WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership will offer a workshop on Nov. 20 in Indianapolis that will focus on leadership.

The workshop, “Leadership Is an Attitude,” is free and open to the public. It will especially benefit business owners, management teams and executives, and CEOs.

The two-hour event will address the importance of management’s attitude and how it relates to the overall performance and effectiveness of an organization. Attendees will learn the communication and management skills needed to direct the performance of individuals and teams. The workshop also will show managers how to transmit a positive attitude to their teams.

Rodney Vandeveer, a professor in Purdue’s organizational leadership and supervision department, will lead the workshop. Vandeveer has more than 30 years of industrial and business management experience and has worked in human resources, training and development, and manufacturing departments.

The workshop will be 9-11 a.m. in the first-floor conference room of Building Ten in Intech Park, located at 6640 Intech Blvd.

Preregistration is required. To register, visit http://www.mep.purdue.edu/events/. For more information, e-mail MEPworkshops@purdue.edu or call 800-877-5182, ext. 620.

The Manufacturing Extension Partnership provides technical skills development and implementation services to manufacturers that want to increase productivity and profitability, enhance customer satisfaction, and advance work force skills. Areas of expertise include advanced manufacturing processes, lean implementation, quality management systems, Six Sigma, green enterprise development and energy efficiency.

LAFAYETTE, Ind. -– Lean or Six Sigma – which continuous improvement program is right for your business? Ivy Tech Community College’s Workforce and Economic Development Department will help answer that question at a free Discovery Session on August 28 from 8:00 a.m. to Noon. The session will be held in the NCHS Auditorium in Ivy Hall on the college’s campus at 3101 S. Creasy Lane in Lafayette.

Registration is requested by calling (765) 269-5882 or (765) 269-5871.

Ivy Tech Community College-Lafayette is the statewide provider of Six Sigma training. Ivy Tech offers customized continuous improvement training for a wide variety of businesses including healthcare, warehouses, government and manufacturing. To date, 25 companies have achieved significant savings benefit through increased efficiency and effectiveness.

“I was a little apprehensive that the tools and techniques would not translate to healthcare,” said Gail Summers, Quality Improvement Director at Wabash Valley Hospital. “I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case. The trainers did a great job customizing the methods to all types of industries. I completed Lean training with quick and easy resources to implement what I had learned.”

Ivy Tech delivers training across the state in partnership with FinTek Group. FinTek has successfully trained and consulted with leading organizations through North America and Europe for over six years. Training is scheduled over a three month period. It includes sessions for executives on how to effectively align company strategy, resources and support. Managers become skilled in plan development and execution. Team or event leaders learn how to facilitate and execute a continuous improvement plan.

Ivy Tech Community College is the state’s largest public post-secondary institution and the nation’s largest singly-accredited statewide community college system with more than 130,000 students enrolled annually. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana. It serves as the state’s engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University will offer training in lean manufacturing and Six Sigma practices for which professionals can earn certificates during June and July in Indianapolis.

The courses are sponsored by the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, part of Purdue’s Technical Assistance Program, for those currently working and for displaced professionals. Those who are unemployed may be eligible for training funds to pay for some of the courses. Interested persons should check with their local WorkOne office for eligibility.

Six Sigma Green Belt and Six Sigma Black Belt courses combine a detailed roadmap with statistical tools to resolve critical business issues. These are recommended for owners or management teams, engineers or technical staff from small- to medium-sized companies. Participants should have some knowledge of basic statistics.

Green Belts typically work in teams to implement improvements. Black Belts independently apply more sophisticated tools to guide improvements throughout a business or organization.

Advanced Manufacturing (Lean) Practitioner training focuses on waste removal from production or office processes. It covers principles of lean manufacturing, the 5S visual workplace, principles of stream mapping, quick changeover/setup reduction and total productive maintenance.

Training Within Industry (TWI) focuses on job relations and job instructions. These classes help supervisors and team leaders increase productivity, improve morale and reduce training time.

Course specifics and registration information are available at http://www.indianamep.org/events. Displaced professionals seeking to apply for training funds should print course brochures from the Web site and take them to WorkOne for review.

The Manufacturing Extension Partnership Center provides technical skills development and implementation services to manufacturers that want to increase productivity and profitability, enhance customer satisfaction and advance workforce skills. Areas of expertise include advanced manufacturing processes, lean implementation, quality management systems, Six Sigma, green enterprise development and energy efficiency.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Companies throughout Indiana are taking advantage of a Purdue program that helps improve operational efficiency and increase profits.

The Manufacturing Extension Partnership, administered by Purdue’s Technical Assistance Program, helped 290 companies eliminate waste and implement process improvements in fiscal year 2007-08. Partnership director David Snow said these “lean manufacturing” advancements translated into an economic impact of almost $96 million.

