Second Annual Lean Champion Conference and Lean Champion of the Year
“I think hearing from peers made brought the (Lean) training full circle. It was good to see the application of processes in real-life scenarios.” Dealership Lean Champion
The Lean Champion Conference is for Lean Champions that are leading their Dealership on the lean journey. Lean Champions share the kaizen (continuous improvement) activity that they have been working on with their teams to learn from each other.
“I got tons of ideas for improvement from all departments” Dealership Lean Champion
Learning from ProLift Louisville
The first order of business at the conference was to see how a Dealership implemented lean culture and thinking. ProLift – Louisville was the host of this year’s conference, and they gave a lean tour of their facility. The whole ProLift team was involved, from the President to the shop floor associates, sharing how they apply lean to every aspect of the business, including parts, the shop, and the office. The ProLift team has been working very hard on building a lean culture, and it showed. They have the best visual management practices in the office of any Dealership.
“I think ProLift is doing some great things. Love the use of visual management, both in the office and the shop.” Dealership Lean Champion
PM Completion Visualization – Daily Management and Historical – Now at 100%!
Chris Frazee, President and Jarrod Tramont, Operations Manager, welcoming Lean Champions to ProLift Louisville
Bryan Baker, Shop Supervisor, explaining the Visual Daily Management boards in the shop.
Sharing Kaizen Activity in the Dealerships
After the tour of the Dealership, each Lean Champion began to present the lean activities they led at their dealerships.
“Hearing other’s success or learning stories is one of the best learning opportunities” Dealership Lean Champion
The positive impact of Gemba walks were shared by Mike Pizzulo of ACT and Marcus Whobrey of ProLift-Indianapolis. Robert Payne utilized process mapping with his team to create standard work for processing warranty parts at TMH MidSouth. Roemi Magcalas shared the updated shop visualization boards at WD Matthews. These activities and more helped the lean champions see how each Dealership is approaching their own lean journey. Skills were also sharpened through training and exercises on Standard Work, Lean Safety & Gemba Walks, Weak Point Management, Hoshin Kanri (Strategic Planning), and the PDCA cycle.
“It was great to hear the stories and projects of the other lean managers. It opens up the conversation and creates a great space to learn, not only from your team but our peers.” Dealership Lean Champion
Lean Champion of the Year – Marcus Whobrey, ProLift Indianapolis
We celebrated the first Lean Champion of the Year this year, and we want to congratulate Marcus Whobrey of ProLift – Indianapolis. The award is for leading and practicing the essence of Lean. Marcus led his team into lean culture with a kaizen spirit. They improved their lead time for new trucks through the shop by over 64% and sustained it. The flow of trucks through the Dealership was changed to improve flow and quality through his Lean leadership.
“How will you teach others about it?” – Marcus challenged a teammate to spread Kaizen
Marcus Whobrey receives the first Lean Champion of the Year Award.
TLM and Sales
The goal of TLM is to use Lean in the sales process. We call this TLM Step 3, Leverage Lean with Customers. It’s a tool in Toyota’s toolbox that is a competitive advantage and can help dealerships be complete solutions providers.
Several dealerships are using TLM in the sales process, and each shared its stories. Steve Smith (ProLift) and Frank Stuart (Southern States) shared their strategies for using lean in the sales process. Will Evans (Toyota Material Handling Systems), Brady Muller (Shoppa’s Material Handling), Robert Payne (MidSouth), and Mike Pizzulo (ACT) shared how they have utilized lean at customer sites.
TLM Step 3: Leveraging Lean with Customers in the Sales Process
ProLift’s TLM Step 3 Strategy for using Lean in Sales
The Lean Champion Conference was a great opportunity to share kaizen activity with peers, learn new lean skills, and share how to help our customers using lean. Thanks to ProLift Louisville and all of the Lean Champions for making this conference a great experience.
“I think it’s great to see what other Dealerships are doing with Lean and how they’re integrating it into their culture.” Dealership Lean Champion
2022 Lean Champion Conference Attendees