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.
AME Virtual Tour: 2 Second Lean at FAM - June 4th @8am
Join AME and host Paul Akers for the next highly rated 2 Second Lean tour series!
The 2SL approach is like Mentoring on Steroids for companies who are interested in developing their people.
Fat American Mfg began their Lean transformation in August 2024. Their rapid adoption of 2 Second Lean—and their commitment to becoming a people-first, customer-focused organization—stood out immediately. What was once a traditional, waste-filled operation is now being transformed through 3S, standardization, and other core Lean principles. But the real story isn’t just about improved processes—it’s about the people who’ve grown along the way. Through this tour, FAM hopes to inspire you to dive in headfirst. This world-class organizational shift isn’t just about business—it’s about changing lives, starting with yours and your team’s.
This event is part of AME’s 2 Second Lean Tour series hosted by Paul Akers, author of the book “2 Second Lean” and owner of FastCap.
AME Webinar: Respect for people - A three-step practical approach - June 12th @10am
During this program we will discuss Respect for People in the Workplace. This is the type of respect that must be cultivated if you wish to create an environment where all groups can win; where the customer can win, where the management can win, and mostly where all the employees can win. We will define the three levels of respect for people that must be achieved to have a highly engaged workforce that can cooperate and move a business to be not only a world-class business performer, but a business that can create a world-class working environment where all the people can extract job from their work and become the best versions of themselves at work.
1. The relationship of RfP and workforce engagement.
2. You will learn the three levels of RfP in the workplace
3. The necessary precursors for all three levels. For each level we will discuss:
• What it looks like
• The High Leverage Management Activities (HLMA)
• The Litmus test for success at that level
Presented by Lonnie Wilson
AME Webinar: Crown Equipment’s approach to mix model value stream mapping - June 17th @8am
Learn how Crown approaches value stream mapping in a low volume/high mix manufacturing environment utilizing mixed model value stream mapping techniques. This overview will include value stream preparation: variant analysis, video time studies, event techniques, and a summary of digital tools utilized to create the maps. The presenters will also describe how potential future state scenarios are evaluated and how the future state implementation plan is developed.
Presented by Melissa Kaufman (Operational Excellence Director) and Gretchen Mueller (Advanced Manufacturing Engineer) at Crown Equipment.
AME Workshop Preview (Mukilteo, WA) Theory of Constraints flow solutions: Your path to operational excellence - Preview - June 19th @9:30-noon (Free)
The Association for Manufacturing Excellence is proud to welcome Rami Goldratt, CEO of the Goldratt Group to Washington! Join us for an in-person only two-hour preview into Goldratt’s Obstacles to Flow Program – learn how to unlock performance and growth by identifying and breaking bottlenecks!
This is a preview of Goldratt’s Obstacles to Flow Program, a Theory of Constraints based workshop bringing growth and stability to companies while enhancing harmony across all aspects of the organization. The two day workshop is scheduled for August 6th and 27th in the Seattle area in Washington at Kaas Tailored, a recent AME Excellence Award recipient.
Information covered during the session include:
- Practical Solutions: Discover how to significantly enhance productivity, streamline delivery times, minimize inventory, and boost service levels across your manufacturing, supply chain, and project operations.
- Case Study Insights: Real-world case studies that illustrate successful implementation of TOC strategies.
- Proven Tools: Leverage tools and techniques tested across diverse environments, delivering significant results—such as Drum-Buffer-Rope, Demand Driven Supply Chain, and Critical Chain Project Management.
- Implementation Guidelines: Step-by-step guidelines to ensure effective and sustained implementation of TOC principles.
- Leveraging Operational Excellence for Innovation: Develop a tailored plan breaking market constraints with innovation
The workshop is based on the book The Goal, written by Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt.
Participants will be entered into a raffle to receive a copy of the book (must be present to win.)
AME Webinar: ALIEN thinking: A smarter way to run meetings - June 24th @9am
Meetings are crucial for effective decision-making, problem-solving, and team building, but unproductive meetings can waste time, reduce morale, and even hurt your team’s reputation.
In this session, you’ll discover the State of Vermont’s ALIEN framework – an innovative approach to making your meetings more efficient and impactful. ALIEN stands for Agenda, Length, Intent, Expertise, and Notes, and it provides a clear set of best practices for running productive meetings that drive results. Join us to revolutionize your meeting practices and turn every meeting into a powerhouse of productivity and collaboration!
- Understanding Common Meeting Problems: Gain insight into the most common issues that make meetings unproductive and how to avoid them.
