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Conference
Program -- Continuous Improvement 101 Track
Benchmarking: Why, Who and How Often: Advice from IW Best Plants Winners 10:00 a.m. -- 11:00 a.m. Moderated By John Brandt, CEO, The MPI Group IndustryWeek's Best Plants winners routinely look outside of their own four walls for ideas about how to improve their manufacturing facilities. Indeed, benchmarking is a tool all manufacturers should employ to gauge how well they are performing compared with others and to learn about best practices that will boost their performances. IW's Best Plants winners will share in a panel discussion their tips to gaining the most value from benchmarking efforts. Panelists  John Sidor, Sr. Manager, Engineering
& Manufacturing Design and Product SupportNorthrop Grumman -- 2004 IW Best Plants Winner John P. Sidor was assigned the position of manager, engineering & manufacturing design and product support in April 2006, reporting to Carl Smith, vice president of engineering & manufacturing for defensive systems division (DSD). Sidor is responsible for the site's engineering services for design tools support, product lifecycle management processes and tools, configuration management, new part selection and part obsolesce, knowledge management through the technical library and requisitioning of engineering material for development activities at the DSD's facility in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Additional responsibilities include: membership of the Quality Culture Committee, Six Sigma Council and advisory board member to Northwestern University's Masters of Product Development program. Sidor has over 22 years of knowledge and experience in engineering, manufacturing, supplier management and quality in producing state-of-the-art military products. He joined Northrop Corporation immediately upon graduation from Northern Illinois University (bachelor's in engineering technology) in 1985 after spending two summers as an engineering intern at the Rolling Meadows facility. In 2004, he obtained a master's in product development from Northwestern University. From 1999 until his rotation to the engineering homeroom, Sidor was the manager of process quality engineering responsible for the management of production process quality engineers, process quality inspectors and packaging & shipping QC. Sidor facilitated programs such as Supplier Management, Operator Self Acceptance and Product Assessment, Six Sigma and the Lean Council. He was a liaison to the resident government QA representative concerning process improvements in product sell off and shipping. Sidor coordinated the efforts that lead to the Rolling Meadows facility being awarded the IndustryWeek magazine's Top 10 Best Plants Award for 2004.  Herb
Bradshaw, Director of Lean Enterprise & Plant ManagerThomas & Betts Corp. -- 2005 IW Best Plants Winner Herb Bradshaw is plant manager of 2005 IW Best Plants Winner, Thomas & Betts Corp. -- Athens, TN operations. With Thomas & Betts since 1982, he has held positions in corporate & division engineering, operations management and project management. Bradshaw most recently chaired an international team that developed the Thomas & Betts Manufacturing System that documents the company's Lean philosophy and "How We Work" as an operating enterprise. He holds a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering and a master's degree in engineering administration from the University of Tennessee -- Knoxville.  Greg Jarvis, Assistant
Plant Manager & Quality Assurance Manager
Scotsman Ice Systems -- 2006 IW Best Plants Winner Greg Jarvis is the assistant plant manager & quality assurance manager. He has a bachelor's in mechanical engineering. He joined Scotsman as a product engineer in 1990 and in 1995 became the quality assurance manager. In 2000, he took on additional responsibilities as the assistant plant manager. Jarvis is the process owner for productivity improvement at the plant and manages the kaizen activities. Jarvis reports to the VP of manufacturing, Gene Klosterman. On the lean journey since the late 1980's, the Scotsman plant at Fairfax, S.C. has implemented a team culture dedicated to continuous improvement. Scotsman has steadily utilized benchmarking as a method for process excellence discovery and culture change. Many Scotsman managers and associates, including team leaders, have participated on benchmarks. Jarvis has over 30 years of experience in engineering, manufacturing and quality operations for small to medium size refrigeration systems; ranging from drinking water coolers to commercial ice machines. How and Why to be a Best Plants Winner 11:10 a.m. -- 12:10 p.m. IndustryWeek Best Plants coordinator Jill Jusko will walk attendees through the IW Best Plants application, highlighting key questions and providing insights into performances achieved by past participants. Joining her is Mel Stojakovich, manager of continuous improvement at 2006 IW Best Plants winner Magee Rieter Automotive Systems. He will share best practices his plant employs in its pursuit of manufacturing excellence. Speakers  Jill Jusko, Senior Editor & Best
Plants Program Coordinator, IndustryWeek
