Michigan Lean Consortium webinar series experiences success

The Michigan Lean Consortium (MLC) held a free webinar on Tuesday, May 12 with Jamie Flinchbaugh, founder and partner of the Lean Learning Center in Novi, Mich., and co-author of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Lean: Lessons from the Road.” This webinar was the second offered by the MLC and focused on the methodology to coach Michigan’s workforce to build new skills and confidence.

"The webinar was an important topic for the Michigan Lean Consortium,” said Flinchbaugh. “It was good to have many familiar names on the webinar, and we had several good questions. The MLC has done a great job finding multiple avenues to bring learning to its members."

The first MLC webinar featured Mark Graban, senior fellow at the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI) in Cambridge, Mass., and author of the Shingo Prize-winning book “Lean Hospitals: Improving Quality, Patient Safety and Employee Satisfaction.” This webinar discussed how leadership presence on the front line can and should be done in order to improve employee and business morale.

“The goal [of the webinars] was to share best practices and lessons learned from people and organizations that have had experience and success with Lean principles in improving their organizations,” said Debra Setman, chair of the MLC and executive director of Strategy Development and Business Improvement at Johnson & Johnson.

Setman also said the participation has been high with around 100 attendees for the first webinar. She added that she is glad people are willing to share their knowledge with others and that feedback has been positive.

The mission of the MLC is to offer a diverse network of knowledgeable Lean professionals who come together to share innovative practices. The organization aims to create a Lean culture in Michigan to ensure sustainable competitive advantage, which could translate into healthier businesses that offer more job opportunities leading to economic growth in the state.

The charter members of the MLC include: Amway, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, DTE Energy, Johnson & Johnson, The Lean Learning Center, Northwestern Michigan College, the Oakland University Pawley Lean Institute and the Michigan Shingo Prize through The Right Place. For more information, visit www.michiganlean.org.