Transformation using technology and Lean concepts
Removing the blinders in the business

Champ Metal Fabrication is a world class provider of metal products and solutions. Since 2019 the business has been transforming to think and operate Lean, with a vision to make decisions based on data. The goal has been to identify the talent within the business, create flow and automate, automate, automate - create methods where data is readily available to analyze and drive performance. On this tour you will see a visual factory, kitting, flow, and line of sight. You will hear about change management, methods to prioritize projects and how data is used to measure utilization and efficiency and drive decisions.

www.champindustries.ca

Rating: Intermediate

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Lean Culture
From Tools to Culture

Established in 1972, Custom Castings specializes in the manufacture of high-quality permanent mold aluminum and zinc alloy castings. In 2015 a project was launched to transition the company to cellular manufacturing, that would allow work to flow from molten metal to finished goods with minimal changes of ownership. Employees needed to be cross trained and SMED and TPM needed to be a focus within the cells. To improve, a continuous improvement culture needed to be seeded and nurtured. On this tour you will learn about this journey and see cellular manufacturing, automation, one-piece flow, visual management and visual KPIs.

www.customcastings.com

Rating: Intermediate

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Cultural Engagement through the Lens of a Learning Organization
Building an Employee Road Map for Growth and Success with a simple CI Vision of "One Improvement every day through Teamwork and Communication"

The Duha Group is a global leader in the production of color marketing supplies. Over the last 20 years Duha has developed their own interpretation of Operational Excellence methodologies. On this ‘Cultural Engagement Tour’ you will experience the Duha Operating System and see the result of successful lean initiatives both on the shop floor and in the office. You will learn about the ‘Passport to World Excellence’ system for employee development and empowerment and the aligned Transformation System. You will see visual communication tools implemented factory wide, including vendor and internal supplier managed Kanbans, visual Total Productive Maintenance Centers, visual SOP’s, hourly Takt / Activity Centers on live dashboards, general 6S work stations.

www.duhagroup.com

Rating: Advanced

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Lean Everyday all Day
Listen - Learn - Repeat

The Prolific Group has been a leading full service visual communications company for 45 years, encompassing all manner of print from badges to stadium signage. Prolific's continued growth is rooted in its people, technology and continuous improvement and the results of 15 years of Lean can be seen in production, revenue and culture. Prolific's Lean committee structure allows for mostly employee-driven initiatives. On this tour you will see how Prolific applies Lean at every stage of production. You will appreciate the product flow and see examples of standard work, 5S and 2-second Lean. You will also learn about the subtle yet effective ways The Prolific Group has become good stewards of sustainable manufacturing.

www.prolific.ca

Rating: Beginner

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Quality Without Compromise

Carte International is a locally owned and operated manufacturer of liquid-filled, electrical distribution transformers, custom engineered to customer specifications. Carte has faced many challenges with moving bottlenecks and synchronizing production, but has had great success through applying Lean concepts, such as the focused kaizen to achieve consistent growth year after year. On this tour you will see a visual factory with single-piece flow and mixed model scheduling, comprehensive production boards and employee engagement featuring a lean education board.

www.carte.ca

Rating: Intermediate

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MCI Operational Excellence
Our Journey

MCI is North America’s motor coach leader, building luxury and commuter coaches, including the brand new zero-emission battery-electric coach. On this tour you will see an overview of the manufacturing cycle from single-part production and assembly to the release of a fully operational coach. The tour will highlight a few specific OpEx processes from New Flyer Industries that reinforce cross functional team collaboration and learning. You will see cell teams focused on enhanced associate support, the Livebus Oracle-based system used to share real-time information, the Andon system, and the 5S process for workplace organization, all aimed at assisting associates to perform their role safely and effectively in a dynamic manufacturing environment.

www.mcicoach.com

Rating: Intermediate

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New Flyer Operational Excellence Program
Our Op Ex Journey

