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A Seminar in LEAN Management

- Wittenborg postgraduate student Zoleka Skweyiya reports -

Last week, a seminar on LEAN Management was given by LEAN Consultant Emiel van Est. He had Wittenborg students, as they entered the lecture room, curious and apprehensive about what was in store for the day of learning ahead of them.

The set-up of the lecture room had been completely rearranged with each of the tables representing a core function within a company. Once the students understood the underlying ideas and principles of LEAN Management and how companies like Toyota use the tools of lean to continually improve their operational performance, the seminar took a very practical turn and the students started working in a simulation of a real production process. Using LEGO-blocks, the simulation was performed three times during the course of the day with each cycle representing a year of production. Reviewing the financial performance of each year of production kept the students challenged to solve specific productivity, quality, and delivery problems.

This was an unforgettable hands-on experience that kept the students captivated and learning by doing what LEAN really is.