PRESS RELEASE
October/14/2009
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Lela Glikes
Northeast Shingo Prize
Northeast HQ, UMass Boston
617-287-7630
450 manufacturers and Lean implementers gather at the Northeast Shingo Prize Conference
BOSTON, MA - 10/14/09 - On Wednesday and Thursday, October 7 & 8, 2009 hundreds of people, both those passionate about Lean philosophies and those curious to learn more  descended upon the DCU Center in Worcester Massachusetts for a record-breaking turnout.
 
The Shingo Prize, considered the "Nobel Prize of Manufacturing", is awarded to companies which have obtained operational excellence in their business processes using the philosophies and practices of Shigeo Shingo of the Toyota Motorworks Company. This year, three outstanding companies were awarded the Shingo Silver Medallion. They were: HID Global of North Haven CT, Lycoming Engines, A Textron Company of Williamsport PA, and Carestream Health Finishing of Rochester NY.
 
The line-up of internationally-recognized Lean Experts and authors included David Mann*, Steven Spear*, David Meier*, Jean Cunningham*, Preston Smith, William Lareau*, Sheriff John Rutherford and many, many more Lean luminaries.

The theme of the conference was: "Everybody, Everyday: Creating a Culture of Total Employee Involvement".  Topics included: Management Buy-In, Employee Empowerment, Idea Systems, Outdistancing Your Competition, Stimulating Kaizen Thinking, Taking Office Kaizen to the Next Level, Using the Shingo Model to Build a Lasting Transformation, and Lean Beyond Manufacturing. 
 
Hand-selected sponsors showcased products and services to help manufacturers, hospitals, banks, insurance companies, bakeries, and many other industries advance their continuous improvement journey. Lean isn't just for manufacturers anymore and the conference attendance list proved that lean is moving off the shop floor and helping other industries become more competitive and more profitable.
 
The conference is pleased to report it met its goals: to provide Lean knowledge to renew energy and motivate companies to reignite or begin a lean implementation, and to provide attendees with invaluable access to a large network of colleagues. As a result, we are confident attending organizations have a chance to emerge from these trying economic times more profitable, more globally competitive and more committed to Lean. 
 
Next year, the 6th Annual Northeast Shingo Prize Conference will take place at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence on Tuesday & Wednesday, October 19 & 20, 2010. The theme will be: Defining Improvement: Easier, Better, Faster, Cheaper. The only event devoted to answering the question: "How do we improve?"
About The Northeast Shingo Prize
The Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence, established in 1988, recognizes business excellence around the globe. The philosophy of the Shingo Prize is that world-class performance for quality, cost and delivery can be achieved through lean principles and techniques in core manufacturing and business processes. Business Week, May 15, 2000, stated that the Shingo Prize is, "...the Nobel prize of manufacturing...." The Northeast Region administered by GBMP Inc is comprised of eleven states from Maryland to Maine. The annual conference highlights how lean principles, communities and techniques/tools can guide a company's aspirations to be competitive in global markets.
 
About GBMP
Based at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, GBMP is a non-profit corporation that has worked with hundreds of companies, providing suggestions and solutions resulting in millions in cost savings and increased sales. Each year GBMP trains over 7000 people on Continuous Improvement principles in customized, on-site classroom and shop-floor training sessions and educates over 1000 more in public workshops, plant tours and the Manufacturing Roundtable.
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"Everybody, Everyday" is a Registered Service Mark of GBMP, Inc.
(* Is a Shingo Prize Recipient)