New Flyer was founded in 1930, as Western Auto and Truck Body Limited and is now part of NFI Group, a leading independent global bus manufacturer providing a comprehensive suite of mass transportation solutions. On this tour you will hear how Lean principles have been used at the Winnipeg Assembly Plant as part of the OpEx strategy and how applying Lean to manufacturing and other life cycle processes is delivering value to the customer and revenue to the enterprise. You will see the vehicle assembly line and primary component manufacturing areas, cell support teams, extensive application of 5S, visual factory including takt time line move boards, ANDON system, TPM, and the proprietary Livebus production verification system.

www.newflyer.com

Rating: Intermediate

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Growing Through Lean
A practical approach to driving Operations Excellence through Continuous Improvement

Conviron is the world leader in the design, manufacture and installation of plant growth chambers used in scientific research, agricultural biotechnology and other life-science disciplines. Conviron has a deeply held conviction that their primary role is to support the work and mission of their clients and supply innovative custom solutions, as well as standard and highly highly-configured products. On this tour you will see how custom engineered products are value streamed to minimize waste utilizing the latest technologies while still maintaining classical tools such as white-boards for production control, huddle boards and visual management for continuous improvement and hoshin X planning.

www.conviron.com

Rating: Intermediate

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Lean and New Technology
Incorporating Lean into New Technology produces results

Winpak Division is part of Winpak Ltd., a publicly traded company which operates ten production facilities across North America. Employing over 750 people, the Winnipeg plant manufactures high-quality, food-safe packaging materials, primarily used for the marketing and protection of perishable foods. Products include plain and printed materials that are converted into either rolls or pouches. On this tour you will see how Winpak continues to invest in new technology including robotics and automation, to stay at the forefront of the industry, while at the same time embracing lean concepts and standardization to ensure continuous improvement is incorporated into the strategy. Hear about employee engagement, problem solving, communication systems and how best practices are shared across the organization through cross-auditing schemes.

www.winpak.com

Rating: Intermediate

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The Road Not Taken? - Dimatec's LEAN Journey
"We are often better than we think we are, but not as good as we should want to be"

Dimatec craft’s quality products to access earth’s valuable resources in a way that sustains us all. Founded in 1988, Dimatec has become the trusted leader in the design and manufacture of innovative, high-quality metal bond diamond products, drilling equipment components, and precision machined parts for the mineral exploration, mining, geotechnical and energy sectors. On this tour you will learn about Dimatec’s journey towards Lean Advanced Manufacturing and Industry 4.0. Robotics, CNC machining and 21-point measuring with offset correction to the CNC autonomous cell will be showcased. You will also hear about the challenges and lessons learned reducing waste and optimizing manufacturing with people, robotics and CNC machine automation.

www.dimatec.com

Rating: Beginner

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New Flyer Operational Excellence Program
Our Op Ex Journey

New Flyer was founded in 1930, as Western Auto and Truck Body Limited and is now part of NFI Group, a leading independent global bus manufacturer providing a comprehensive suite of mass transportation solutions. On this tour you will hear how Lean principles have been used at the Winnipeg Assembly Plant as part of the OpEx strategy and how applying Lean to manufacturing and other life cycle processes is delivering value to the customer and revenue to the enterprise. You will see the vehicle assembly line and primary component manufacturing areas, cell support teams, extensive application of 5S, visual factory including takt time line move boards, ANDON system, TPM, and the proprietary Livebus production verification system.

www.newflyer.com

Rating: Intermediate

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At a Glance: Magellan Aerospace Visual Management

Communicating key indicators of Magellan Aerospace performance to promote transparency and engagement

Magellan Aerospace is a global, integrated aerospace company that provides complex assemblies and systems solutions to aircraft and engine manufacturers, and defense and space agencies worldwide. Lean is important in all Magellan Aerospace programs to increase efficiency and eliminate wastes and key metrics, expectations, performance, and warnings are continuously monitored to ensure program success.

www.magellan.aero

Rating: Intermediate

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Loewen Lean Journey
Lean journey through the stakeholder eyes

