CI Open House – Sept 14th

CI Open House – Sept 14th

Learning Tours
A-dec is holding their 6th annual CI Open House on Sept 14th. 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. This is such a cool event and something I always look forward to attending. Kelly has graciously invited a small group of people from NWHPEC to the event on the 14th. We will start out with a brief intro about the history of the Open House and their CI Journey. We will then “tour” the…
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Benchmarking Tour: Warne Scope Mounts – Cobots – May 10th (Full)

Benchmarking Tour: Warne Scope Mounts – Cobots – May 10th (Full)

Application~, Developing People~, Learning Tours
Our integrated factory – utilizing cobots to stabilize our work and workforce Tour Summary While getting a view of the overall manufacturing process for Warne’s product, scope mounts, you’ll learn how they overcame the challenge of labor shortages and found a win-win solution that helped improve employee utilization and skillsets through the implementation of cobots.. Workers are now able to shift from repetitive tasks to creative, solution-oriented tasks. This created a new form of collaboration among their workforce. Join us to learn the challenge they were facing, the solutions they considered, and how they successfully integrated cobots into their manufacturing processes. You’ll also have the opportunity to learn more about cobots from their automation supplier, Olympus Controls (a NWHPEC member). Intended audience: Manufacturing Engineers, Manufacturing Managers, and others who are wanting to…
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Benchmarking Tour @A-dec, April 25th (Full)

Benchmarking Tour @A-dec, April 25th (Full)

Learning Tours
Focus topic: Daily Management Systems A-dec is one of the most respected names in the dental industry.  They design and manufacture dental equipment at their headquarters in Newberg, Oregon. A-dec started its lean journey in 1999 and has been working to make its processes robust and efficient ever since. Recently, they have been designing and piloting the concept of a Daily Management System (DMS) in a few manufacturing areas. On this tour, they will highlight a few areas in different stages of their DMS journey. We’ll also have an opportunity to tour parts of their integrated manufacturing facility and see how they are using 6S, Kanban, 1-pc flow, Standard Work, and Andon Boards to help make flow and problems visible. Daily management systems are essential for maintaining engagement and communication…
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Executive Leadership Tour: Developing a People-First Organization – March 8th (FULL)

Executive Leadership Tour: Developing a People-First Organization – March 8th (FULL)

Learning Tours
Business leaders are responsible for achieving positive results while building an environment where their people are challenged, respected, and valued. Scott Simmons, CEO of Skutt Ceramics, is opening their doors to NWHPEC members to share his philosophy and practices for creating a thriving workplace and positive company culture. Specific steps Skutt has taken to help team members achieve their potential and professional growth in a respectful environment will be shared and discussed.  You'll have the opportunity to attend their leadership daily management huddle. Additionally, a shop tour to highlight steps taken to achieve his goals will demonstrate specifics to aid other executives pursuing similar results. "Our premise, when Team Members are valued through specific challenges, they achieve things they never thought possible. We intentionally develop opportunities for their input and…
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Benchmark Tour @Portland Bottling Company – Sept 27th (Tour is FULL)

Benchmark Tour @Portland Bottling Company – Sept 27th (Tour is FULL)

Learning Tours
As the Pacific Northwest’s leading packer and co-packer for nearly a century, Portland Bottling Company delivers end-to-end services, from filling, packing and cartoning to multi-packing and repacking to 3PL and on/off-site warehousing. Portland Bottling Company is the most trusted, safest, and highest quality ready-to-drink beverages in the industry. On this benchmarking tour, you’ll have the opportunity to see their fully automated bottling lines and get a glimpse of the systems they have in place to create a high performing team environment.  We’ll start with an overview of the company, their lean journey, and their focus on safety and good manufacturing practices.  Then we’ll head out to the floor to see: Their DMS system which includes Gemba walks, communication boards, and management boards Onboarding program and training matrix How Leader Standard…
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Virtual Tour: Coherent – Feb 10th @9am

Virtual Tour: Coherent – Feb 10th @9am

Learning Tours
Using Kaizen Short Stories to Foster Improvements The Coherent team will showcase how they are working within Covid social distancing requirements and still accomplishing day-to-day Lean improvements. Coherent members will show how they are using the Kaizen Short Stories to communicate their successes and to foster more improvement ideas. On this virtual tour, you will: Learn how the Coherent team shares their lean successes globallyHear about their Lean journeyVenture inside their operations as they showcase some of the Lean tools they’ve implementedDiscover how Kaizen Short Stories helped them continue to make improvements while maintaining social distancing (and remote work)See examples of Kaizen Short Stories and learn about the impact they are having on engagement The Coherent LMS Business Unit is located in Wilsonville and is part of a global leader…
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Virtual Tour: Smith Gardens – Jan 19th @9am

Virtual Tour: Smith Gardens – Jan 19th @9am

Learning Tours
Topic: Intentional Leadership through Leader Standard Work Join us as we venture inside Smith Gardens to learn more about how they cascade goals throughout their organization and use a pattern for daily improvement (which includes daily coaching cycles and PDCA) to make progress toward their goals. Their current focus area is Leader Standard Work (LSW). On this virtual tour, you will see: How team members are using a Pattern for Daily Improvement (PDI) to achieve their LSW initiativeRelationship building through daily coaching cyclesThe development of problem solvers throughout the organization by empowering employees to take small steps and learn from their failuresThe power of creating an iterative process so LSW can adapt to work level/cycles throughout the yearHow LSW has helped Smith Gardens overcome an obstacle of sustaining their CI…
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