When tasked with supporting, improving, and celebrating the protein value chain in Manitoba, ProteinMB faced a significant challenge: the supply chain's lack of visibility. This included unknown wastes, non-standardized measurement, monitoring, and verification practices, untold best practice stories, and untapped opportunities that were not examined holistically.

From Bottlenecks to Breakthroughs

Experience the transformative journey of Coast Spas, a hot tub manufacturing giant, as we soared to new heights under visionary leadership. In just nine months, we achieved a remarkable 77% increase in throughput, all while reducing the workforce by 19%. This extraordinary accomplishment was driven by a strategic overhaul of the production line, leveraging advanced engineering methods to optimize the flow of products. The result was a streamlined operation that not only boosted productivity but also maintained the highest quality standards. This presentation is a testament to what can be achieved with visionary thinking and a commitment to excellence. 

This interactive session will provide practical and hands-on learning on how to build your sustainability framework to help start or move your sustainability journey forward with confidence.

Creating a culture of incremental improvements.

Rapid-Span, an industry leader since 1983, manufactures steel, precast, and timber components for bridges and transportation infrastructure across North America. Renowned for our expertise, reliability and ability to take on challenging projects, our design-build solutions consistently exceed expectations.

Loewen transformed the Operations part of the business, similar to the strategy most manufacturing organizations take to start their lean journey.  In 2019, Loewen started the lean transformation in the Administrative area.  As a natural progression, the Continuous Improvement Steering Committee was initiated in 2021 to formalize the transformation process. 

Using “Business as a force for good” to address environmental and social challenges.

In this presentation we’ll dig into the basics of B Corp Certification; review examples of how the certification process can be a valuable learning experience; and verify that by “Doing well by doing good” can lead to increased profitability.

Improved product output and improved quality by 25% in 18 months

Magellan Aerospace has a Composite Fabrication Center as part of the F35 Horizontal Tail Assembly Program. Various components for the assembly are made in this area using primarily carbon fiber pre-prep material, laid up, and in two large Autoclaves. The cell is physically separated into a clean room for automated cloth cutting and lay-up, and outside the room, is the Tool Preparation, Debagging and Autoclaves. The processes are complex, require extensive training and certifications to perform and require precise operation of the Autoclaves and automatic cloth cutters.

How SMED approach can significantly reduce downtime and improve throughput

Explore strategies to enhance efficiency reducing changeover time using the SingleMinute Exchange of Dies (SMED) methodology. How do we analyze our cycle to pinpoint areas for improvement? Let's go through the steps to understand the cycle analysis and apply the methodology.

 Unlock the potential of technology in large-scale farming with Sunnybrook Swine’s cutting-edge methods. This session will jump into PigFlow and PigKnows, tools that not only enhance animal welfare but also boost operational efficiency. Additionally, we’ll showcase the Gestal Electronic Feeding System and Bin Scales, demonstrating how precise feeding and inventory management can lead to a leaner, more profitable manufacturing process.

Global implementation

Join us for an insightful presentation on how RIMEX Supply has successfully navigated the journey of integrating Lean methodologies into its operational culture. This session will explore the strategic implementation of Lean principles, focusing on standardization, waste reduction, and continuous improvement. 

Uncover the strategies and tools behind Triple E RV's sustainable leadership development process

The presentation focuses on Triple E RV's journey of shifting the culture towards continuous improvement fundamentals. During the presentation, attendees will gain insights into Triple E RV’s process of developing a sustainable leadership program grounded in accurate data, accountability, and trust. This presentation will provide valuable perspectives on both best practices and challenges. 

How Marvin Windows and Doors Brought a College to Small Town Northern Minnesota

Hear the story of how Marvin Windows & Doors not only brought a Mechatronics program to their community 6 miles south of the Manitoba border but also created a dedicated resource to bring advanced manufacturing education and skill development to people and industry in northwestern Minnesota. Learn how small-town manufacturers on either side of the border can work towards engaging and building community while filling workforce skill gaps and building a long-game pipeline strategy to address skilled labor shortages for the future.

Transforming Culture through Leadership, Direction, Empowerment, and Compassion

Join the presenters in sharing their successes and failures of building a winning culture while taking on a new-to-them journey of running and growing a 50 year old manufacturing company. The presentation will cover restoring an established culture through Leadership, Direction, Empowerment, and Compassion, and highlight how Lean philosophy aids in the journey.

How to Find Your Blue Ocean with Little Competition and Larger Profits

Facing Corporate Bankruptcy. Lawsuits. Broken Business Partnership after over 16 years together Zero Profit and Hemorrhaging Cash. 80% staff turnover and 1-star Glass Door Reviews. Random CRA Audit. Depression. Anxiety. Months of sleepless nights. Oh - and an Unhappy Marriage.

Welcome to Ted Lau's entrepreneurial journey circa 2019. Sounds like a recipe for success, right?

Find out what comes next when you hear Ted, CEO of Award Winning B2B Lead Generation Digital Marketing Agency Ballistic Arts, talk about how (in the midst of his business rock bottom) he took his company from certain financial catastrophe to finding its “Blue Ocean”. You will learn how to strategically pivot your business where you have:

Building Products & Lean: The start of something great!

