Main presentation:
Ten Years of Total Quality, Eight Years of Kaizen and What Do You Get?  A Lean Production System

Many companies and academicians have gone to Boeing's Wichita Division over the last few years to observe, understand, and train in Boeing Wichita’s approach, methods, and tools for transforming to a lean production system. This includes parallel implementations of MRP/ERP and Lean Production. This presentation originally given on October 8, 2003 at the APICS International Conference will share the approach, methods, and tools used in bringing about the transformation.  The following three issues will be the focus of the discussion.

This topic was presented at the 2003 APICS Int'l Conference in Las Vegas

Speaker: Don A. Blake, CPIM,CQIA - 1976 Iowa State University graduate. Joined the Boeing Company Industrial Engineering department in 1980.  Operating first as a Methods Engineer and later as a Systems Analyst.  In 1986, he was chosen as one of first 'executive potential' candidates to cross-train in Management Control Systems Auditing.  Selected & trained as a Total Quality Concept Facilitator in 1987.  Assumed management responsibility for the Operations Planning & Scheduling Systems Support group in 1988.

Don has managed more than a dozen company and plant-wide development projects in Production Control, Scheduling, Manufacturing Engineering, and Design Engineering.  Don returned to Industrial Engineering to assume the Program Manager position for Wichita Division Cycle Time Reduction program in 1994.  In 1995, he was named JIT/Lean Manufacturing Implementation Manager.  In September of 1995, Don also began participating in an intensive training program for executive change agents under the guidance and tutelage of Chihiro Nakao, CEO of the Shingijutsu Consulting Group.  From July 1995 through today, Don has continued to oversee the Wichita Division Lean Enterprise implementation activities.  Don is a charter member of the University of Tennessee Lean Enterprise Forum Advisory Council and was a MIT Lean Aerospace Team Member for LESAT Development/Alpha Test.

He is currently the Director of Boeing Production System/Lean Enterprise Implementation at the Wichita Division, which also includes the responsibility for Quality Engineering, Continuous Improvement, and Fabrication & Assembly Quality Assurance.  Don is also a frequent speaker for universities and professional societies.  Don is a life long learner who supports educational organizations such as the American Society for Quality (ASQ) and APICS.  Don is scheduled to complete an MBA in May 2004 from the Wichita State University.

4 Points Sheraton
Wichita

Speaker: Tony Veith was named Senior Manager for DCAC/MRM in August 1995. In this position, he leads a cross-division team of people responsible for all facets of implementing new processes and commercial off-the-shelf software in support of enterprise-wide re-engineering initiative. In March 2002, he was also given the additional responsibility of Senior Manager, Manufacturing Research and Development, Customer Support. This additional responsibility encompasses the transition of newly developed processes, tools and technology to Boeing Wichita, Commercial Division customers.

Veith is a 1980 graduate of Kansas State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Engineering.

He joined Boeing Military Airplane Company in 1980 as a Senior Analyst in Industrial Engineering, Methods Technology, concentrating on cost savings and performance improvements. From 1983 to 1986 he was a Supervisor of Methods Technology and Quality Assurance Support. In 1986, he was selected as the Operations Manager, responsible to lead the implementation of Total Quality Concept in the Operations organization, a position he held through 1988.

In 1988, he became Manager of Industrial Engineering and Facilities at Boeing Georgia, Inc. in Macon, a wholly owned subsidiary. In that position, he led an Industrial Engineering organization responsible for business development, customer requirements, product change management, production scheduling, and performance monitoring. His Facilities organization was responsible for capital budgeting, acquisition, installation and maintenance, and plant engineering and maintenance.