October 26, 2009 -- IPC - Association Connecting Electronics Industries announced that the IPC Lean Sigma Conference for Electronics Manufacturing will be held November 17–19, 2009, in Phoenix, AZ.
IPC says the conference is focused solely on implementation for electronics manufacturing and features actual case studies from industry leaders. Designed to benefit all operations managers, including manufacturing, field application, market development and inventory control engineers, the association says the event will offer insight into ways to immediately implement the Lean Sigma methodology and reduce cycle times, inventory levels, and costs while improving quality.
A full-day “Fundamentals of Lean Sigma” workshop on November 17 will provide hands-on strategies to maintain a work flow in balance with customer demands, even when faced with sudden market changes and limited resources. Covering topics with immediate application in the workplace, instructors Rita Mohanty, Ph.D., director of advanced development at Speedline Technologies, Inc.; Tim King, senior partner with the Tupelo Group, LLC; and Ronald C. Lasky, Ph.D., senior technologist at Indium Corporation of America and professor at Dartmouth Thayer School of Engineering, will share their expertise and real-world experiences.
Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belts and keynote speakers Aaron Spearin of Cookson Electronics - Ethone Division and Ronald Lasky will lead off each morning of the technical conference on November 18–19.
Industry experts from companies such as Intel, Celestica, Plexus, Cookson, Indium, Panasonic, Kyzen, Medtronics, Speedline and Tyco will illustrate their presentations with real-life examples. Topics include: Lean Design of Experiments (DOE), a method used to identify the ideal combination of process variables to achieve desired quality; the Kaizen model of team training to maximize the waste-reduction benefits of Lean; value stream mapping to analyze the flow of materials and information to find ways to increase efficiency of lead time; and an introduction to 5S, a process to organize, clean and standardize the workplace. Professional networking opportunities and tabletop displays provide additional value to the program.
“To successfully compete in today’s market, manufacturing and business processes must run as efficiently as possible, offering greater quality while reducing costs,” says Dave Torp, IPC vice president of standards and technology. “This program offers a set of measurable practices that can be directly applied to business operations.”
Jon Bailey, Lean continuous improvement manager, Continental Automotive Systems agrees. Noting that timing is critical, he says, “If you think that you can take your time about Lean implementation, your competitors are going to eat your lunch.”
For more information on the workshops and technical conference, visit www.ipc.org/Lean-Sigma-Electronics.
