Learning Lean: Symposium to offer ‘hands on’ experience Published May 13, 2009 By Howdy Stout Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Tinker leaders and employees from across the base will get some "hands-on" experience with Lean manufacturing principles next week during the Lean Symposium May 12, hosted by Maj. Gen. P. David Gillett Jr., commander of the Oklahoma City-Air Logistics Center. The symposium will provide an afternoon workshop for select Tinker leaders following a morning lecture on "Leading Lean for Leadership" by George Koeningsaeker, an American pioneer in the Japanese-developed Lean concept. The purpose of the hands-on session is to give administrators and decision makers an idea of how to implement Lean concepts. "There's going to be an active, hands-on session hosted by Mr. Lee Alves that will be conducted," explained Stacia Franks, process improvement branch chief at the OC-ALC. "It's easy to do Lean when you can actively see the product, but it's not so easy for the administrative processes." Both leaders and employees will receive an overview from Mr. Koenigsaeker, an early proponent of the revolutionary Lean production method. Developed by Toyota's Taiichi Ohno, Lean is based on having customer demand drive production speed. Sometimes known as "just in time production," Lean also seeks to visually outline the production process and eliminate or reduce areas that do not add value to the finished product. Mr. Koenigsaeker first implemented Lean principles at the Jake Brake company in the 1980s before successfully using similar procedures at office furniture manufacturer HON Industries in the 1990s. Since then, Mr. Koeningsaeker has served as a business consultant with Simpler, a consulting firm specializing in Lean methods. Mr. Koenigsaeker is also the chairman of the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing. The Shingo Prize, named for Lean proponent Shigeo Shingo, is awarded annually to companies and individuals in both the public and private sectors that show operational excellence. The Air Force incorporates Lean principles in its Air Force Smart Operations (AFSO21) procedures. As a result of adopting Lean procedures, the OC-ALC has won several Shingo awards in recent years. Last year the 565th Maintenance Squadron received a Shingo prize for their work on the B-1B maintenance procedure while the 564th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron won a Shingo prize for reducing by half the depot-level maintenance time of KC-135 tankers.