GreenLean™ a Recipe for Sustainable Savings and Growth   

Presenters from Medtronic, Foldcraft Company and Xcel Energy demonstrated how lean and green efforts yield significant savings and drive growth at Enterprise Minnesota's GreenLean™ business event on April 19.

GreenLean™ is a program developed by Enterprise Minnesota to help companies foster a culture of continuous improvement and growth by eliminating time and energy wastes. With guidance from Enterprise Minnesota consultants, companies pinpoint opportunities for improvement through a Value Stream Mapping session, then organize a series of Kaizen events to turn those opportunities into realities.

The sustainability experiences shared by each presenter make a strong business case for the value of green and lean projects. For example, by simply cutting the running time of a dust collector in half, Foldcraft Company saved $25,000 over the course of a year. When the company acquired two companies in Brooklyn Center and Eden Prairie, it reorganized its space through Kaizen events to bring those companies under its existing roof.

"We eliminated the need for at least 35,000 square feet of space that we no longer needed to rent or light or heat," said speaker Brian Kopas, director of supply chain management at Foldcraft.

Speaker Janice Tobin, senior operations manager of Medtronic's Environmental Health and Safety division, says the company's worldwide Environmental Sustainability Policy has helped it to eliminate millions of pounds of material waste and save $16 million over the past two years. Tobin says apart from savings, the corporation's commitment to sustainability is also key in attracting both new customers and the next generation of top talent.

"Our customers and our potential high-caliber employees are asking us, 'what are you doing for lean and green? Show us.' That [demand] is giving us a competitive edge," Tobin says.

Speaker Ryan Bruers, field sales manager for Xcel Energy, recommends that companies begin their lean and green journey by asking their employees to identify where the wastes are. "A lot of times, it's just [a matter of] ... listening to them and helping them solve those problems. If you get the employees' buy-in on what you're trying to accomplish, it's going to make it so much easier to move forward," Bruers explained.

As a utility company, Bruers added, "The greenest energy we produce is the energy we don't have to produce. If we can get our customers using less energy, that's less plants we have to run, that's less turbines we have to build and put online. It benefits us all."

For more information about Enterprise Minnesota's GreenLean™ consulting services, go to www.enterpriseminnesota.org

Presented by the Center for Business & Industry, South Central College and Enterprise Minnesota

This one day event is ideal for anyone wanting to learn more about Lean Enterprise, or to learn more about the Lean journey at their company or organization. Eight topics will be presented ranging from How to Develop a Sustaining 5S Program, to Effective Change Management, to Developing Leaders at All Levels.  Jamie Flinchbaugh, the Keynote Speaker is the Co-Founder of Lean Learning Center and  Author of The Hitchikers Guide to Lean: Lessons from the Road.
 
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
7:45am-5:00pm

Location: South Central College-North Mankato Campus, 1920 Lee Blvd, North Mankato, MN 56003. 

Cost: $90 per registrant.
Or call Erin Brim at (507) 389-7203 to register 4 or more people from your organization for a special discount price of $75 per registrant.

Who Should Attend?
Managers, operations directors, front line supervisors, office personnel, senior leadership and anyone interested in learning more about effective Lean tools.

For more information and to Register, go here 


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