched as an opportunity for people to share the fun things they are doing, be recognized for their hard work, and inspire others to action. Think of this as a high school science fair with a focus on process improvement. Teams/individuals will have booths set up with tri-fold displays and will share a 3-4 minute presentation about their implemented improvement. Kelly has graciously invited NWHPEC to the event. We will start out with a brief intro about the history of the Open House and their CI Journey. We will then “tour” the booths for up to 1.5 hours to let you see the various projects, then debrief/Q&A for about 15 minutes. This isn’t…
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30Jul 2024 by Jennifer Ayers
Lean 101 (6-week series) starts Sept 10th (Class is FULL)

Lean 101 (6-week series) starts Sept 10th (Class is FULL)

Beginner~, Classes
Join us on a journey to discover the basic elements of lean principles and see the impact they make when you put them into practice. This course consists of six, one-hour classes focused on the foundational elements of lean. During this course, you will learn more about the history/background of lean, why these principles are important to creating a culture of excellence, standard work, 8 wastes, 5S, PDCA, and visual management. Each week will include instruction, discussion, and simulations followed by small project assignments between each class to help you practice the concepts in your own environment.Lean 101 is a beginning-level course that teaches participants the basic concepts of Lean Thinking. It is suitable for those who work in office or manufacturing environments and includes many real-world examples from a…
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30Jul 2024 by Jennifer Ayers
Lean Leadership Skills to Engage the Heart, Head, and Hands (3H) – Starts Sept 18th (FULL)

Lean Leadership Skills to Engage the Heart, Head, and Hands (3H) – Starts Sept 18th (FULL)

Application~, Classes, Developing People~, Leadership~
A day in the life of a Leader can be challenging.  Leaders are faced with pressures from the business (quality, delivery, productivity) along with the often highly emotional demands of managing people.  Your people are the foundation and critical link to the success of your business. To be an effective leader, one must first develop an understanding of and a system for building and maintaining relationships (engaging the heart 💜).  Culture begins with us.  If we are not primed to emulate the core values and culture of our organization, we can’t expect our team members to consistently perform and respond to situations and problems in ways we expect by engaging their critical thinking skills (using their head 😊). Unleashed potential is a hidden gem within your team/organization. The leading indicator for morale and engagement is the willingness of our employees to step…
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