Jill Jusko coordinates IndustryWeek's Best Plants Program, which annually salutes the leading manufacturing facilities in North America. She has been a member of the IW Best Plants judging team since joining the IndustryWeek staff in 1998 and was named coordinator of the program in late 2004. Jusko also has served as the editorial project director of the IW/MPI Census of Manufacturers and as new media editor of IndustryWeek.com. In her position as senior editor, Jusko is responsible for covering the consumer products industry and energy-related issues. Mel Stojakovich, Manager of Continuous Improvement, Magee Rieter Automotive Systems (2006 IW Best Plants Winner) Discover How Quality Improvement Tools Can Impact Your Bottom Line 1:30 p.m. -- 2:30 p.m. Let's talk about driving down the cost of quality! Through the utilization of problem-solving and problem-prevention tools, i.e., cause and effect diagrams, the Five Whys, brainstorming, FMEA, error-proofing, etc., your associates can learn to gather the data necessary to reduce rejects and rework, thus making your processes more robust. The result: a positive affect on your company's bottom line! Speaker  John Soeka, Manufacturing Specialist,
Purdue University Technical Assistance Program
John Soeka has over 15 years in manufacturing management in manufacturing, quality and continuous improvement. He has served as project manager, QA supervisor and QA manager. Soeka worked for Tri-Tech Services and Ingersoll Products Corporation. He also worked for Indiana Business Modernization and Technology (BMT) for 6 years doing Lean Manufacturing Training and Implementation. Soeka also worked 1 year for the Indiana Clean Manufacturing Technology and Safe Materials Institute at Purdue University as a process engineer before joining Purdue University TAP. He is a certified instructor in all the NIST-MEP Lean Tools as well as Kaizen Implementation. Soeka has been helping Indiana companies successfully implement Lean Manufacturing while working for BMT and Purdue University. He has also helped companies implement ISO Quality Systems and is an ISO 14000 Registrar Accreditation Board (RAB) Certified Auditor. He has a bachelor's degree from Purdue University in industrial engineering technology and a master's in business administration from Purdue University. Creating Operational Excellence 2:40 p.m. -- 3:40 p.m. Creating lean value streams that flow at the pull of the customer drives significant bottom line results. These lean Value Streams are also the starting point to creating Operational Excellence. Operational Excellence is a philosophy used by the best lean producers throughout the world; yet there is not a clear cut definition of what it is -- until now. Kevin Duggan will define Operational Excellence in practical terms, and provide the building blocks (including value stream mapping) on how to obtain it throughout your organization. In-depth guidelines to develop lean value streams along with practical methods to create Operational Excellence will be taught, providing attendees with a deep understanding of these concepts. In this session you will learn how to use Value Stream Mapping along with additional tools to create Operational Excellence. This forward-thinking concept will be clearly defined with practical examples and case studies to drive home the application of this philosophy. The result of which creates a lean culture that thrives on flowing value to the customer. Speaker  Kevin Duggan, President, Duggan
& Associates, Inc.
Kevin Duggan is president and principal of Duggan Associates, an advanced Lean educational and advisory firm, formed in 1998 and based in West Warwick, R.I. He is author of Creating Mixed Model Value Streams, and a frequent speaker at both public and private conferences. Duggan and his team have worked globally with many major companies in their lean transformation and journey towards Operational Excellence. ERP for Small/Mid-size Manufacturers 3:50 p.m. -- 4:50 p.m. As a small/midsize manufacturer, choosing the right ERP solution for your unique business will dramatically impact your ability to achieve outstanding business results today and tomorrow. To increase competitiveness in today's business climate, a company needs to leverage IT to accelerate reaction time for business changes and improve flexibility in executing business strategies. Speaker  Tom Westerlund, SAP
Tom Westerlund brings more than 19 years experience in the information technology industry ranging from sales, consulting, marketing, product management and operations. Westerlund began his career in manufacturing where he ran IT operations covering product development, manufacturing, purchasing, finance, logistics and planning. Westerlund later joined various ERP companies where he led consulting teams focused on industry segments, product management and executive roles. In his consulting roles, he was responsible for building the organization, profit/loss accountability and overall success of the industry projects of large corporations. Product management included responsibilities for product strategy, launch and ongoing product management responsibilities of major solutions. Most recently, Westerlund has focused on creating enterprise software solutions for the discrete manufacturing industry. Westerlund developed the composite application product strategy for multiple product lines, new solutions and their supporting marketing initiatives to achieve global business growth. As VP of marketing, he drove integrated marketing initiatives and championed world-class manufacturing campaigns. Westerlund's leadership and expertise contributed to strong growth and business expansion through the successful launch of new products, solution partnerships, merger and acquisition activities, integrated marketing, and analyst/media relations. Wednesday, April 25 Developing a Corporate Approach to Reliability and Maintenance Excellence 9:10 a.m. -- 10:10 a.m. More and more companies are recognizing the critical role that equipment reliability plays in attaining their manufacturing objectives. As a result, many are taking a more holistic, comprehensive approach in maximizing their