American Manufacturing: Leonardo Group Announces 2016 Lean Workshops Hosted By Toyota

Lean Manufacturing is a requirement for American manufacturing, and the Leonardo Group has been training Lean leaders for almost two decades. Whenever possible, training should take place in an environment where students can see Lean in action, and relate what they are learning to the activities they see in practice. For manufacturing workshops, the ability to conduct the training in a world-class factory is ideal.
The recognized global leader in Lean methods and thinking is Toyota, and for the fourth year in a row, Toyota will be partnering with the Leonardo Group in hosting a series of Lean training workshops, to be offered quarterly at their award-winning fork truck factory in Columbus, Indiana. The two main subjects to be covered in-depth are Mixed Model Line Design and Material Management. The course content reflects the best Lean practices in use today, at industry leaders like John Deere, Boeing, and General Electric.
Richard Rahn, a principal with the Leonardo Group and a workshop instructor, had this to say: “These workshops are unique in three ways. First, the content is highly focused on the two areas that generate most of the Lean hard-dollar benefits in manufacturing, line design and material management. Second, this is a rare opportunity to see these methods in action at one of the best factories in North America, Toyota Material Handling’s fork truck plant in Columbus. Lastly, the workshop is very hands-on, and students will return to their companies with a detailed implementation roadmap and tools, for immediate application.”
The first workshop, on Mixed Model Line Design, will take place on March 8-10 2016. In the second quarter the workshop on Lean Material Management will be held on June 7-9. The final two workshops will be held in September and November. Full information and course agenda are available at the Leonardo Group website.