Testimonials

Shortly after taking on the role of CEO of Underwriters Laboratories (UL), I became convinced that Lean would be a tremendous benefit to our business, our people and, most importantly, our customers. For the most part, Lean was a completely new concept to the deeply-rooted and established operations of our 100+ year-old company. Introducing the basic concepts of Lean and effectively integrating Lean into UL’s culture was of utmost importance.

For help, I engaged the VIPGroup. (I had previously worked with Pat Lucansky and Bob Burke while at Medtronic and found them to be true Lean experts who deliver on time and on budget.) The VIPGroup, with their trained, seasoned Lean professionals, worked quickly to understand our company culture and how best to introduce Lean to the organization. Working closely with our internal team, the VIPGroup began introducing Lean concepts to all levels of the organization. The Lean solutions, coaching, mentoring and training, i.e. VIPGroup’s Lean Sigma Business Simulation©, they provided exceeded my expectations. They worked quickly to help us identify key issues we were facing and apply Lean with outstanding results.
They also designed and implemented a new Lean tool that allows us to increase our operational visibility, profitability and horizontal teamwork. Their world-class Lean System For Managing© has been a tremendous success at UL. Pat Lucansky, Larry Bauman, Robert Miller, Willie Carter, Berry Metzger and the rest of VIPGroup are a team of professionals who working with your team, can design and implement tailor-made solutions and deliver on their promises.

I would recommend the VIPGroup to those organizations looking for assistance in designing, implementing and auditing a Lean, Lean Sigma, or LSFM© program.

Thanks to the VIPGroup team, Underwriters Laboratories is further down the Lean path and closer to achieving our vision than if we had tried to do this by ourselves.

Keith Williams
CEO
Underwriters Laboratories Inc.
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"You guys will be missed. I really appreciate the objective insight that
Larry, Bob and the VIPGroup team provided to me and my management team. You were not only able to analyze and give feedback on the process, but also provide candid feedback on leadership improvements that were needed to accelerate improvements. You guys played a critical role in the success of our ULSFM©. Thank you."

Jerald J. Stricker
Vice President - North America Operations -
Fire, Security & Signaling, HazLoc, Gas & Oil, Auto, Renewable Energy,
Personal Flotation Devices, and Personal Protective Equipment

Underwriters Laboratories Inc
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Last week, I monitored and participated in the “Lean Leadership Workshop” in Caruthersville. Overall, the workshop was very well done and I believe your leads, supervisors, and managers learned and acquired valuable skills and tools to (1) drive operational excellence and (2) lead and manage the Trinity way (i.e., it reinforced Trinity’s Leadership Competency Model).

By using learning activities in the workshop, the participants were able to apply Lean tools to current work problems and create plausible solutions; therefore, reinforcing their learning and motivating them to listen and participate more. As a result, I would support the continuation of the “Lean Leadership Workshop” not only for your other plants, but all Trinity plants.

Rudy Sanchez, Jr., Ed.D.

Vice President of Human Resources

Trinity Industries, Inc.

