The Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) annual conference will be taking place this October 24-28 in Dallas, TX.  This is one of the best conferences of the year when it comes to the quality and quantity of the attendees, presenters, workshops, tours and sponsors.  I’ve had the opportunity to attend and present at this conference for 5 of the past 6 years, missing only last year’s event in Baltimore.

At this year’s conference, I have the privilege of facilitating a Special Interest Session on the AME / ASQ / Shingo Prize / SME Lean Certification program on Thursday, Oct. 27th at 10:30.

In addition to providing attendees a brief overview of the certification program, we will be highlighting how organizations, (such as ThedaCare and Halliburton) are using the program as a capability development tool and how colleges and universities are using the program as an outcome assessment tool for their curriculum.

In addition to this overview, there will be a distinguished panel of lean authorities to address questions about the program.

Ted Stiles, Partner and VP Executive Search at Stiles Associates, LLC, recruits lean talent for organizations and will offer his insights into the direction that lean certification is taking in the job market.

Pat Wardwell, Lean Gold Certified (LGC),  is the COO of Greater Boston Manufacturing Partnership.  She will provide her insights on the value of  attaining Lean Gold status and discuss the genesis of the program and  how it has evolved into the standard for Lean Certification programs.  Pat is a past Chairperson for the Lean Certification Oversight and Appeals Committee.

Ron Oslin, Capital One, is the current Chairman of the Lean Certification Oversight and Appeals Committee.  Ron will share how Capital One is using the program to build lean competencies in their leadership team and will also provide insights into the exam question development and review process.