SOREDI Hosts Lean Fundamentals Course for Manufacturers

Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development, Inc. (SOREDI), Rogue Community College (RCC) and Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership (OMEP) are partnering to offer manufacturers a valuable training course. “Lean Fundamentals: Hands-on Experience Promoting High Performance,” is a two-half-day course that will be held May 5 and May 12, 2017, from 8:00 am to Noon on the RCC White City Campus, Room 184. Fees are $200 for SOREDI Members, $225 for Non-members. Registration is currently open at www.soredi.org/events.

Lean Fundamentals will introduce manufacturing employees to the principles of Lean Enterprise, a production and management philosophy that aims to create more value for customers using fewer resources. Lean organizations understand customer value and focus their key processes on continually increasing it. Participants in this course can expect to learn how to use lean tools in a variety of environments, how to identify opportunities and avoid pitfalls in optimizing the efficiency of a process or department. Hands-on exercises will provide direct experience in creating “current state” and “future state” value stream maps. This training will be offered by Tim Root and John Lamy, Senior Consultants for OMEP.

“Business owners, operators and key personnel need this kind of training in order to practice the ‘lean mindset,’” says Kathy Trautman, Business Development Manager at SOREDI. “It takes a certain vision and motivation to create a corporate culture of innovation and high performance.” Trautman continues, “Sustaining that culture and seeking constant improvement is also a challenge for companies. This course would be a good refresher for those already familiar with Lean Principles.”

Southern Oregon Business Innovators Group (SOBIG) is SOREDI’s peer-to-peer business leadership group. It was created to give Southern Oregon business leaders an opportunity to network, brainstorm, problem-solve and learn about topics of interest. In addition to Quarterly Training courses, SOBIG also offers a monthly no-host Leadership Breakfasts and quarterly Peer Learning Tours. This Quarterly Training course, “Lean Fundamentals,” is limited to 20 attendees. A participation certificate is available upon completion. Register early at www.soredi.org/events.

SOREDI is a private, membership-based, non-profit organization, governed by a 28-member board of directors. Its seven-person staff is charged with local business expansion and new business recruitment efforts, financial assistance to start-up companies through its business loan fund, and management of Enterprise Zones in Jackson and Josephine Counties. The agency was formed as a regional economic development agency in 1987.