Speaking at WCBF Six Sigma Summit 2008

I’ve been invited to speak at WCBF’s 2008 Lean Six Sigma Summit (You can view my presentation on Integrating Lean and Six Sigma).  It should be a fun event.  The confirmed speakers include heavyweights from Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Medtronic, etc.  In the grand scheme of things — okay, fine, outside my immediate family, I’m really a nobody, but I was invited anyway — I’m not sure why, how, or if somebody is playing a practical joke on me.  In any event, I’ll be speaking.  Here are some details.

The confirmed speakers include the following:

• Rob Bryant, Vice President Process Improvement (GIS) Computer Sciences Corporation
• Laurel LaBauve, Vice President, Merck Sigma, Merck & Co
• Martina Kuhlmeyer, Executive Vice President of Six Sigma, Textron Financial
• Jerry Bushnell, Global Vice President of Operations, Medtronic Xomed Surgical Products
• Craig Long, Vice President of Quality, MILLIKEN
• Debra Levantrosser, Executive Director, Lean/Supply Chain Johnson & Johnson

My counterpart in Europe and I will co-present and our topic will be “Synergizing Lean and Six Sigma”.  We will share some history between both Lean and Six Sigma, argue forcefully against the marketing sub-culture that aims to carelessly combine both Lean and Six Sigma into “Lean Six Sigma”, but in the end reconcile both and make a case for how Lean and Six Sigma and Queueing Theory might actually make sense to be in the same sandbox and play well together, and then a discussion on how that might practically be done with some relevant examples.   We will discuss a little on infrastructure, standards, and some lessons learned.

You can learn more by downloading the draft Agenda for the April 29 – May 2, 2008 WCBF Lean Six Sigma Summit in Chicago, Illinois.