Learning the 'Lean' Model

The highly regarded philosophy of Lean Manufacturing was the featured topic of learning at the recent Certified Economic Developer Trainer (CEDT) conference, attended by nearly 100 professionals involved in workforce training and economic development.

The CEDT program is mandated by the Department of Technical and Adult Education for its technical college VPs of economic development and Quick Start training coordinators, who plan, deliver and manage the agency’s training services. The certification program, which takes 18 to 24 months to complete, provides knowledge and skills in a wide variety of competencies that support business development.

“The certification program ensures that Georgia businesses receive access to all of the agency’s economic development resources and consistent, high-quality workforce training,” explains Sandra Morris, Quick Start’s director of performance technology operations and organizer of the CEDT conference.

At this year’s conference, held Aug. 14-15 in Macon, attendees gleaned insight from presentations on maintenance skills assessment, pre-employment training and quality standards, as well as updates on Quick Start existing industry and workforce certification programs.

The educational segment of the conference was a seminar on Lean Manufacturing, which encourages elimination of waste and reduction of process variables. The goal is increased profitability through cost savings, as opposed to price increases that customers are reluctant to absorb in today’s competitive market.

Understanding Lean Manufacturing principles and practices is increasingly important as more and more Georgia business adopt the “lean” philosophy. Quick Start and the technical colleges support businesses in their transition toward Lean Manufacturing with training targeted at both the strategic and tactical levels.

Taught by Dr. Joachim Knuf, a faculty member of the Center for Robotics and Manufacturing Systems at the University of Kentucky, the CEDT session traced the evolution of manufacturing and revealed the flaws in conventional models that promote mindless automation of workers, needless build-up of inventory, and wasted time and effort.

Knuf explained that in today’s old-style companies, which have their roots in the early days of industrialization, the goal of management is to keep the worker’s thought process neutral in order to maintain process control. “This is not inherently evil, exploitative or Machiavellian,” he argued. “It’s just a logical consequence of a decision on how to organize work.”

He lauded Lean Manufacturing as an inclusive process that emphasizes sharing of thoughts among workers. As we move from the Information Age into the new century’s Knowledge Age, he said, “Thinking is the organization. You must go to the plant floor and make new decisions about how work is done.”