Loewen is the leading manufacturer of premium windows and doors for the luxury architectural market in North America and abroad. Loewen is an innovative organization that has evolved into a design-driven, technologically advanced company of the modern age. Having transformed Operations starting fifteen years ago, in 2019 Loewen started the lean transformation of the Office. On this tour you will learn about the lean transformation journey from both the manufacturing and the office perspectives. You will see just-in-time manufacturing, line-balance and demand flow management and hear about the holistic approach to business redesign and ‘grass roots’ continuous improvement.

www.loewen.com

Rating: Intermediate

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Agile, Fair, Together, The Arrowquip Way
Developing a class leading production system, while staying true to our culture

Arrowquip has been creating best in class livestock equipment since 1988 through extensive research and development unmatched in the industry. Our core values Agile, Fair and Together shape the company and are at the heart of every decision made by the Arrowquip Team. By standing true to these core values, the Arrowquip brand has very quickly been established as the top cattle handling equipment on the market. As a result, the business growth has exploded. Arrowquip is customer centric to its core. As a result, the production system is constantly changing and evolving to satisfy our customers’ requirements. On this tour you will see one piece flow manufacturing, with a strong focus on 5S and the visual factory. You will also see assembly automation, balanced factory and build to order.

www.arrowquip.com

Rating: Beginner

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MacDon Production System
Agricultural, heavy equipment manufacturer transitioning to Lean methods

MacDon Industries Ltd. is a Canadian based manufacturer of harvesting equipment specializing in the production of pull-type and self-propelled windrowers and specialty and pick-up headers for combines worldwide. On this tour you will see a factory in transition towards Lean operations. ERP is the primary daily production execution system with lean methods overlaid and integrated. The Component Operations are job shops with balanced work output to Assembly Operations. The Assembly Lines are balanced to flow and have efficiently designed workstations and Kanban-replenished inventories. You will see the entire production flow from laser cutting, through press brake forming, manual and robotic welding, powder paint and assembly.

www.macdon.com

Rating: Intermediate

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Growing Through Lean
A practical approach to driving Operations Excellence through Continuous Improvement

Conviron is the world leader in the design, manufacture and installation of plant growth chambers used in scientific research, agricultural biotechnology and other life-science disciplines. Conviron has a deeply held conviction that their primary role is to support the work and mission of their clients and supply innovative custom solutions, as well as standard and highly highly-configured products. On this tour you will see how custom engineered products are value streamed to minimize waste utilizing the latest technologies while still maintaining classical tools such as white-boards for production control, huddle boards and visual management for continuous improvement and hoshin X planning.

www.conviron.com

Rating: Intermediate

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The Road Not Taken? - Dimatec's LEAN Journey
"We are often better than we think we are, but not as good as we should want to be"

Dimatec craft’s quality products to access earth’s valuable resources in a way that sustains us all. Founded in 1988, Dimatec has become the trusted leader in the design and manufacture of innovative, high-quality metal bond diamond products, drilling equipment components, and precision machined parts for the mineral exploration, mining, geotechnical and energy sectors. On this tour you will learn about Dimatec’s journey towards Lean Advanced Manufacturing and Industry 4.0. Robotics, CNC machining and 21-point measuring with offset correction to the CNC autonomous cell will be showcased. You will also hear about the challenges and lessons learned reducing waste and optimizing manufacturing with people, robotics and CNC machine automation.

www.dimatec.com

Rating: Beginner

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Agile, Fair, Together, The Arrowquip Way
Developing a class leading production system, while staying true to our culture

Arrowquip has been creating best in class livestock equipment since 1988 through extensive research and development unmatched in the industry. Our core values Agile, Fair and Together shape the company and are at the heart of every decision made by the Arrowquip Team. By standing true to these core values, the Arrowquip brand has very quickly been established as the top cattle handling equipment on the market. As a result, the business growth has exploded. Arrowquip is customer centric to its core. As a result, the production system is constantly changing and evolving to satisfy our customers’ requirements. On this tour you will see one piece flow manufacturing, with a strong focus on 5S and the visual factory. You will also see assembly automation, balanced factory and build to order.

