2010 Operational Excellence Summit

On October 19, 2010 the Kennametal Center for Operational Excellence at Saint Vincent College (KCOE) held its annual North American Operational Excellence Summit. This year’s Operational Excellence Summit featured keynote presentations from Mark Graban, author of Lean Hospitals and founder of LeanBlog, and Francois Minville, General Manager of Bombardier.

The event was held at the Conference Center at Saint Vincent College and also included presentations from regional industry leaders and KCOE clients who have had success in implementing the KCOE System within their respective organizations.

Did YOU attend the 2010 North American Operational Excellence Summit?

If so, please share your favorite moments in the comments section located at the bottom of this page!

Video from the Operational Excellence Summit

The following 2.5 minute video recaps operational excellence summit and features interviews with the keynote presenters.

You can view even more KCOE videos by visiting their official KCOE YouTube channel.

Photos from the Operational Excellence Summit

You can view photos from the day in the embedded Flickr slideshow player below ( Flash required ). If viewing this blog on your mobile device, feel free to use the Flickr and Facebook links provided below to view the images.

• View the photos directly on our Flickr Photostream
• View the photos directly on our Facebook Page

More Content from KCOE’s Operational Excellence Summit

• View photographs from the Operational Excellence Summit Pre-Summit Dinner held the evening before

There are few things in the Lean Manufacturing/Six Sigma/Continuous Improvement/ Kaizen/Toyota Production System buzz-word-world as viral as Bruce Hamilton and the Greater Boston Manufacturing Partnership. You’ve seen his face. He’s taught you about value and waste and looking at processes with an eye for improvement.

He’s taken you to his personal workshop to demonstrate these principles. And the funny thing is, you’re probably scratching your head thinking, “Bruce who?”

If you don’t know him as Bruce, then you probably know him as The Toast Guy. Hamilton’s video, Toast Kaizen, is a staple in the lean world, especially popular in training. There are three reasons this video is so successful.

1. Simplicity – he presents a simple process, making toast, that everyone can understand and apply the principles of continuous improvement

2. Accuracy – Hamilton applies the same tools in Toast that will save any manufacturing floor: customer first focus, waste elimination, and engaging human creativity.

3. Bruce, himself – Hamilton’s “aw shucks,” personal approach coupled with his hilarious delivery (“Making some toast for my wife”) are a win-win combination. He’s like a cult celebrity on the lean A-list.

So, it’s with great honor and respect that the KCOE presents, as an homage, our latest video: Beer Kaizen! We’ve seen Toast so many times, quoted the lines, and applied the principles that we felt it was time to contribute our own unique sense of “how-to,” “do it yourself,” sense to the world of continuous improvement. Watch it, share it, and enjoy it!