The Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) will be holding a two day hands-on workshop on Pioneering Approach to Workculture Change from December 13-14, 2007 at the facilities of Medtronic in Juncos, Puerto Rico.
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Most LEAN transformations focus on the LEAN tool set. The change needed in the workculture is ignored.
Why a Workshop on Culture Change?
Because workculture governs success
Because the awakened culture pursues business results with a passion
Because you already manage change efforts today, whether you plan them or someone else does:
Objectives:
Facilitators: 
Dr. Sherrie Ford has been a professional in the workculture change field in the private sector since founding Change Partners LLC in 1996. She pioneered a workculture analysis process that has been deployed in over 100 companies, with full-blown implementations at over 30. An examiner for the Oglethorpe Award (Georgia’s version of the Baldrige) and judge for IndustryWeek’s Ten Best Plants Award since 1998, she has been involved with the AME as author for Target and serves on the editorial board; as presenter for the Champion’s Club; as workshop provider for the annual conferences and as president of the SE Region and member of the national board, 2001 – 2003.
Her work in culture change primarily in factory settings has taken her overseas to South Africa, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands, with both speaking engagements as well as consulting. She has published articles over the years tracing the specifics of workculture change in a variety of industries, both process and fabrication/assembly oriented.
In 2003, she became majority owner of a Change Partners client, ABB, Inc.,’s 500-employee factory in Athens, GA, that makes pole-type distribution transformers in a facility built by Westinghouse in 1958.
In 2006, she was acknowledged as being at the helm of the 14th largest woman majority-owned business in America by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (view certificate here).
Art Hau has over 30 years of experience in operations management in Puerto Rico, United States and Mexico. He has extensive hands-on lean enterprise experience in general management, supply chain, engineering, quality, and new product development. He is completely fluent in both English and Spanish and is very sensitive to differences in culture, race, gender and religion.
In his current role he heads a consulting firm that provides training and hands-on coaching/support in continuous improvement at a variety of organizations. Prior to forming Taíno Consulting in 2006, he was Director of Operations for Nypro Puerto Rico, Inc. responsible for the operations of six plants doing injection molding of plastics and contract manufacturing of medical devices. Art also served as General Manager of Nypro Mexico for Nypro among many other roles. During his tenure, Nypro Puerto Rico was selected twice among the top twenty five plants in North America by Industry Week's Best Plants Award. He held previous management and technical positions with Digital Equipment Corporation, Quantum, Qume and Keramont.
Art has been actively involved with continuous improvement efforts on the shop floor since the 1970's and has been a speaker on lean at both regional and national conferences. Several of his articles on continuous improvement topics have appeared in newsletters and publications.
Art currently serves as Director of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) Southeast Region, Senior Member and Past Section President of the Society of Plastic Engineers (SPE), Senior Member of American Society for Quality (ASQ) and Senior Member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME). Certified in LEAN Knowldge by AME, SME and Shingo Prize. Authorized facilitator (see list) of Bronze Level Certification exam "Cram Course"
Host Company: Medtronic - Juncos Facility
Medtronic is the global leader in medical technology — alleviating pain, restoring health, and extending life for millions of people around the world. Founded in 1949, the Minnesota-based Medtronic has approximately 37,000 employees, does business in more than 120 countries, and has scientific research, manufacturing, education and sales facilities around the world. Revenue for the year ended April 27, 2007 was $12.3 billion and its New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol is MDT.
Medtronic first established operations in Puerto Rico in 1974. Today, Medtronic Puerto Rico Operations Co. (MPROC) consists of five plants — two in Villalba, one in Humacao and two in Juncos, as well as a sales office in San Juan. Together, these six locations generate 2,250 full-time jobs.
Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management (CRDM) evolved from the Humacao facility to be the original occupant of the 120,000-square-foot plant in Juncos producing pacemakers and defibrillators. All of the company’s CRDM devices implanted in the U.S. are assembled on the island.
MPROC recently completed a significant addition to its Juncos operations, adding a new 130,000-square- foot building. The expansion is being used to manufacture pain management products, pumps and infusion systems used for the treatment of diabetes and implantable devices used in the spinal medical field.