www.arrowquip.com

Rating: Beginner

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Operational Excellence in Healthcare
The St. Boniface Hospital journey to perfect patient care

The St. Boniface Hospital is a Catholic teaching facility founded by the Sisters of Charity of Montreal. Founded in 1871, the St. Boniface Hospital continues to be a pioneer in health care. The tradition of caring and reputation for leadership, flow directly from the Grey Nuns’ belief in “taking action to care for those who come in need”. On this tour you will learn about Operational Excellence at the St. Boniface Hospital and its pursuit of measurably better value for patients. You will see the daily management system and strategy deployment system used to drive towards everyday ‘operational excellence’. 

www.sbgh.mb.ca

Rating: Advanced

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CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT TRANSFORMATION
Agricultural equipment manufacturer APPLYING LEAN PRINCIPLEs

MacDon Industries Ltd. is a Canadian based manufacturer of harvesting equipment specializing in the production of headers for combines as well as pull-type and self-propelled windrowers and specialty pick-up headers for world markets. On this tour, you will see the implementation of various LEAN initiatives through all stages of production and assembly, including 5S, Kanban materials, Vendor-Managed inventory and Takt time flow.  You will hear about recent improvement initiatives to reduce shop floor inventory and improve shop floor layout and learn about some of the successes and challenges of transitioning an improvement program through different levels of maturity.

www.macdon.com

Rating: Intermediate

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JELD-WEN Excellence Model (JEM) 
JEM…culture… system…toolkit…

JELD-WEN is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of windows and doors. The Winnipeg operation is the only JELD-WEN facility that produces windows, exterior doors and interior doors all on one site. On this tour, you will learn about "JEM", a collection of LEAN manufacturing tools and process improvement techniques that engage associates at all levels and enables JELD-WEN to achieve operational excellence. You will tour glass unit (IGU) production and window and door assembly and see the various elements of the ‘closed loop’ shop floor visual management system; the hour by hour production boards, KPI tracking boards, basic problem solving and Gemba walks.

www.jeld-wen.ca

Rating: Beginner/Intermediate

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LEAN Culture, LEAN Tools
Creating a LEAN culture

Argus Industries is a custom manufacturer of rubber molded products, die cut and CNC cut gaskets, seals and more, servicing markets from agriculture to aerospace across North America. Over ten years of “intentional culture” and LEAN tools has blurred the lines at Argus to what it means to be efficient, engaged and results driven. On this tour you will learn about the “Argus Tribal Culture”, but beware, this is not a formula, but a real-life example of how Argus has built their own tribe from the ground up. You will see how visual management and many other LEAN tools have found their way into creative solutions in the office and on the shop floor to ensure Argus is always on the leading edge of progress.

www.argus.ca

Rating: Beginner, Intermediate

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Visual Management
Identifying and Solving Problems using Visual Management

Alumicor is a Canadian based supplier of Architectural Aluminum building envelope systems. On this tour you will see how Alumicor has become a visual factory using visual management to drive improvements on the shop floor and in the office. Visual management boards measure Safety, Quality, Delivery, Productivity, Inventory and 5S. Production cells are color coded and material is pulled into the cells using visual cues. Employees chart hourly progress to plan on the visual management boards and identify challenges that are impeding their performance. Quick & easy kaizen, traditional Kaizen and A3 problem solving is then used to resolve the issues and continually drive improvement.

www.alumicor.com

Rating: Intermediate

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Kanban
Simple replenishment process based on actual usage

AGI-Westeel manufactures steel storage products for the agricultural industry, as well custom storage solutions for the petroleum, biofuels and industrial sectors. AGI-Westeel has implemented Kanban/Faxban in several areas of the operation.  On this tour, you will see many of these Kanban systems and hear process experts share their experience with Kanban implementation.  In Packaging, inventory was reduced by $1.1 million, space was reduced by 12,000 sq. ft. and the number of stock-outs reduced significantly.  Kanban of coil steel has also reduced space required in the shop by 8,900 sq ft.

