Tour Focus: Lean Principles in Practice
Host Company – A-dec website
A-dec designs and manufactures dental equipment at their headquarters in Newberg, Oregon. The A-dec vision began with a simple idea: make the best better. From their simple beginnings, A-dec has emerged as one of the most respected names in the dental industry. In 1964, founders Ken and Joan Austin made the biggest choice of their lives: risk it all to start a company of their own. Little did they know that an invention and a dream would help revolutionize the world of dentistry.
60 years later, A-dec is an employer of choice and the world’s leading manufacturer of reliable dental operatory equipment. They continue to work for the betterment of dentistry and embed their values into the work they do every day. One choice at a time.
Tour Summary:
A-dec started its lean journey in 1999 and has been working to make its processes robust and efficient ever since. As they strive to continue to improve while sustaining great improvements over the years, they have experimented with and implemented various systems, processes, and tools to create an environment where workflow and problems are visible. As they implemented 5S, visual management, and standard work, they wanted to ensure continuous improvement efforts were ongoing, recognized, and shared among departments. This led to the implementation of a Daily Management System (DMS) last year to increase visibility and response in real-time.
This tour will focus on their use of:
- Standard work
- 6S
- Kanban
- Visual boards and visual communication
- Daily Management System (DMS)
- Flow
- Suggestion System – OFIs
Date: Wednesday, June 12, 2024
Time: 8:30am – noon
Location: A-dec (Newberg, OR) link
Cost: no cost (available to NWHPEC members only)
Registration: Email Jennifer with name, email, and job title for all participants. Limited to 2 per company (initially)