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Tour Hosts
Collin McLoughlin
 It
was May 1997, and I was on my first study mission to Japan
when a senior manager at Toyota gave me some printed
material relating to operations management. I first thought
the materials were simply general tour info and gracefully
accepted the information from the manager. Later that night
as I was relaxing in my hotel room I opened the materials to
be astonished that it was in English and it was called “The
Role of Management”. At first I did not know what the papers
were referring too; could it really be what I was
thinking? I immediately started reading the documents
and was amazed at the explanation of details, organizational
structure, responsibilities, and cascading flow of
authority; it was brilliant. This is why I was coming to
Japan to understand the inside workings of a system that I
knew as Lean Manufacturing.
As I would find out these were the first
papers in English to give the details of the structure
(organizational structure) behind the Toyota Production
System. I had seen and read about the tools and the various
techniques; but, that was not enough to generate an
understanding of how to be an effective leader and create
the structure for success. I needed a management system, a
system of policies and structure that allowed, the ‘Lean
Tools’ to come alive (actually live) into a true “unique
operating system”. I found that structure.
After reading the materials I understood
the foundation for a new operating system that we called
“Lean Manufacturing”. As I went onto the next tours I
learned how to read a plant, how to look at their systems
and generate meaningful information. The information I was
learning on my trip to Japan changed my professional
perspective and value to an organization. In fact, so much
so, that I had to time the use of the information and
experience I had gained.
The following year my opportunity
arrived. I was the operations manager for a printing
business. As taught in Japan, I used my time to gain support
for the ideas of change and make sure that the roles of
management and supervision where agreed by senior managers.
At that time I was given the responsibility and authority to
change the flow of people, process, and materials in the
factory. It was fantastic! The Japan trip had provided me so
much understanding of operations management, so many
examples to pull from that I was able to build a more
productive manufacturing system.
Looking back on that first Japan trip, I
found that it was a very dynamic experience; not simply
touring factories nor simply talking to the staff at those
factories; but, it was also the in-depth discussions with
others on the study mission that helped form a fortified
approach to my understanding of Lean Operations. Since that
first tour more than 12 years ago I have served as
Infrastructure Engineering Manager for DHL Express
Logistics; Vice President of Operations for Columbia Kitchen
Cabinets; and, lastly the role of President at Enna. I now
realize that Kaizen is not something that you use or install
but it is a perfect state you try to achieve; you go to
Kaizen - Kaizen does not come to you.
The value of me leading your study
mission is a perfect blend of scholastic aptitude, shop
floor management, and executive experience that is
unparalleled in applying theory to real-world application.
In every tour that I provide the focus is always on
providing the participant with the knowledge necessary to
succeed. Enna’s slogan of “Knowledge into Practice” is
reflective of this outlook and serves as the defining
difference for our tours.
Since that first experience in Japan I
have lead numerous trips and personally trained over 4000
people in best-practice management. If you have a problem
chances are this tour and access to experts will provide
answers; you will have access to the best experts (what we
called ‘traction experts’ – they have true substance to
their training and experience). I am so encouraged to see
the growth of every participant on the tour that it
emboldens me to continue to offer this experience and it is
very rewarding to see you grow in your professional
development. I wish everyone the most success in the future
and know that one day you will be writing your Japan Trip
Story. For me, my story is still unfinished so I return many
times a year to learn more.
Education:
Six Sigma Black Belt, Fulton School of Engineering, Arizona
State University
MBA, Operations Strategy, Warwick Business School
Industrial and Mechanical Engineering
BBA, Honor’s in Finance, Trinity Western University
Dr. Michel Mestre
 For
the last 30 years Dr. Mike Mestre has been on a journey
studying productivity and working on turnarounds with
various companies, worldwide. After receiving his Bachelor’s
of Science in Engineering from the University of California,
Berkeley, Dr. Mestre started his professional career at
Boeing where he was involved in the planning and engineering
of the 737 production line. He then moved from Seattle to
Buffalo, NY to work with The Carborundum Company where he
held the positions of new products commercialization,
marketing and Economic and Strategic Planning Manager.
With years of education and practical
experience, he founded a management consultancy firm which
focused on turnaround operations to make companies
profitable. For the next 13 years, Mike pioneered
change-management in a variety of industries across the
globe. Through corporate and consulting experience he
developed his philosophy that the performance of an
organization is a direct reflection of management practices.
