March 23, 2009
Purdue conference on lean workplaces to be offered at locations statewide
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A workshop series for those interested in how to make their workplaces run more efficiently will be offered through Purdue University at seven cities around Indiana beginning this month.Six Steps to a Collaborative Lean Workplace, offered through the Department of Organizational Leadership and Supervision, will be a two-day workshop offered once a month for three months. The first session will be held March 25-26 in West Lafayette, with West Lafayette sessions continuing April 27-28 and May 27-28.
The workshop will be presented by Dave Ashton and Mike Boyer, both of Business Improvement Partners in Fort Wayne, Ind. Ashton has more than 25 years of management and business experience and has led several lean workplace initiatives. Boyer has more than 30 years of manufacturing experience and has implemented various educational and lean production systems in business environments.
The workshop will provide an overview of lean-related topics such as Kaizen development, visual systems, process mapping, lean manufacturing, developing new roles of leaders, responsibility in a collaborative environment, performance analysis, employee empowerment and workplace culture.
Michael Beyerlein, department head of organizational leadership and supervision, said the workshop is designed to generate interest in the Conference on Collaboration and Innovation, which will be held at Purdue in September. The conference focuses on helping those in the workplace most effectively and creatively work in teams, whether they exist in person or in the virtual world.
In addition to West Lafayette, the Six Steps to a Collaborative Lean Workplace workshop series will be offered in the following cities:
* Kokomo — April 6-7, May 4-5 and June 1-2
* South Bend — April 8-9, May 5-6 and June 3-4
* Columbus — April 13-14, May 11-12 and June 8-9
* New Albany — April 15-16, May 13-14 and June 10-11
* Anderson — April 20-21, May 18-19 and June 22-23
* Fort Wayne — April 22-23, May 20-21 and June 24-25
The cost is $795 for six sessions. To register, contact Kathy Walters at 765-494-2759 or kw@purdue.edu.
For additional information about the workshop content or the Conference on Collaboration and Innovation, contact Beyerlein at 765-494-0448 or mbeyerle@purdue.edu
Writer: Kim Medaris, 765-494-6998, kmedaris@purdue.edu
Source: Michael Beyerlein, 765-494-0448, mbeyerle@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
To the News Service home page