MMTI/NWLEAN seminars in Portland, OR, 3/7-9/2001

MMTI held three seminars on product development, new product introduction, and supply chain management at McMenamins Edgefield in Troutdale, OR, in collaboration with NWLEAN, the Northwest lean manufacturing network. Preston Smith, Kevin Hop, Jim Ayers, Michel Baudin and Dave Malmberg addresses an audience of managers and engineers from Portland and Seattle companies including Atlas Copco Wagner, Synetics, and SeaMetrics. 

Our goal in our seminars is always for attendees to hear about topics they are highly interested in and leave with new ideas they can use in their jobs. These are the questions we ask in our evaluation forms, and the audience response in Portland indicates that we were successful. The next step for them is to translate these ideas into action plans in their companies and we hope they will keep us informed of their achievements.

Seminar highlights 

Preston Smith discusses the design issues of an artificial hip joint with a break-out team of attendees. An expensive feature is only needed by 2% of the market. Should it stay in the design? What would be the consequences of leaving it out? This is a health care product, so what are the implications, both for the orthopedic surgeons who buy the product and for the patients into whose bodies it goes?

Kevin Hop had the attendees perform a "zenbara" (complete tear down) on an old and a new model of fishing reels from the same maker. Zenbara, with brainstorming over the differences between the old and the new product, is a key step in new product introduction.

By opening a business center and adding private bathrooms to many rooms, the Edgefield has made itself more attractive for business meetings. But you still can't tack or tape anything to the conference room walls. It's easy to see why. On this wall of the Mt Hood conference room is a Lyle Hehn mural extending the landscape in the 1940's photograph of the Edgefield all the way to Mt Hood.