Lean Thinking Learning Opportunities
in partnership with
Pawley Institute (http://www.oakland.edu/lean) at Oakland University
Lean is a culture, a way of seeing and thinking about the world, and a philosophy which is
frequently counter-intuitive to many people. Many Lean training programs jump too quickly into
lean tools, without first establishing a sound foundation in Lean Thinking.
The lean training program is focused on developing a solid foundation in Lean Thinking and
helping you successfully develop your company’s journey to lean transformation. This training
in Lean Thinking will consist of two phases.
Phase I – A two-day seminar on Lean Thinking that will occur on May 21st and 22nd. It will
prepare the participants to successfully participate in Kaizen workshops. This two-day seminar
will be led by Mark Doman from the Pawley Learning Institute at Oakland University.
Phase II A– Twelve weeks of workshops this summer (from June to mid-August, 2010 on
Saturdays) will provide in-depth formal knowledge with respect to the foundations of Lean
Thinking.
Phase II B – Participants may also elect to commit to applying Lean Thinking in their plant by
way of a field project with the assistance of OU students.
Participants can chose to be involved at three levels of commitment.
Phase I – Attend the two-day Lean Thinking seminar – Free but need to register since
seating is limited
Phase II A – Participate in weekly workshops – Free, but need to register since seating is
limited in each workshop. (See attached workshop schedule and outline)
Phase II B - Commit to applying Lean Thinking to improve a chosen process at you
company by way of a field project with the assistance of OU students. Those committing
to Phase II B will be required to attend the two-day seminar and the twelve weekly
workshops over the course of the summer, and make a $1,000 tax deductible donation.
Those who can’t afford this should register and ask for special assistance, as we are still
looking for some external funding.
If you are interested in availing of any level of this training, please sign up with TDFI as soon as
possible. Please note there will only be a limited number of openings for Phase II B, so if you
are interested in participating at that level be sure to sign up soon.