Mr. George Atkinson-President of Hartzell Fan, Inc.-Piqua, OH
"After completion of section 1 of the Lean Concepts, Inc. training program in our Portland, IN facility, there is not an area of the plant that has not seen some type of Lean Activity in the form of 5S or Visual Management. Many of these activities have taken place aside from the training. Shadow boards are now common in most areas of the plant. They have brought the tools out of the tool boxes and made them much easier to find and keep track of. The overall organization has given the plant a "professional" feel." In addition "The employees have embraced the Lean concepts and are beginning to challenge the way we do things in order to find a "lean" approach. Several employees have stepped up and taken on the role of team leader in the Kaizen and mini events held in the plant. In addition to the "Lean" benefits of this training, we feel it has gone far in the general leadership development of our personnel."