Learn how Building Products & Concrete Supply LP, a company that have been in business for 100+ years started our Lean journey. From the investments and buy in from top leadership to the change of culture within the whole company. Creating a space for employees to express their ideas and see them come to fruition. We will walk you through a successful Kaizen in our payroll department and highlight the benefits that were achieved by the company and employees. Also sharing testimonials from top execs to frontline employees on continuous improvement.

Navigate the marketing hype - ensure that your IT strategy and systems are achieving your business goals.

Many, if not most LEAN initiatives will involve some form of improved method of managing information, which most often involves some form of technology generally referred to as IT.  IT is a trillion-dollar, fast-moving industry where every vendor confidently assures you that their solution will be the silver bullet.  This provides business leaders with the daunting challenge of how to best leverage available technology to their advantage, ensuring their business is neither limited nor exploited by technology solutions. 

How to take lean practices from a distribution company and apply them into manufacturing

How Lean aligns and impacts our company strategy: Improving our operational efficiency and providing more value for our customers has been a part of our strategic map for the past 10 years. We have applied lean tools and integrated them with other objectives in a detailed cause-effect matrix to have even more impact.

This presentation covers the more than five-year journey of an established BC signage manufacturer that transformed its operations after undertaking a third-party environmental audit. 

Fostering a Culture of Excellence is a Bumpy Ride

After 20 years of practicing Lean, Argus continues to learn how to develop and support problem solvers to help us navigate towards our True North of Enterprise Excellence. Perhaps our greatest lessons learned are those around fostering a culture to support a sustainable lean journey.

In this presentation, the audience will gain insights to guide strategies and tactics around the importance of developing people to understand lean thinking, not just lean practice. Argus’s lean journey began in 2005 with what now can best be described as an “industrial engineering” approach to lean, otherwise known as a focus on the tools.

What was previously a “factory floor” only focus, has now grown to include everyone touching our value streams, meaning, every team member from rack-hand to CEO. We are seeing business success by developing a customer centric mindset through process ownership supported by lean thinking and practice.

Foundational to this lean reset is understanding and living daily into our shared values: YOU MATTER because you are part of ONE TEAM, we OWN IT because we share a PASSION FOR EXCELLENCE

Rating: Intermediate

There is data all around you... and now you can use it!

Robots, PLCs, Tablets, Computers.... there are devices all around your factory that have a story to tell; you just need to know what tools are available to help you listen. In this presentation, you will hear about how a SCADA system was brought into a factory to monitor a few custom machines and it was so flexible and easy to use that it became so much more. Learn what SCADA systems are, various case examples, and a few tips on how YOU can get started at your own business

Lean Outside: Thriving Without Control

Discover how to apply Lean principles beyond manufacturing in one of the toughest environments: Landscaping. From - 10°C to +35°C, we operate outdoors year-round, overcoming extreme conditions while growing our people and implementing Lean strategies—without breaking the bank. This speech uncovers the hard lessons and mistakes I made over our 7-year Lean journey, so you don’t have to repeat them. Learn how to supercharge your continuous improvement efforts, even when faced with staffing and work shortages, retention challenges, and the unpredictability of outdoor environments.

Rating: Intermediate

Navigating Lean Strategies for Growth Success 

In this engaging session, we will explore how Decor Cabinets has leveraged Lean principles to achieve remarkable growth and operational excellence. ⁤⁤Understanding how to drive growth through Lean strategies is crucial for sustained success. ⁤

A winning recipe that was years in the making, from early deployment challenges to global sustainability under one system.

In this session, you will learn how McCain Foods Ltd has evolved its CI program over several years, from its early challenges to its current wins, through strategic deployment, to sustainment by engaging all levels of its workforce around the world, to focus on and delivering positive results for the business under one Global CI management system.

Technology as a Lean Enabler

Join us for an insightful presentation on how technology is being used as an enabler to support innovation and deliver tangible value for customers. Hear how two public sector organizations have built on their strong Lean foundation to embrace innovation and leverage cutting-edge technology to take continuous improvement to the next level. With continuing pressure to ensure value for taxpayers' dollars, the City of Kawartha Lakes and the London District Catholic School Board have both invested in technology to support the standardization of business process mapping in a central repository, resulting in an increased focus on value to the customer and overall efficiency. Learn how they are meeting the growing expectations for enhanced services by easily quantifying process improvements while enhancing employee engagement

Rating: Intermediate

Lessons Learned While Embedding Reconciliation Initiatives

In today's fast-paced and ever-evolving world, managing your business effectively requires an agile and adaptive approach to meet changing needs and competing priorities. Join us to learn how to identify opportunities to think outside the box can enhance your current processes and policies, to ensure a successful change management initiative.

How a Strong Culture Fuels Lean Practices

Explore how a company rooted in practical solutions for farmers grew by fostering a strong culture that naturally supports Lean practices. Without any single turning point, we’ve steadily expanded by focusing on core values like excellence, empowerment, innovation, and community. Our leaders create an environment where everyone—especially those on the front lines—is encouraged to share ideas that improve our work. This approach fosters a culture where trying new things is supported, and continuous learning is embraced.

How accelerated Kaizen growth became too fast-paced for the organization

This hands-on session will gamify learning that fosters creativity and builds camaraderie to jumpstart Kaizen energy. Follow along our journey as we discuss the successes and failures of rebuilding continuous improvement, establishing a Kaizen culture and launching internal project-based Six Sigma training within a heavily siloed organization.

Rating: Intermediate