Iowa Lean Consortium builds support network

By Katie Mills Giorgio

CEDAR RAPIDS—Individuals across the state of Iowa working to implement Lean principles and practices in the workplace have teamed up to help others understand (and appreciate) their work.

The statewide organization, called the Iowa Lean Consortium (ILC), works to create a community of support for those individuals working within companies, whether as employees and consultants, on Lean initiatives – a collection of tools and principles to reduce waste of time and resources in any business process.

Created in 2009, ILC is a private and public partnership of lean improvement-seeking organizations. They host educational and networking events throughout the year with names like Lean 101 Simulations and Next Generation Lean, and conduct tours of large Iowa employers like Deere & Co. and Pella Corporation.

ILC’s major event of the year is the annual Iowa Lean Consortium Conference, which was held Oct. 2 at the Cedar Rapids Marriott. Some 220 people attended to learn how to improve their implementation and use of Lean principles.

Sessions held during the conference focused on specific elements of the Lean methodology, including how to implement a standardized handoff process, organizing electronic files, building colleague engagement in the Lean process, and the benefits of daily tiered meetings, among other breakout sessions. Conference attendees also discussed the implementation of Lean principles in specific industries like IT and retail.

“It is a powerful and impactful method for learning, networking and collaboration alongside other practitioners from both similar and different sectors,” said Jeff Dahm, JD-QPS factory advisor for John Deere and board president with the ILC. He noted that many of their member organizations can’t afford the cost of expensive out-of-state conferences, making the Iowa conference important.

Organizers also feel that one of the biggest draws of the conference is not only location, but the diversity of attendees it attracts.

“We will have folks attending who are representing all sectors, from very small to very large companies, and from beginning practitioners to company leadership all interested in the content and the sharing that will take place,” Mr. Dahm noted.

Gina Singer, continuous improvement manager at Pella Corporation and an ILC board member, has been involved with organization since it was created and said she is always amazed at how much things have grown over the last five years. She noted that the organization’s rapid growth made it important to have an annual event to serve all segments of its membership.

“Now we are providing high-quality content from not only a nationally recognized speaker, but also from our member organizations,” she noted. “Learning and networking with other Lean professionals across the state is at the core of our organization.”

Lean culture

This year’s conference featured keynote speaker and highly regarded Lean expert, David Mann, author of “Creating a Lean Culture: Tools to Sustain Lean Conversations.”

Mr. Mann’s keynote presentation this year focused heavily on the challenges Lean consultants and employees face in creating a culture that is conducive to implementing lean principles, especially in working with leadership within their respective companies.

“Weak or fading engagement in the Lean initiative is a really common problem,” Mr. Mann noted. “There’s also the challenge that as a Lean implementer people recognize that you know your stuff, but aren’t interested in your resources or don’t want their processes fixed. And often Lean consultants feel like their work isn’t meaningful or like it is just a checkbox for company leadership.”

Through a series of questions and brief case studies, Mr. Mann led conference attendees on an exploration of addressing and overcoming such issues.

For his conference presentations, Mr. Mann used more of a crowd sourcing approach to answer the specific needs of attendees. He applied the Lean concepts of flow and pull – the idea that you react to inherent or desired signals from your customers – to better respond to the signals of his audience.

“There is this adage in Lean that you should flow when you can, pull when you are able, but never push,” he said. “For my presentation, I wanted to know and talk about what is of concern to them.”