2009 Continuous Improvement Conference Keynote Announced

PITTSBURGH, Pa.—Robert M. Williamson, an internationally known educator, consultant, and author of books including “Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)” and “Lean Equipment Management”, has been named keynote speaker for the 2009 Printing Industries of America Continuous Improvement Conference taking place April 5-8 in Lexington, Ky.

Williamson will share keen insights based upon what he has learned from his 16-year study of NASCAR race teams and pit crews. His 38 years of experience in over 400 plants and numerous converting and printing facilities provide a real-world application of his "ten key points of race team competitiveness," which will enable Continuous Improvement Conference attendees to raise their own performance to higher levels.

Williamson will also discuss how capital-intensive businesses struggle with keeping their entire organization focused on the same goals while retaining their ability to change again and again in their race to success.

Commenting on his keynote presentation, Williamson says, "While studying NASCAR race teams and pit crews behind the scenes for nearly 16 years, I discovered their secrets of competitiveness. The way they approach equipment reliability and peak performance has direct applications to equipment in the printing industry. Our challenge is to learn these proven principles and apply them in a focused manner for fast and sustainable business advantages including reduced lead time, high quality, low cost, and reduced errors and waste."

In addition to this keynote session, the 2009 Continuous Improvement Conference will feature Tuesday with Toyota—a tour of Toyota's plant in Georgetown, Kentucky. There attendees will see the most mature implementation of the Toyota Production System (TPS) outside of Japan (from which the Lean philosophy was derived).

The tour of the 7.5-million-square-foot facility will offer a look at Toyota's application of Kaizen; including Kanban—just-in-time parts delivery; and Andon—the notification system of a quality or process problem. Attendees will also learn from Toyota managers who will talk at length about their culture and training of employees.

The 2009 Continuous Improvement Conference will feature in-depth case studies of successful quality initiatives, many of which are Lean-focused, by a range of printing companies. Companies presenting case studies this year include: Beyer Printing, Japs-Olson, Monroe Litho, Outlook Group, Sheridan Books, Suttle-Straus, Transcontinental Printing, and Valpak.