Kyle Randels joined the Arizona Manufacturing Extension Partnership as the senior client advisor – continuous improvement in January of 2021, bringing over 40 years of continuous improvement expertise to the team. He is certified as a Six Sigma expert, has a green belt certification in Lean, and was trained in Lean deployment earning the distinction as a ‘Lean Expert’ to the Toyota Manufacturing requirements. As director of Six Sigma for a large aerospace company, he was responsible for the continuous improvement of processes and products that spanned multiple defense products across a business unit workforce of 12,000 employees in Arizona. Randels has lead facility transitions, Lean projects, manufacturing renovations and upgrades, a cultural shift to small work teams, and participative management, as well as having a background in sales, marketing and business growth stemming from his position as general manager for a heavy industry company in Arizona.
Introduction to Lean
(Pre-conference Workshop // Process & Tools – Fundamentals) A Lean organization understands customer value and focuses key processes to continually meet those needs with the least amount of resources. In this workshop, attendees will receive foundational knowledge of Lean manufacturing concepts and tools. The training combines a classroom setting with hands-on simulation. The simulation gives participants the opportunity to manufacture products in a simulated factory and see the benefits of Lean manufacturing firsthand. Participants will learn value-added vs. non-value-added activities, the eight wastes, about one-piece flow, Kanbans, point-of-use storage, quick changeover, quality at the source, batch reduction, teams, standardized work, workplace organization, and visual controls. Each concept will build an individual’s ability to identify and eliminate manufacturing waste.
Visual Management: Making the Abnormal Obvious
(Process & Tools – Fundamentals) Visual management is about embedding critical information into the physical landscape of work so employees can tell everything simply by looking. It’s essential for Lean companies; in fact, there’s no workplace that visual management cannot make smarter, safer, faster, and more exact. A 30-year continuous improvement veteran will explain the basic definitions, principles, concepts, and tools that are at the foundation of a visual workplace and should be part of your improvement strategy.