2525 Stemmons Freeway

Dallas, TX 75207

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"Lean Business Simulation© is a great session for anyone who is planning to go from a random batch way of manufacturing a product to a more streamlined process. When you get the chance to brainstorm with your fellow employees and you really see how these changes benefit all parties - the employees, the shareholders (lower costs, quicker turnover in your product & quality improvement) and your very satisfied customer - it's great! What is important to keep in mind when you go back to your "real world work" these changes take time, input from employees is important and in the end, everyone is happier with the way things work."
- Anna Koltonuk, HR Manager, Huhtamaki
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"Over the last 2 years, I have utilized the Lean Business Simulation© as a training and development tool in two divisions to dozens of employees. It is an interactive, dynamic method for working with employees who may not have the benefit of external exposure to world class practices, benchmarking other businesses and processes, or simply reading what's new in our global and competitive world. The exciting thing about the workshop is every employee at any level can be involved and the messages become clear to all, everyone can fulfill a critical role in the order-to-delivery cycle and it becomes "real life" before their eyes; how much we are capable of improving, how customer expectations are ever increasing, and our role in keeping them satisfied. This simulation is a powerful tool that demonstrates commitment to the customer, continuous improvement as a "given", and can support other business objectives by increasing employee involvement".
- Ellen Andre, Plant, Manager, Specialty Products, Avery Dennison
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"Personally, I think the Lean Business Simulation© Training is one of the most effective methods I have participated in that makes a difficult concept easy to understand, and fun to learn. The whole process to team-based continuous improvement and learning is constantly reinforced in the day-long exercise. Sometimes it is difficult for office and floor associates to see how their work impacts meeting customer needs, but this training really brings to light the issues and the "ahas" in our process. Most people can relate to value-adding and non-value adding, but have a difficult time seeing their role in fixing the issues. Our experience has been that it is a very successful way to kick-off a major change initiative and getting folks thinking differently about their roles and their work. A powerful, yet simple tool that works well."
- David W. Scheible, CEO, Graphic Packaging Corporation
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"I found the Lean Business Simulation©Training session to be an excellent way to get the concepts of world class manufacturing across to a wide audience. The sessions blended fun with some real competition to be the team with best results. The hands-on training clearly pointed out how driving out complexity and non-value added work from your processes makes you a more competitive, customer-focused, and cost-effective organization."
- Bruce McGill, Director of Operations, Fastener Division, Avery Dennison
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"When teaching any idea to a group of individuals, it is always a challenge to combine the concepts of the material with the desire to learn effectively. The Lean Business Simulation© exercise does an outstanding job of effectively presenting the concepts, ideas, and metrics with a learning medium of active participation. The groups learn quickly what changes are needed to evolve from a Push system to a Pull system and how these improvements translate into bottom -line savings for the organization. I have used this session with both Suppliers and employees and the most important outcome is that we are now better aligned with ourselves and our suppliers. We all have a common vision of what is needed and this workshop is a good tool in telling us how to reach our goals."
- Scott Haase, Group Manager, Procurement, Advanced Sterilization Products (A J&J Company)
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"Pat and his staff delivered a lean manufacturing workshop which identified benchmarks, world class techniques and implementation tools that met all of our training expectations in addition to current and future business need. My staff agreed the training session was enlightening, informative and fun. Personally, I gained a lot knowledge that helped provide clear leadership and direction for our future."
- President, $55M contract manufacturing/assembly operation serving the electronics, computer and medical device industries.
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"We hired VIPGroup to perform a business anlaysis which met our expectations. In a short period of time they were able to understand our business, successfully identified our short and long term needs while providing a business case justified means to fund their recommended implementation approach. They made the decision to proceed easy."
- Senior Vice President, $50M Medical Outsourcing firm providing contract manufacturing and assembly to the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.
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"We implemented all their suggestions on flow improvements and layout. Their methodology was sound and we learned how to make the changes sustainable through changes to our culture and measurement system."
-Vice President of Operations, $2B chemical, paints and stains manufacturer with retail operations worldwide.
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"VIPGroup provided us with an enlightening assessment of our operations detailing a business case for change with a good implementation plan. They really got our staff enthused and involved in change through their Lean Business Simulation© and then helped us implement the recommended changes on flow improvements, 5S and SMED. Their training and facilitation services were spot on."
- Plant Director, $120M division of a $4.5B capital equipment manufacturer with worldwide operations.
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"We had a compliance problem and did not know it until VIPGroup provided us with a detailed analysis of our department. WOW, what an eye opener. Their suggestions and technical knowledge in drug safety was superb and we implemented the entire approach we developed with them. They really do create a partnership. That was 10 years ago. We are still lean and have handled growth without adding staff."
- Department Director, $8.9 B chemical, bio-tech, pharmaceutical firm with global operations.