www.westeel.com

Rating: Beginner, intermediate

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Operational Excellence in a Biotech Environment
The Journey to Excellence Through Hoshin Kanri

On this tour, you will see the principles of LEAN applied in a highly regulated and segregated environment. Learn how Emergent BioSolutions Winnipeg is guided by Hoshin Kanri - LEAN Strategy Deployment -   and applies LEAN concepts in an environment where changes must be closely controlled and reported to regulatory agencies. Emergent BioSolutions is a global life sciences company focused on providing specialty products for civilian and military populations that address accidental, intentional, and naturally emerging public health threats. Through our vision to protect and enhance 50 million lives by 2025, we will give millions of individuals the opportunity to experience the fullness of life. Emergent Winnipeg has a 50-year history of manufacturing lifesaving countermeasures, hyperimmune plasma products, and products to address emerging health threats.

www.emergentbiosolutions.com

Rating: Intermediate

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New Flyer Operational Excellence Program
The Op Ex Journey

New Flyer is the largest heavy-duty bus manufacturer offering the widest range of drive systems in North America. On this tour, you will hear about the application of LEAN principles at the Winnipeg Assembly Plant as part of the Operational Excellence strategy and how applying LEAN to manufacturing and other life cycle processes is delivering value to the customer and revenue to the enterprise. Touring the vehicle assembly line and primary component manufacturing areas you will see cell support teams, 5S implementation and visual factory concepts including takt timeline move boards, ANDON system, TPM and the proprietary Livebus production verification system.

www.newflyer.com

Rating: Intermediate

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Cultural Engagement Tour
Sustainable Growth Through Employee Empowerment

The Duha Group creates color marketing tools like paint chips, fandecks, and color systems that help customers bring life to beautiful spaces around the world. On this Cultural Engagement Tour, you will witness the Duha Operating System, viewing successful lean initiatives on the shop floor and in the office and learning about the 4 key steps that the Duha Group experienced on their Journey to Lean; the Passport to World Excellence System; the 5 minute Daily Huddle System; the 12 Step Turbo Kaizen System and Organization Balancing, which helps to balance the flow of materials and information. 

www.duhagroup.com

Rating: Beginner, Intermediate

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People Matter
Applying LEAN Principles in the service sector

ImagineAbility Inc. (formerly Versatech Industries Ltd.) is a non-profit day service organization that provides a work environment, as well as job and recreational opportunities for people living with an intellectual disability.  They also supply the business community with packaging and assembly services. The vision of the organization is that all individual are valued, accepted and can realize their potential. On this tour you will see examples of mistake proofing, visual management, Kanban and one-piece-flow. You will also hear how daily huddles ‘hive’ the people they support to improve processes through their suggestions.

www.imagineability.ca

Rating: Intermediate

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From Continuous Improvement to Business Unit Transformation
Phoenix Rising Up from the Ashes

StandardAero offers extensive manufacture, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for business aviation, commercial aviation, military and industrial power customers in more than 80 countries around the world. For almost thirty years, StandardAero has applied and refined its approach to business redesign, with 160 LEAN Cellular transformation programs to date, achieving sustained STEP-change (TM) performance gains. Through these transformations, StandardAero has driven improvements in turn time, labor efficiency and product quality to industry-leading performance levels. One example of this is our SACS Canada Component facility which suffered from a huge fire in the fall of 2014. On this tour, you will see extensive use of visual systems, cellular design, point-of-use materials, electronic production/tracking boards, 5S, line balance and systems that improve the process based on the “voice of the customer”.

www.standardaero.com

Rating: Intermediate

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MCI WPO (Work Place Organization)
MCI’s journey to LEAN

Motor Coach Industries is the number one supplier of tour, charter and line hail coaches in North America. On this tour, you will see the complete manufacturing cycle from parts manufactured to fully operational coach. You will hear how MCI continues to change with a focus on employees, customers and community. The tour will highlight how Kaizen events are helping make employees lives easier and safer. It will also include the Laser / Welding areas showing the development of kitting and one piece flow.

www.mcicoach.com

Rating: Intermediate

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