JIM LANCASTER
CEO AND OWNER OF LANTECH.COM, LLC
AUTHOR OF THE WORK OF MANAGEMENT
HOW TO BEAT THE “SILENT KILLER” OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
DESCRIPTION
In a candid presentation with practical lessons for every business leader, Lantech CEO Jim Lancaster vividly describes the rise, fall, and rise again of its continuous improvement effort.
Lantech was one of the first companies outside of Toyota and its suppliers to truly embrace the principles of the Toyota Production System. For years it enjoyed success after success as it converted operations from batch to flow production. Its remarkable results were featured in the Harvard Business Review, best-seller Lean Thinking, and many trade publications. But when the tours left, Lantech CEO Jim Lancaster faced two deepening mysteries; why did continuous improvement efforts deteriorate so quickly and why, if we’re so good at continuous improvement, aren’t profits dramatically better? Join Jim Lancaster, author of the Work of Management, to learn how the Lantech team resolved the mysteries with a new system of “daily management,” based on overlapping daily and weekly cycles of standardized work activities that managers and executives at every level use to resolve frontline operational problems immediately.
Jim Lancaster is CEO and owner of Lantech.com, LLC. Before joining Lantech, Jim worked in the financial industry in New York City. He joined Lantech in 1990 as a sales manager in the Custom Machinery Group and became president and CEO in 1995. Jim also serves as board chairman at Jefferson Community and Technical College to personally support technical and vocational education in Louisville and is involved in other educational efforts.
Lantech is known as the leader in stretch wrap technology and innovation, as well as Case handling equipment. It has sales and manufacturing headquarters in Louisville, KY, sales and manufacturing facilities in The Netherlands, and sales and service operations in Australia and China.
