Chair’s Message

This is my last message as division chair, as my two-year term ends June 30, 2008. I would like to share some of the highlights of my time as chair and what your overall leadership team has accomplished. During my term we progressed from a forum to a division, organized the first lean conference, and pursued lean certification (which was rejected by the Certification Committee because of results of a marketing survey). Also, when I took office on July 1, 2006, we had a membership of 4,355 and have grown to 6,127, which is a 41% increase. The division has grown each and every month. Finally, the first year eligible as a division we achieved the 2006-07 J.S. McDermond Total Quality Division Award, and we are on track to achieve the 2007-08 award as well. I want to publicly express, to the entire membership, my deep and sincere appreciation to the leadership team who has worked tremendously hard to achieve the successes listed above and much more.

The first lean conference was a success!  We teamed with ASQ’s Learning Offerings workgroup and the Six Sigma Forum to offer a joint Lean Six Sigma Conference. In Phoenix on Feb. 10-11, at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort, we had a great turnout with great attendance at all the lean-related sessions and tutorials. It was a great opportunity to network and showcase our division.

The subgroups have been busy working hard on the key areas to keep up with the growth of the division. After getting into the process we determined that the body of knowledge and education/training had much in common and build on each other, so we combined them into one subgroup. Volunteers are still needed in these subgroups:

1. The first subgroup, Voice of the Customer, is designed to determine the needs of the members of the division for the various geographic areas, industries, and disciplines. The subchair for this group is Frank Murdock.
   
2. The second subgroup, Body of Knowledge (BoK) and Education/Training, is designed first to capture the body of knowledge in the field of lean and then to develop training around the BoK, understand the training needs for the Lean Enterprise Division, and determine the best vehicle to provide that lean training. The subchair for this group is Robert Damelio.
   

I thank you for the opportunity to serve you as the chair of this dynamic and growing division. This has been very rewarding and I would highly recommend that you get involved as a volunteer leader in this division, your section, or any area that interests you. You may feel free to contact me if you want to help in any way or if you have any questions.

Jobby Johnson
Chair, Lean Enterprise Division
jobbymjohnson@yahoo.com