- A Practical Framework for Better Meetings: Learn how to apply the ALIEN framework to structure meetings that are focused, efficient, and results-driven.
- How to Change Meeting Culture: Learn how to shift your team’s meeting culture towards one that prioritizes efficiency, accountability, and collaboration, ensuring every meeting drives meaningful results.
Presented by Katie Bockwoldt, the Director of Performance Improvement for the State of Vermont.
Kata Together Conference (Mukilteo WA) - July 14-18th
Kata Together 2025 will challenge your mindset, your Improvement Kata Skills, and your Coaching Kata skills, too.
For 2025 we are offering you more options in your own learning path! We know, FOMO!
Our program design aims to keep you right at your learning sweet spot.
Come to Kata Together, level up your learning.
We are sharing practices and exercises you can try at home.
What can you expect? It will depend on what tracks and elective sessions you choose. We offer memorable, fun learning including:
- the basis of scientific thinking, and fast and slow thinking
- the learning foundation and principles of the Improvement and Coaching Kata
- the Improvement Kata and Coaching Kata together – Oh, this how it works!
- practice with frequent microlearnings and reflections
- ideas and activities you can try back home.
Cost for the week (includes breakfast and lunch): $1395
Lean Frontiers Webinar: What Is Motivational Interviewing? Where can you practice it in Job Relations? - July 30th @noon
At the recent TWI Summit, William Harvey spoke to us about the psychology of improvement. Within this topic he covered three things, one being ‘motivational interviewing’. William scratched the surface of what it is, why it’s important and how to apply it.
In Job Relations we understand that you haven’t got all the facts unless you are clear on people’s opinions and how they are feeling. We learn of 6 tips for getting people to open up but we all know it’s not that easy!
Can motivational interviewing help? Please join William as he:
Expands on the what, why and how of motivational interviewing.
Explains in more detail where he sees it fitting in practicing Job Relations and within sound leadership habits in general.
Provides practice suggestions – how you might be able to get started.
AME International Conference (St. Louis) Oct 6-9th
We invite you to join us in St. Louis, Missouri, on Monday, October 6 – Thursday, October 9, 2025, for the 41st annual AME International Conference: AME St. Louis 2025.
This unique annual event is a platform for learning and sharing, led by practitioners for practitioners, bringing together continuous improvement professionals from the front office to the front lines from every industry and many corners of the earth.
Hosted at America’s Center Convention Complex, AME St. Louis 2025 will include 30+ sessions focused on the following themes:
- Gateway to empowering people and culture
- Shaping the futurist lean organization and operation
- Building operational excellence foundation for the future
- Innovating for tomorrow: AI, technology and social responsibility
See excellence in action on local tours and engage with fellow continuous improvement practitioners during presentations and interactive sessions. Hear from inspiring keynote speakers, grow your professional network and engage in educational workshops. Learn best practices to make transformational changes in your organization. The AME St. Louis 2025 Conference is your gateway to the future.
Recordings of past webinars
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Lean Frontiers Webinar: Kata Got Us Started, What’s Happened Since? - Dec 18th (recording link below)
Join Dirk van Rossum from Helena Industries as Oscar Roche asks him to delve into why they chose to get started with ‘Kata’ and what that looked like and is looking like now (2 plus years in). They’ll then go further into key things that have been learned thus far and their interconnection. As both Dirk and Oscar will literally be between two ‘Getting Started With Work Standards’ mentoring sessions, Dirk will be able to discuss key learnings from participants practice of that routine.
Webinar key discussion items will include:
- How ‘Work Standards’ came to the surface as being a critical piece of the CI equation.
- Where Dirk can see/is seeing other TWI skills being pulled in.
JIT Cafe Webinar: Lean into AI: Using Artificial Intelligence to Transform Your Work - Dec 19th (recording link below)
Do you or your organization struggle with how to leverage Artificial Intelligence? Has fear of the unknown become an obstacle to integration? With something this powerful, education is your best friend. Guest Host, and Lean enthusiast, Jessica Blake will showcase the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence with real-world examples of the successful impact of AI implementations.
Jessica’s got first-hand experience with how AI can streamline your operations, enhance decision-making, and drive innovation in your business. She’s ready to share practical tips and strategies with us on how to integrate AI into our daily work. Join us at the cafe December 19th for an opportunity to stay ahead of the curve and discover ways to supercharge your continuous improvement work using this breakthrough technology.
Agenda:
- What is AI and how do natural language models work?
- Tool availability and pricing: Copilot, Chat GPT
- Prompt engineering
- Case studies and real life examples
- Best practice