Lean Factory School®: “The School Cuts Waste”

Crespellano, April 20, 2012 – “Here's how the school cuts waste to improve business competitiveness”. This is the message coming from Bologna for the inaugural ribbon-cutting ceremony of the ’Lean Factory School“^®”created by Bonfiglioli Consulting, entrepreneurs and public administrators gathered.

“Learning by doing”, even for managers and entrepreneurs, in fact it can be a starting point if the goal is to improve competitiveness of the company by applying Lean management methodologies and World Class Manufacturing principles.“We are satisfied with the initial operational feedback that the Lean Factory School® has obtained in recent months, since its launch – said Michele Bonfiglioli (CEO of Bonfiglioli Consulting) – we clearly see in our industrial system a strong capacity to react to the crisis by focusing on new levels of excellence in operations, innovation, and sustainability.”

The “lean thinking” school is actually an “anti-crisis” signal.
“Healthy and competitive businesses – said provincial councilor for productive activities Graziano Prantoni – I am the starting point for aiming for recovery. We have initiated many collaborations and projects with businesses to invest in innovation and sustainability. An experience like the Lean Factory School® is certainly an added value for our territory, and we hope for collaborations on strategic issues for a province like Bologna, which has 98,000 active businesses.”.

A solution for businesses, but not only for businesses:
“The lean thinking that we saw “on the ground” unfold its positive effects – added the deputy mayor of Crespellano, Fabio Federici – is a solution of great interest also for the Public Administration, which is faced with new challenges every day. We, who are uniting different municipalities to send a concrete signal, can “think lean,” therefore, investments in training, like those proposed by Lean Factory School®, are important not only in companies but also in Public Administrations.”.

The Value of the Lean Factory School^® for the production system also reiterated by Tiziana Ferrari, General Manager of Unindustria Bologna: “This school is an important investment because it positions Bologna and Emilia-Romagna among the most innovative areas in the country and in step with global challenges, also from the perspective of advanced training.”.

All'evento inaugurale hanno partecipato Giorgio Mercalli (General Manager of Tellure Rota) and Alberto Colliva (CEO of Calzoni).
“Lean works in all business areas and guarantees concrete results – Giorgio Mercalli said – But this is a real cultural change, so I don't believe in “do-it-yourself lean.” Support from consultants capable of helping the company team overcome difficulties, which do exist, is necessary to quickly achieve concrete results, even in Research and Development.’.
During the inauguration, the focus was on simulations on the production lines and the “innovation corner,” where R&D-related topics are addressed. “You learn the discipline of engineering,” said Alberto Colliva, "but the results are truly very significant.".

In times of crisis, the Lean Factory School^® It is therefore a sign of confidence in the potential of "Made in Italy.".
“For a consulting firm like ours, which has been active for almost 40 years, this is a very significant investment – comments Michele Bonfiglioli – We want to give businesses the certainty that the development plan launched in 2011 with the Operational Excellence Summit and with Operational Excellence ‘in the field’ continues without slowdowns because now is the time for everyone to invest to improve competitiveness, by valuing company human resources and starting from decidedly contained costs.”.
The Lean Factory School's educational program is structured on various levels. (basic and advanced) and coordination is entrusted to Lorenzo Moi: “It is a continuous alternation between periods of theoretical training—which will account for approximately 20% of the total time—and their subsequent practical application, which will serve as a fundamental complement. We aim to foster team spirit and a real understanding of the problems encountered on the assembly lines. Each lesson will be based on hands-on exercises that simulate the challenges and situations we encounter in various workplace settings.”.

The Lean Factory School headquarters^® It's in Crespellano, but Lean Factory School is planned.^® travelers in the country's most industrialized areas.