Decades of Lean - Lean Leaders Tour Medtronic
The “Visual Leadership Center” at Medtronic set the stage for the first Lean Leaders meeting of 2019.
Leaders from Lean Jax member companies as well as prospective members from across Jacksonville and the First Coast were treated to a tour and discussion of Medtronic’s incredible implementation of Lean Thinking throughout its organization. Industries represented at the meeting ranged from multiple types of manufacturing to various service based businesses.
Lean Jax’s Director of Operations, James Bussell, kicked off the meeting with introductions and a discussion of what each individual would like to learn from the Lean Leaders group.
Mike Ryan from Pilot Pen says that meeting with other Lean practitioners allows him to “find ideas and best practices to use in my facility, while openly sharing my knowledge and experiences with member companies.”
In keeping with the Lean principle of pursuing perfection, participants openly shared some current pain points in their individual businesses. This diverse and collaborative environment at Lean Jax inspires members to return to their companies ready to create or improve their own Lean culture.
Medtronic’s Senior Engineering Manager, Tim Romecki, guided a tour of Medtronic’s facilities which allowed the group to “Go See” what decades of Lean implementation can do for a business. From upper management to production line workers, everyone at Medtronic is constantly exposed to clear visuals that share everything from production goals to analyzed problems and implemented solutions.
This variety of visuals enables all employees to make improvements in their work, with focus on key performance indicators such as safety, quality, delivery, and productivity. It’s constant a reminder of the culture of continuous improvement that permeates the business. It’s this culture that drives each individual at Medtronic to provide customers with the best possible products.
Thank you to Medtronic for hosting our Lean Leaders. And thank you to our members for your part in the continued growth of Lean Jax.
