President Barack Obama thanks Schramm President, Ed Breiner and Technical Field Representative, Jeff Roten, along with other individuals involved with the Chilean Mine rescue

In August 2010, 33 Chilean miners were trapped 2,041 feet underground in Copiapo, Chile. Due to a focused relief effort, all of the men were saved on October 14th, in half the estimated time. The DVIRC spoke to Schramm President Edward Breiner.

DVIRC:
I understand that President Sebastián Piñera sent out a global message for aid and that Governor Rendell responded. How did you first come to learn that Schramm's hydraulic drilling rigs were being used for the recovery? 

Ed Breiner:
Prior to this request, contractors that we sell to in Chile were already called to the mine. In this case, nine drillers responded, of which, four were Schramm rigs. More

DVIRC would like to congratulate John Vigna and his team at C.W. Thomas for small business excellence.

This year marks the 28th Annual Excellence Awards celebration by the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. The awards acknowledge the accomplishments of small businesses and the contributions they make to our regional economy. More

Mark your calendars now to join DVIRC on Thursday, January 13 at the Penn State Great Valley campus for our next Lean Level One Certification program kickoff.

This series pairs attendees with our own Lean experts, introducing new skills and providing hands-on experience through a combination of workshops, roundtable discussions, plant tours, and participation in an on-site Kaizen event.

Program graduates point to a number of concrete benefits, including immediate return on investment thanks to an increased awareness of those processes that add real value.

"You [learn to] recognize waste that causes the business money and time; you see what changes need to take place."

"You can work in a warehouse, customer service, or sales.  It helps identify that common language and common opportunities, and to focus on the customer."

"Very small changes.  Big dollar impact."

Above all, the Lean Level One Certification enables participants to apply these new skills to their own operations, and to successfully implement the basic tools of the Lean Enterprise.  More