“In 2007-08 Indiana companies that hired us reported an average savings and income benefit of $1.5 million per year,” Snow said. “The average investment made by those same companies was less than $36,000. That’s a 42-to-1 return on their investment. Our clients also reported that they added or kept 780 jobs in the past year.”

Modern Door Corp., a division of Plyco Corp. in Walkerton, Ind., produces metal walk doors, ventilation products, and provides fasteners for post frame and metal clad building industries. The company will work with MEP this fall on an advanced manufacturing certificate training program for its 147 employees to teach them how to speed production, reduce inventory and use less space.

To identify waste, MEP experts will look at everything that happens with product and information flow to create a value stream map. Once the map is created, each step will be examined to determine if it is necessary and makes the production process better.

Experts will look for seven types of waste:

• Overproduction: The market must have demand for the doors that are being produced. Modern Door should not produce its product until each order is placed.
• Excessive inventory: Too much inventory wastes the money it takes to produce the doors, the space to house them, and the workers to move them and manage them.
• Unnecessary transportation: Material or information within the plant should move only as far as necessary for efficient production.
• Unnecessary movement of people: The plant should have the optimum layout to prevent people from taking valuable time walking back and forth.
• Waiting: Whenever workers are waiting for material or information, production is lost.
• Defective output: Checks should be in place to correct errors as soon as they are made rather than later in the manufacturing process.
• Overprocessing: Manufacturers should take only as much time as needed to get the job done to produce a quality door.

Rick Coffman, Modern Door general manager, said the training will help his company improve the quality of its products and become more globally competitive.

“Obtaining an Indiana Training Acceleration Grant and using the Purdue University Technical Assistance Program as our training source is a great opportunity for all Modern Door employees,” Coffman said. “This training will greatly enhance our workforce development and provide lasting methods and tools that will accelerate our advance manufacturing processes. We fully expect the outcome of this training to reduce waste, improve quality, help us grow the business, and provide our customers improved product and service in an extremely competitive market.”

Modern Door received a grant from the Indiana Department of Work force Development to fund the MEP training, which also receives federal funding from the National Institute for Standards and Technology and support from the state of Indiana.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Companies throughout Indiana are taking advantage of a Purdue program that helps improve operational efficiency and increase profits.

The Manufacturing Extension Partnership, administered by Purdue’s Technical Assistance Program, helped 290 companies eliminate waste and implement process improvements in fiscal year 2007-08. Partnership director David Snow said these “lean manufacturing” advancements translated into an economic impact of almost $96 million.

“In 2007-08 Indiana companies that hired us reported an average savings and income benefit of $1.5 million per year,” Snow said. “The average investment made by those same companies was less than $36,000. That’s a 42-to-1 return on their investment. Our clients also reported that they added or kept 780 jobs in the past year.”

Modern Door Corp., a division of Plyco Corp. in Walkerton, Ind., produces metal walk doors, ventilation products, and provides fasteners for post frame and metal clad building industries. The company will work with MEP this fall on an advanced manufacturing certificate training program for its 147 employees to teach them how to speed production, reduce inventory and use less space.

To identify waste, MEP experts will look at everything that happens with product and information flow to create a value stream map. Once the map is created, each step will be examined to determine if it is necessary and makes the production process better.

Experts will look for seven types of waste:

• Overproduction: The market must have demand for the doors that are being produced. Modern Door should not produce its product until each order is placed.
• Excessive inventory: Too much inventory wastes the money it takes to produce the doors, the space to house them, and the workers to move them and manage them.
• Unnecessary transportation: Material or information within the plant should move only as far as necessary for efficient production.
• Unnecessary movement of people: The plant should have the optimum layout to prevent people from taking valuable time walking back and forth.
• Waiting: Whenever workers are waiting for material or information, production is lost.
• Defective output: Checks should be in place to correct errors as soon as they are made rather than later in the manufacturing process.
• Overprocessing: Manufacturers should take only as much time as needed to get the job done to produce a quality door.

Rick Coffman, Modern Door general manager, said the training will help his company improve the quality of its products and become more globally competitive.

“Obtaining an Indiana Training Acceleration Grant and using the Purdue University Technical Assistance Program as our training source is a great opportunity for all Modern Door employees,” Coffman said. “This training will greatly enhance our workforce development and provide lasting methods and tools that will accelerate our advance manufacturing processes. We fully expect the outcome of this training to reduce waste, improve quality, help us grow the business, and provide our customers improved product and service in an extremely competitive market.”

Modern Door received a grant from the Indiana Department of Work force Development to fund the MEP training, which also receives federal funding from the National Institute for Standards and Technology and support from the state of Indiana.