Dates for our upcoming workshops are below. All classes will take place at the Doubletree Club Hotel Orange County Airport in Santa Ana, CA. Click on the dates for more information or to register.

Course (click on date to register/read more)	Date
Kaizen Events: 5S, Visual Controls, and Mistake Proofing	Mar 5, 2008
Quick Changeover and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)	Mar 6, 2008
Creating Continuous Flow Manufacturing Cells	Apr 9, 2008
Material Flow and Kanban	Apr 10, 2008
Lean Production Control and Inventory Mgmt.	May 7, 2008

Any of the above courses (plus many others) can be brought to your facility and customized to meet your requirements.

We have recently updated our 2008 Lean Training Guide which includes descriptions of many of our on-site and public courses, click here to read or download the guide.

Click here for details on all of our training offerings, both on-site at your facility and public.

Continuous Flow

One of the principles of lean as defined by Womack and Jones in the classic Lean Thinking is "Create Flow." When you have flow, you have no delays. There are no stopping points between processes because each process is connected. This applies to both manufacturing processes, where "one piece flow" is ideal, and to administrative or business processes. Delays are clearly waste, whether they be stopping points where information waits or where product waits.

This month we feature three articles that should help you understand the methodologies behind continuous flow. First, we give you a case study in which continuous flow was created through a kaizen activity. Our second article talks about the basics of continuous flow. Finally, in our third article, we talk about some implementation techniques.

The materials referenced in this newsletter will teach you more about lean. If you would like to learn more, feel free to call us at 866-559-5598 or visit our website and click on "Contact Us."

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EMS Consulting Group, Inc. - 7040 Avenida Encinas, Suite 104-189 - Carlsbad, CA 92011