It's a business practice that has been around for over 50 years, but one that has recently been brought to the forefront as Canadian businesses face extreme pressure to continually streamline operations to ensure a healthy bottom line.
"It's not rocket science, but it is the best way of identifying waste in an organization and energizing the human resources to a new way of thinking. This is extremely important in today's economic climate," said Brian McCready, Alberta & Saskatchewan VP of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters.
"The bottom line is efficiency. Basically, you eliminate waste from your production process and then from your overall business, providing higher quality products to customers faster and at a reduced cost."
But creating a true lean enterprise means doing business differently and discarding many previous manufacturing practices. It also results in taking a closer look at the company's culture, hierarchy and incentive system.
And that's what the 5th Annual Best Practices in LEAN Excellence Western Canada Conference, in Calgary, October 2-5, 2006 will demonstrate.
Canadian companies employing LEAN practices will share their experiences and successes on the journey to increased efficiency and profits. Special LEAN workshops will also be offered.
"Managers learn that if something does not add value to the business, it adds cost," added McCready. "And Canadian businesses cannot afford any added costs in today's competitive marketplace. If you don't employ Lean today, chances are, you will be gone tomorrow."
Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters is run by business, for business. Its members account for 75 percent of Canada's industrial output and 90 percent of its exports.
Over the past eight years, CME's members have been responsible for over 45 percent of the new jobs created in the Canadian economy. Over 90 percent of Canada's private sector research is funded by CME members.
Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters
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