| Lean Thinking at Work |
Welcome
Welcome to The Lean Advantage, the Oakland University Pawley Lean Institute e-newsletter.
The Lean Advantage is a quarterly electronic newsletter designed to provide useful information to our readers about the Pawley Lean Institute, our services, workshops and classes, and our student and client successes.
We hope that you find the information within this e-newsletter helpful. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the Pawley Lean Institute, please visit www.oakland.edu/lean or call (586) 263-6242.
Lean manager visits HRD 304
Edward Sosnowski, the corporate Lean manager of United Solar Ovonic headquartered in Rochester Hills, was a guest speaker at HRD 304: Lean Principles and Practices in Organizations, taught by Special Education Instructor Mark Doman. Sosnowski's presentation at the Educational Resources Lab centered on the progress of Uni-Solar as a Lean enterprise. Full Story...
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'Lean and green' go hand in hand
Can your company go "Lean " and "green" at the same time? "Absolutely," says Jason Schulist, director of Continuous Improvement at DTE Energy. Schulist spoke on "green Lean " concepts at the Leadership During Organizational Transformation conference, hosted in part by the Oakland University School of Business Administration and the Pawley Lean Institute. Schulist said incorporating "Lean" thinking with green principles into your company's practices can result in a positive triple bottom line – social, environmental and economic effects." Full Story...
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'Lean Principles' course approved as general education requirement
Oakland University course HRD 304: Lean Principles and Practices in Organizations has been approved by the Oakland University General Education Committee as a Knowledge Applications general education requirement course for undergraduate degrees. Full Story...
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| Lean Thinking for Schools |
Lean Thinking at Reeths Puffer School District
When administrators from the Reeths-Puffer School District in Muskegon, Michigan attended a Lean Thinking for Schools workshop in Washtenaw County, it wasn't long before they realized the processes they were learning would easily fit in with school practices.
"We were very enthusiastic about it. A lot of the practices were an extension of the types of thinking we were already implementing," said Stephen Cousins, superintendent of schools. Full Story...
Lean book collection is available at the ERL
The Educational Resources Lab in Pawley Hall at Oakland University is home to a collection of books about Lean.
"The Pawley Institute Lean Collection was one of the institute's goals two years ago to have a variety of resources on Lean in manufacturing and service available," said Linda Robak, director of Professional Development for the School of Education and Health Services at Oakland University. Some books are industry specific, such as healthcare.
"There are many classic books, such as The Toyota Way by Liker," Robak said. The collection is available to students and the community. There are also books about Lean at Kresge Library. To view a list of the collection, visit the Kresge Library Web site.
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Dr. Flumerfelt travels to Jamaica to present Lean thinking
Shannon Flumerfelt went to Jamaica for an inaugural event April 1 for school administrators in the Caribbean, island nations and South America. This was the first time school administrators in this area had gotten together in a national event.
"It was nice for the Pawley Institute to be a part of that," Flumerfelt said. There she put on a four hour Lean workshop, which she said helped the audience understand value in process or service and was enlightening for them. Full Story... |
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| For more information |
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Pawley Lean Institute
Macomb University Center
44575 Garfield Road, Building UC2
Clinton Township, MI 48038-1139
(586) 263-6242
www.oakland.edu/lean | lean@oakland.edu |
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Fall 2009
For information on upcoming Lean thinking workshops and trainings, visit the Pawley Web site.
Look for the Pawley Lean Institute at the New Student Convocation on Wednesday, Sept. 2.
Courses
Undergraduate
Lean Principles and Practices in Organizations
This activity-based introduction to the principles and practices in human resource development explores innovative way to solve persistent problems confronting organizations today. The course includes hands-on simulations, expert guest speakers and on-site tours.
Graduate
Lean Principles and Applications
Gain real-life experience by developing a project of your choice in a multitude of industries including non-profit, for-profit, health care, and manufacturing in settings ranging from small business to plant manufacturing.
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Going green at Reeths-Puffer
Green thinking has fit in well with the Reeths-Puffer School District Lean thinking process. Through an energy management program the district implemented, the system has saved more the $500,000 over the past 30 months.
Superintendent Stephen Cousins explained that the management program included actions as simple as placing power strips in classrooms to ensure that all of the electrical equipment is turned off at night, to larger steps such as recalibrating the automated heating system. Other energy-savings actions included closing shades in the evenings, reducing day time light bulbs in the school hallways and shutting buildings down over school breaks.
"In the first year alone, by shutting off computers and lights each night, we saved $120,000," Cousins said, adding that future initiatives will include recycling paper and copying ink.
"These steps help not only our budget but the environment," he said. "And it gives you a clear picture of how much we were using that really wasn't necessary. It's the basic principle of Lean thinking in action."
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