The Michigan Lean Consortium (MLC) hosted their first annual MLC Conference on Aug. 10-11, 2011 in Traverse City, Michigan. Attendance exceeded expectations with 120 new and current members participating. This is attributed to a first class line up of speakers, reasonable cost, the location and structured networking activities all focused on Michiganrquote s reinvention.
One attendee stated, "I thoroughly enjoyed the conference and the wonderful facility. I have paid $800-1200 for a similar conference without meals! The event organizers did an outstanding job!"
Attendees especially loved the networking opportunities and the great facility, Northwestern Michigan College in beautiful Traverse City, Michigan.
The conference featured high profile sponsors such as General Motors, The University of Michigan, DTE Energy, General Physics Corporation, Amway, Northwestern Michigan College, Production Modeling Corporation and Visual Workplace. The Society of Manufacturing Engineers, The Heart of Michigan and Horizon Books participated as vendors for the conference. The first annual conference showcased keynote speakers Richard Zarbo, M.D. and Jeffrey Liker, Ph.D. along with book signings by Dr. Liker, Mark Graban and Steve Hoeft.
Attendees were allowed to choose two breakout sessions they'd like to attend. There was also a leadership panel consisting of G.S. Clarke of Clarke Consulting, Mark Graban author of Lean Hospitals, Brian Jacobs Professor of Supply Chain Studies at Michigan State University, Ken LePage Associate Vice President of Process Excellence at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital, and Ed Sosnowski Program Manager at Uni-Solar. The presenters for the breakout sessions included Robert Amid, Michael Taubitz, Steve Hoeft and Brock Husby, Dr. Heather Frazier and Richard Wolin, Marlene Ercolani, Annette Hartner, Brendon Weil, Chuck Penoza, Bruce Main, Dr. Darby Hiller, Whitney Walters and Bill Costantino.
"We look forward to this becoming an annual conference," said Jason Schulist, Chairman of the Michigan Lean Consortium. "We had guests from two other lean consortiums (Maryland and Iowa) attend also and it gave us a chance to start building a relationship with like-minded people in other areas of the country'85Our goal will be to share best practices around lean concepts but also in the management of our organizations," Schulist added.
For more information about the MLC and upcoming benchmarking events, visit www.michiganlean.org.
The mission of the MLC is to offer a diverse network of knowledgeable lean professionals who come together to share innovative practices. The organization aims to create a lean culture in Michigan to ensure sustainable competitive advantage, which could translate into healthier businesses that offer more job opportunities leading to economic growth in the state.
The charter members of the MLC include: Amway, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, DTE Energy, Johnson & Johnson, The Lean Learning Center, Northwestern Michigan College, the Oakland University Pawley Lean Institute and the Michigan Shingo Prize through The Right Place. For more information, visit www.michiganlean.org.
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