What Can You Expect at the 2016 Continuous Improvement Conference? The 2016 Continuous Improvement Conference (April 10-13) is the only industry event focused on helping companies achieve operational excellence by using the concepts of Lean Manufacturing and other management and quality systems. Year after year attendees directly link reduced costs, lowered waste, and increased profit margins to ideas gained from conference presentations and networking. Whether you’re starting a structured improvement program or are looking for ways to sustain and improve your existing efforts, the conference has content specifically designed for your knowledge level. The conference is organized around subject areas: Leadership and Culture, Process and Tools—Advanced, and Process and Tools—Fundamental. With the event right around the corner, we sat down with PIA Vice President for the Center for Technology and Research and In-House Continuous Improvement Guru Jim Workman about what you can expect at this year’s conference! PIA: Remembering that the Continuous Improvement Conference is all about Lean manufacturing, what are some of the ideas and messages that you try to instill in every conference? JW: One message that will be uttered repeatedly in Milwaukee is that continuous improvement is all about leadership and culture. Without enlightened leadership and a supportive culture, even small gains won’t be sustained. That’s why we have a whole series of sessions that address what is required of leaders that want to move their company toward operational excellence. Another message is that benchmarking is essential. Companies shouldn’t accept that their performance is satisfactory without finding out how it compares to others. For example, one presentation at the conference details how a printing company was able to drive down its spoilage amount to a ridiculously low level by way of a specific action plan. Knowing how your company compares against those spoilage percentages should be helpful to your goal of improvement. PIA: With the ever-changing nature of the print industry, how does the Continuous Improvement Conference stay relevant from year to year? JW: It’s tough to get a competitive edge, but one way is to operate better—and improve faster— than the competition. You do that by using Lean manufacturing and other management and quality systems to root out inefficiency, engage employees in spotting and fixing problems, reduce excess inventory, shorten lead times, add capacity without capital investments, and so on. The printing and converting industry features some very sophisticated companies that are profit leaders in part because of their ongoing focus on these issues, and many will be speaking and attending the conference. PIA: What are some of the aspects of the conference previously enjoyed by returning attendees? JW: The CI Conference is built on networking (in fact, years ago it was called the Continuous...

What Can You Expect at the 2016 Continuous Improvement Conference? The 2016 Continuous Improvement Conference (April 10-13) is the only industry event focused on helping companies achieve operational excellence by using the concepts of Lean Manufacturing and other management and quality systems. Year after year attendees directly link reduced costs, lowered waste, and increased profit margins to ideas gained from conference presentations and networking. Whether you’re starting a structured improvement program or are looking for ways to sustain and improve your existing efforts, the conference has content specifically designed for your knowledge level. The conference is organized around subject areas: Leadership and Culture, Process and Tools—Advanced, and Process and Tools—Fundamental. With the event right around the corner, we sat down with PIA Vice President for the Center for Technology and Research and In-House Continuous Improvement Guru Jim Workman about what you can expect at this year’s conference! PIA: Remembering that the Continuous Improvement Conference is all about Lean manufacturing, what are some of the ideas and messages that you try to instill in every conference? JW: One message that will be uttered repeatedly in Milwaukee is that continuous improvement is all about leadership and culture. Without enlightened leadership and a supportive culture, even small gains won’t be sustained. That’s why we have a whole series of sessions that address what is required of leaders that want to move their company toward operational excellence. Another message is that benchmarking is essential. Companies shouldn’t accept that their performance is satisfactory without finding out how it compares to others. For example, one presentation at the conference details how a printing company was able to drive down its spoilage amount to a ridiculously low level by way of a specific action plan. Knowing how your company compares against those spoilage percentages should be helpful to your goal of improvement. PIA: With the ever-changing nature of the print industry, how does the Continuous Improvement Conference stay relevant from year to year? JW: It’s tough to get a competitive edge, but one way is to operate better—and improve faster— than the competition. You do that by using Lean manufacturing and other management and quality systems to root out inefficiency, engage employees in spotting and fixing problems, reduce excess inventory, shorten lead times, add capacity without capital investments, and so on. The printing and converting industry features some very sophisticated companies that are profit leaders in part because of their ongoing focus on these issues, and many will be speaking and attending the conference. PIA: What are some of the aspects of the conference previously enjoyed by returning attendees? JW: The CI Conference is built on networking (in fact, years ago it was called the Continuous...