Mike left the consulting industry to
focus full-time on organizational performance and started
his professorship at Trinity Western University, formalizing
his experience with different management techniques and
cultures of implementation. He is committed to the idea that
management’s true responsibility is to instill a culture
that values innovation and compels everyone to give his or
her best effort. It is this steadfast conviction that has
led Dr. Mestre to Japan many times, to study and develop
relationships within organizations that have reached this
goal. The value that Dr. Mestre adds to Enna’s Japan Study
Mission lies in his high-level comprehension of Lean, his
researched opinions, and the practical experience he carries
in transferring knowledge from paper to practice.
Dr. Mestre is currently the Senior
Professor at Northwestern University in Kirkland, WA and
Adjunct Professor at Kyoto International University, Kyoto
Japan. He was also invited as a research fellow at Nagoya
University, Japan; Tilburg University, The Netherlands; and,
Warwick Business School, United Kingdom. In addition to
these accomplishments and honors, Dr. Mestre is an active
member the editorial advisory board of the International
Journal of Business Performance Management and the Center
for Interdisciplinary Strategic Management Research, London,
England.
As one of your tour hosts Dr. Mestre
provides a great degree of knowledge about business and the
benefits of different management systems. He has taught and
led over 20,000 people in organizational change in 20
different industries.
Education:
B.S. Engineering, University of California, Berkeley.
M.B.A. Pacific Lutheran University.
M.S. Engineering, State University of New York, Buffalo.
Ph.D. Business, Middlesex University, London, UK.
Philip Goritsas
 Mr.
Goritsas is the cofounder of Enna Inc. The company develops
and sells Lean Manufacturing Material companies around the
world in 30+ countries focusing on the process improvement
niche. Previous to launching Enna, Philip was a Supply Chain
Systems Manager for DHL Express Logistics located at there
Global Coordination Center in Brussels, Belgium. There he
worked to increase service level management throughout
Europe, Middle East, and Africa for DHL Express Logistics.
Philip’s focus and strength is on the value-added processes
of customer service and how important customer “face-time”
is to the future development of business and business
growth.
Philip brings to our Japan Trip extensive
knowledge in change management and the commercialization of
products. An improvement focuses person he developed
consulting materials that became the standards for a leading
kaizen consulting company and its clients. Through this
development he was responsible for the commercialization of
training materials and standardizing the technique of Kaizen
and Lean consulting. He was also responsible for
commercializing this material into what is known today as
Lean Training Material.
Philip is responsible for the marketing
development and online deployment of Enna. He developed and
launched all aspects of Enna’s internet sales division,
reseller, and distributor networks. Enna’s network of
interlinking websites provides readily available products to
commonly needed solutions in the Lean Manufacturing
Industry. Philip fields inquires and queries from people
around the world concerning Lean Manufacturing related
topics from Lean Administration to Strategic Planning.
Prior to his career in Lean
Manufacturing, Philip worked for 11 years in the foodservice
distribution industry culminating as General Manager for a
regional food service company. As General Manager, Philip
was responsible for deploying resources and capabilities to
turn the business back to profitability. His policies
created a cultural change allowing the business to double
its net sales in four years and continue to succeed at
taking market share away from its competitors.
As one of your tour hosts Philip provides
a perspective that more productivity on the shop floor
provides more customer service resources to differentiate
your business from competition. Philip holds a Bachelor of
Management in Information Systems from the University of
Lethbridge, Canada.
Education:
Bachelors Management Information Systems, University of
Lethbridge, Canada
11 Years of Lean Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management
Experience
About
Enna
Enna is a developer and manufacturer of
innovative, action-oriented training / workshop training
packages developed for internally led process improvement
initiatives.
Enna's strategic partners are leading
industry experts in process improvement. These relationships
along with Enna's development knowledge of digital media,
technology, and printing capabilities create an industry
best solution package. Enna is able to combine world-class
methodologies into a comprehensive package that helps your
management team lead and communicate in the most effective
manner.
Enna is committed to providing change
agents and facilitators with the best combination of
industry change management knowledge and workshop
facilitation skills.
Enna's Solution Packages represent the
culmination of the company's experience and research into
the methods of process improvement and their application in
improving organizations. In addition to the Solution Package
and related products, Enna provides company specific
customized training materials for companies in Canada and
the USA.
The company was founded on the belief that
for a Lean Transformation is to be successful in your
company, it will not just be because your people know the
principles; it will be because they practice the principles.
This leads to solutions that allow companies to internalize
training programs by using Enna’s products to gain the
experience and wisdom of consulting through the use of our
products.
If you have any questions or information requests
regarding Enna's line up of
Solution Packages, Facilitator
Guides, Training/Visual Aids, or Tools & Resources,
please feel free to
contact us anytime. |
