In these challenging times, improving and maintaining your quality and efficiency is essential to maintaining your profitability. Manufacturing ETC is offering the following four classes designed to help you do both. Attend all four seminars in the series or just the individual ones that best meet your needs. All seminars will provide you with useable information that you can take back to your office and put into action to make a tangible difference in your operation in 2010!
The following are brief synopses of the three seminars in the series. For additional information, including details of the class, click where noted for each:
Realizing Your System's Dynamics - January 20th
This seminar utilizes “The Beer Game.” System Dynamics was created by MIT Professor Jay Forrester in the mid-1950s. Unlike others who study the world by breaking it up into smaller and smaller pieces, Forrester’s System Dynamics looks at things as a whole. The idea is to understand how all the objects in a system interact with one another. The objects and people in a system interact though “feedback” loops, where a change in one variable affects other variables over time. The participants will be instructed in the basic rules of the Beer Game and will be allowed to proceed making weekly purchasing, production, and inventory stocking decisions. Each decision made by each player will impact the dynamics of the system and the participants will see first-hand the impact of their management decisions. Download the synopsis here.
What do you mean, I’m the Bottleneck? - February 17th
This workshop is based on and utilizes Dr. Goldratt’s “Theory of Constraints” to involve the participants in learning to analyze both service and manufacturing processes to determine the existence and location of the process’ constraints. Dr. Goldratt used the analogy of the DRUM, BUFFER, and ROPE to demonstrate that work can proceed through a process no faster than the output from the slowest operation. Knowing where the constraint is located, we can now analyze and develop the best mix to yield the greatest monetary return for your investment. The workshop will demonstrate how, by using the proper measurements, you will see which products or processes are making money and which ones are not. Once we understand our constraints, by exploiting the constraint, we can turn products from money into money makers. Download the synopsis here.
Value Stream Mapping and Plant Layout – March 17th
The third in this series of understanding, analyzing, and improving your processes, Value Stream Mapping and Plant Layout looks at improving the information flow from customer back to customer and the material flow from supplier to customer. Value Stream Mapping is a technique used to analyze the flow of materials and information required to bringing a product or service from customer order to customer shipment. The process has been closely associated with LEAN and the TOYOTA Manufacturing System. It is also known as “Material and Information Flow Mapping.” The participants will isolate product families from the overall body of products going through the operation, to produce a current state value stream map, and to consider various ways to improve the process and develop a future state of the process. They will discover why factory lead time is what it is and how to reduce it. Download the synopsis here.
Demand Forecasting – April 21st
When asked by the Colonel to develop a long term weather forecast for the Commanding General, the young officers replied that it was impossible to forecast with any accuracy that far out in the future. The Colonel replied that the General was quite familiar with that fact, but he needed the forecast for planning. Most organizations are not that fortunate to have customers that provide long term, consistent level demands, therefore we must forecast. Knowing accuracy, reliability, and confidence level of the forecast is paramount in the development of a doable production plan. This workshop will present some of the basic forecasting models, how to determine there level of confidence and how to improve their confidence level. Download the synopsis here.
The following applies to each seminar:
- Check-in beginning at 7:30 a.m.
- Seminars run 8 a.m. – 12 noon
- Space is limited to 24 attendees for each class
- $199 per person per class
- 3+ people from same organization - $150 per person per class
- Take all 4 seminars for only $599 – save $197!
- Seminars held at the Italian American Community Center, 257 Washington Avenue, Ext., Albany, NY 12205
