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BUSINESSVANCOUVER
June 1117, 2013

opinion Chewing the fat about lean production processes

it possible for car companies to develop new vehicles 20% to 50% faster, reduce defects by another 40% or more and market feature-rich cars without increasing price to the consumers. Havent you noticed that in recent years, car manufacturers are bringing out technologies and features faster than you can blink? So what do these terms mean? What is lean ? No, it doesnt mean that Jenny Craig is suddenly involved in car design or manufacturing, but there is a definite parallel between the weight-loss clinic and lean methodology: both focus on reducing unwanted waste from your system. In Jennys case, that waste refers to fat. In a business situation, the waste refers to anything that is viewed as waste of time by the final buying customers (that is, nonvalue-added time). The principle of lean philosophy or thinking says that companies must shed everything that does not add true value to end customers. That means they have to consciously work toward removing wasted time, space, or materials from the whole cycle of designing and manufacturing cars so that we as end customers who buy them get more bang for the buck. Lean is applied through teams who work together to generate ideas for reducing waste. The original lean concept was first developed by Henry Ford, who applied this thinking to produce Model Ts at astonishing rates at least by early 1900s standard. Toyota then took the basic concept and worked on it for more than 40 years, creating the flawless Toyota Production System, or TPS for short. The TPS philosophy is so widely used around the world that even emerging countries like Vietnam, which likely produced your newest Nike shoes or Old Navy T-shirt, now embrace lean and TPS as key business drivers. Here in Vancouver, hundreds of organizations are already involved in lean transformation from manufacturing, warehousing, banking, insurance and hospitals to schools. Companies and organizations are applying the concept of lean and TPS to dramatically improve their speed, quality and service while improving their companys culture and even their corporate strategy. And we are excited to hear that Jeffrey Liker and Mike Hoseus (the authors of the bestselling TPS books called the Toyota Way books) are coming to Vancouver to speak about the latest trends in lean, Toyota Way and TPS. They are part of the Lean Summit, which is scheduled to place at Vancouvers Terminal City Club from June 18 to 20. Highly acclaimed authors Liker and Hoseus will share the methodologies and practices that lean organizations embrace to rise above the level of mediocrity in their quest to create exceptionalorganizations. In addition, local and international industry leaders in the financial, health care, medical and manufacturing sectors will share their triumphs, challenges and stories about their lean journey. Local executives scheduled to speak at the conference include Launi Skinner, CEO at First West Credit Union; Stu McIntosh, Cascade Aerospace vicepresident; John Kalbfeisch, COO at Alpha Technologies; and Scott McCarten of Vancouver Coastal Health. More information can be found at www.leansummit2013. com. Ill make one bet with you: within the next few years, your employer will ask you to take some training on lean, TPS or Toyota Way. Its only a matter of time before every corporation is going to be endorsing these ideas. Be ready.
David Chao is a columnist and the president of Lean Sensei International.

Letters
Readers need to arm themselves with a wide range of energy information to avoid falling prey to partisan power points
Re: Peddling non-partisan power points (Timothy Renshaws Public Offerings column BIV issue 1232; June 4-10) What a refreshing read! It surprises me that we have a lack of non-politicized information on energy in Canada. My impression was that the U.S. was the king of politicized debate. Just goes to show that you should research before making up your mind. Im definitely going to follow up on some of the points in this article. In particular I want to know more about what Mr. Michael Cleland is saying. Time for everyone to get informed so that when the partisan hacks push their agendas at you, you can respond intelligently. Adrian L. Jacob Vancouver

Podium
David Chao

The principle of lean philosophy or thinking says that companies must shed everything that does not add true value to end customers

f you dont know anything about lean, Six Sigma or TPS (Toyota Production System), youd better pay attention because virtually every industry, from every corner of this earth is embracing these new principles to lower cost and improve efficiency and quality. In fact, these process improvement philosophies or tools are spreading like wild fires and are now influencing everything from the way McDonalds flips burger patties to the way Boeing builds aircrafts. First introduced by the automakers, these proven companywide methodologies are making

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