opportunities in this area. Reliability and maintenance improvement initiatives increasingly are corporate, not just plant, initiatives. This presentation will focus on how an organization can successfully develop and implement a corporate-led approach to reliability and maintenance. Elements of the presentation will focus on the: development of reliability and maintenance standardsof excellence; design of the reliability and maintenance improvement process; creation of corporate and plant support structures or groups; and methods of targeting and measuring benefits of the process. Speaker Ted McKenna, Sr. Operations Manager, ABB, Inc. Ted McKenna has 28 years of increasingly responsible project and direct management experience in strategic planning, detailed equipment performance analysis, key performance measurement (metrics), asset management, planning and scheduling, maintenance management, and Total Plant Reliability® implementation in the chemical, mining, pharmaceutical, pulp and paper, oil refining, and steel industries. He also has consulting experience in materials management, facility planning, quality control, research and development and marketing. He is APICS CIRM certified. As a strategic account manager for ABB, McKenna has responsibility for leading single and multiple on-site project consulting teams with industrial clients in a wide range of manufacturing industries. These projects are oriented toward improvements in manufacturing productivity, quality, cost of equipment maintenance services, integrated functional support services and overall equipment performance. Manufacturing Performance Metrics: Which Ones Deserve Attention and Why 10:20 a.m. -- 11:20 a.m. The capability to create growth on the top-line and the bottom-line in order to increase shareholder value on a systematic and repeatable basis is a necessity in manufacturing today. However, there are external and internal cost pressures that make it close to impossible to achieve profitable growth. What actions can be taken to lessen the impact of these costs to allow for growth? What are the key metrics for monitoring performance? Join our session to learn how you can begin managing these important cost factors to ultimately transform your organization and improve performance. Speaker  Blasko Ristic, Senior Manager,
Deloitte Consulting LLP
Blasko Ristic is a senior manager in the strategy & operations practice of Deloitte Consulting LLP. He is a seasoned consulting and industry executive with 15 years of hands-on operational experience developing and implementing corporate strategies that result in effective business, customer and operations solutions. Blasko has recently led large cross-border strategy and transformation teams at prominent manufacturing companies. Blasko's past experience includes developing and launching a technology business, developing growth strategies for a retail business unit and leading cross-functional teams to redesign processes and outsource activities that reduced costs and improved productivity. Blasko received a master's degree in business administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, a graduate degree in industrial engineering from the University of Michigan and a bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard University. Igniting a Revolution... Combining Lean and the Theory of Constraints 11:30 a.m. -- 12:30 p.m. In today's competitive global economic marketplace, manufacturers are struggling to squeeze out 5% to 7% operational cost reductions just to survive. If a company can find the secret formula to increase throughput with the same or less resources, this may mean the difference between continuing operations in North America or moving them to lower cost regions around the world. The secret is out! Discover how new business and technology innovation is driving significant cost savings at a major automotive supplier. Empowering lean six sigma teams with clear and visual constraint identification, in three months time this company is realizing double-digit performance improvements through operational cost reductions. The right technology unlocks the information hidden in plant floor operations and focuses Continuous Improvement teams directly towards the chronic constraint. Discover how this innovation brings together lean production concepts and the Theory of Constraints into a single execution model. Learn how to identify your true chronic constraints and eliminate them with focused Kaizen events, resulting in dramatic performance improvements. This process can provide results within weeks, sending your continuous improvement efforts into warp speed. Speaker  Dennis Cocco, Founder & Chief
Product Strategist, Activplant Corporation
Dennis Cocco founded Activplant Corporation in 1998 in London, Ontario and was the company's president and CEO before his appointment as chief product strategist. He is an industry expert with 15 years experience in collaborating with advanced plant operations and manufacturers. His latest invention, the Throughput Analyzer, has been flagged by industry watchers as a breakthrough in performance management. Before founding Activplant, Cocco was co-founder of JMP Engineering Inc., an automation systems integrator specializing in advanced manufacturing. In his career, he has worked with numerous Fortune 1000 companies to setup and optimize their automation systems. Cocco holds a bachelor's in systems design engineering and is a member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario. Conference speakers, topics, and sessions are liable to change at any time. Last Updated April 20, 2007. |
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