Auburn Engineering hosts continuous improvement industry roundtable
Published: Jun 11, 2024 10:45 AM
By Carla Nelson
The Auburn University Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) recently hosted an industry roundtable discussion to identify best practices for establishing a company’s operational excellence organization and culture.
Led by Greg Harris, department chair and director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Advanced Manufacturing Systems (ICAMS), company participants included Great Southern Wood Preserving, Holcim, Brose, Inalfa Roof Systems, Continental Motors, Honda, Navistar and the University of Alabama in Huntsville’s Center for Management and Economic Research. Additional ISE faculty and students also participated.
“We brought together people working toward, or have already accomplished, establishing operational excellence to identify what has worked well and what has not worked for the participants in moving toward the development of a true operational excellence organization and culture,” Harris said. “Continuous Improvement is a key component of operational excellence. We could discuss this through emails and reports, but I believe you learn more sitting around a table in conversation than anywhere else.”
The casual discussion included labor issues, manufacturing processes, leadership and best practices. A focal point was the companies’ experience incorporating lean manufacturing principles into their businesses.
“We are currently on our third attempt at employing lean principles into our company,” said Jason Lakatos, director of lean enterprise for Holcim. “We didn’t fail the first two attempts — we just learned a lot. What has made us successful in this third attempt, which has been ongoing for about seven years, was the development of a holistic system that encompassed a majority of focus on people. If I could go back and do anything differently it would be to truly think holistically about the people, processes, sustainability, and have a system that encompasses all of that.”
Leadership was also a focus throughout the discussion.
“Leadership is to help people do a better job,” said Tom Devall, director of ISE Auto Manufacturing Initiatives. “That’s why processes and people are tied so closely together. Let people dictate what they need to solve problems.”
Michael Lancaster, vice president of sawmill operations at Great Southern Wood Preserving, agreed.
“The key areas we focus on in leadership are humility, respect, integrity, principles and entrepreneurship,” he said.
Allison Ledford, ISE assistant research professor, said the event was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have an aggregate of decades worth of continuous improvement and operational excellence knowledge all at one table.
“I think this event was a wonderful example of the role universities can play in offering a safe place for industry collaboration, as well as a testament to the importance of academic research being driven by the needs of industry,” she said. “Our undergraduate and graduate researchers and professors at the table were able to have our ideas for future research shaped in real-time by those at the frontlines of industry.”
A full report of the findings throughout the discussion will soon be available through ICAMS.
Media Contact: , carla@auburn.edu, 334-844-1404
Led by Greg Harris, department chair and director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Advanced Manufacturing Systems (ICAMS), company participants included Great Southern Wood Preserving, Holcim, Brose, Inalfa Roof Systems, Continental Motors, Honda, Navistar and the University of Alabama in Huntsville’s Center for Management and Economic Research. Additional ISE faculty and students also participated.
