Custom Lean Consulting

MDC has the expertise and knowledge network to solve your lean training and application problems. Past examples include:

• Pioneering early work in lean for engineering and product development
• Enterprise-level training simulation for black belts in a major aerospace company
• Simple simulation for time-efficient and entertaining lean training for engineers
• Work on the LAI Lean Academy™ curriculum
• Dissemination through train-the-trainer engagements with many universities
• Advanced methods for requirements definition, trade space analysis, and risk mitigation
• Facilitation of vision and goal setting for corporate and government clients
• Mentored creation of current and future-state value stream maps
• Co-creation of a Lean Product Development guide for a global engineering company
• Unique education and training material for lean in health care

Lean Training

Lean, Six Sigma, and other process improvement methods present special challenges for trainers and educators. They are not always intuitive, so simply explaining them does not give students the necessary insight. They are applicable to any process, but the details matter – production, service, engineering, and health-care processes all demand different approaches and tool sets. Poor training has serious adverse effects on process improvement efforts. MDC responds to these challenges with a creative blend of traditional and active learning, immersive table-top simulations, and real process expertise in a wide variety of fields. We have mature courses in basic, enterprise, product development, and health-care lean, and can also help you create custom training materials for your unique needs. Our training has been designed using state-of-the-art, student-centric methods, focused on skilled adult learners whose time should not be wasted. Active learning exercises, simulations, and quick feedback and assessment techniques assure that the training is engaging, enjoyable, and most importantly, effective.

Lean Learning Simulations

Immersive simulations are a uniquely effective tool for teaching complex lessons quickly and enjoyably. They allow interactive, hands-on lessons in lean problem solving and process improvement. MDC personnel have created a series of such simulations. Students are put in charge of a facility: an assembly plant, product development department, medical function, etc. They must work together to achieve an overall goal, but the “current state” is poor, and limited resources are available for improvement. Economic and record-keeping systems create the metrics necessary for improvement, but also create a "paperwork" burden. Students use a series of systematic improvement cycles to target resources and improve workflows to create a lean enterprise. Current simulation modules include Engineering, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Service and Support, and Outpatient Clinic. These modules can be used alone, or combined to create Product development, Healthcare, and Global enterprises. Modules can also be customized or newly created to meet your demands.