We were delighted this year to attend the Enterprise Excellence Ireland Conference in Croke Park on May 22nd. This event is growing from strength to strength as it is clearly maturing into the go-to conference in Ireland for Lean and Continuous Improvement practitioners. We had a highly interactive day representing ourselves and CAMMS, CIT.
We also spent time at the event representing the South West Lean Forum. The Southwest Lean Forum (SWLF) was created in 2018 by a working group consisting of representatives from educational, industry, government and public bodies. The forum is one of the Lean Business Ireland’s nationwide Lean networks. The strategic goal is to create an industry led forum that facilitates the sharing of Lean system experiences and best practices for the benefit of all members in the South West region. We are very proud to be a founding member and current Chairperson of the Forum.
While we were obviously working hard at the event, we did get to listen in on a few very insightful talks. Two in particular were of interest as two of our colleagues on the South West Lean Forum were presenting, Mairead O’Donnell of Polar IceTech and Andrew McCormack of Minteq.
Máiréad O’Donnell is Customer Engagement Manager with Polar IceTech and incoming Chairperson of the South West Lean Forum. As a LEO South Cork client, Polar IceTech embarked on a Lean programme which saw them introduce Lean data processes into their business to help them be more effective. This has been a resounding success.
Andrew has been driving Lean Product Development (LPD) with Minteq in Cork since 2010. He has recently incorporated this with their corporate Voice of the Customer (VOC) programme and Design Thinking tools to successfully identify 11 new product and process improvements to meet customer needs. Andrew first introduced the concept of lean product development to the IRDG (Industry Research and Development Group), who have subsequently developed a successful programme on LPD for Industry in Ireland.
Both speakers gave very honest evaluations of their work in lean, the structures and the difficulties they encountered. Well done both.
A word of thanks also to our SWLF colleagues, Rebecca Byrne and David Hartley who provided a constant vigil on the Forum information stand at the event.
For anyone who is taking a continuous improvement journey we would highly recommend adding this event to your calendar for future years. The 2020 Conference will be on 26th May 2020.
