September 19, 2007

A group of nine management students were exposed to "real-world" consulting by going into local businesses and either introducing them to "lean thinking" or actually implementing it in practice.

Lean thinking traces its origins back to the 1960s when Japanese carmaker Toyota developed methodologies to improve efficiency. The process developed and continued to be refined and successfully implemented in many companies and service industries around the world.

According to Jimmy Sinton, who taught the course titled "Business Process Improvement," lean thinking is a way of standardizing procedures, removing unnecessary activities, and empowering the workforce.

The Sky Factory

The students played a major role in introducing lean thinking at The Sky Factory, a company that makes and sells ceiling panels showing vast expanses of sky. The students educated the entire factory regarding lean thinking and then introduced improvements by actually working alongside the employees.

Mr. Sinton and the students also introduced the concept to Cambridge Investment Research, a large company with hundreds of employees that provides services to brokers nationwide The students went along when Mr. Sinton made a presentation to the Cambridge board of directors on the need for introducing lean thinking. As a result of that presentation, a company vice president took on the project and assembled a team, which received training from the students.

Genetic ID

The students also worked with Genetic ID, a company that tests crops and food products for genetically modified components. They introduced the company to the concept and explained why it's relevant to them. They then began mapping some of the testing procedures as a first step in applying lean thinking. After the course was finished, Mr. Sinton continued consulting for the company and completed the implementation.

"The remarkable thing about this experience was the wide range of environments in which the students had the opportunity to apply lean thinking — brokerage services, making and selling a product, and laboratory procedures," Mr. Sinton said. "It shows how widely this concept can be applied."

He noted how crucial it is in a company like Genetic ID to have procedures that are error-proof because the "risk factors are horrific." A mistake in not identifying a component could lead to death, or a mistake in saying that modification exists where it does not could lead to the disposal of hundreds of tons of corn — and a multimillion dollar lawsuit.

"The class really went well, and the students learned a lot by being exposed to these situations," Mr. Sinton said.