2008 Conference - Saint Vincent College

The 5th Annual Growing America Through Operational Excellence Conference will be held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at St. Vincent College. The one day conference will feature manufacturers and health care providers who will share their experience and practices in implementing Operational Excellence to continuously improve their companies. Essential tips will include how to:

Improve Profitability
Eliminate Waste and Reduce Cost
Unlock Creativity and Innovation
Improve Safety, Quality, Productivity

This year's keynote speaker will be Jeffrey K. Liker.

Dr. Jeffrey K. Liker is Professor of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan and principle of Optiprise, Inc. Dr. Liker has authored or co-authored over 70 articles and book chapters and eight books. He is author of the international best-seller, The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World’s Greatest Manufacturer, McGraw Hill, 2004 which speaks to the underlying philosophy and principles that drive Toyota’s quality and efficiency-obsessed culture. The companion (with David Meier) Toyota Way Fieldbook, Mcgraw Hill, 2005 details how companies can learn from the Toyota Way principles. His book with Jim Morgan, The Toyota Product Development System, McGraw Hill, 2006, is the first that details the product development side of Toyota. He is doing a series of books focused on each of the 4Ps. The first book with David Meier is Toyota Talent: Developing exceptional people the Toyota Way (May, 2007) followed by Toyota Culture: The Heart and Soul of the Toyota Way (January, 2008). He continues to study and write books about Toyota and practice as a keynote speaker and consultant through his firm Optiprise, Inc. Recent clients include Hertz, Caterpillar, AMD, Android, Areva, Rio Tinto Mining, Tenneco Automotive, Jacksonville Naval Air Depot, US Airforce Material Command, Johnson Controls, Harley Davidson, Eaton, and Fujitsu Technical Services.