Dwight Bowen has over twenty-five years of experience in operations improvement as a Production Manager, Division Director including ten plus years consulting. Dwight spent over four years with MANTEC the Manufacturer’s Extension Partnership (M.E.P.) located in South-central Pennsylvania. He has successfully managed over 100 value-adding projects for companies throughout the United States and Asia.
Dwight founded the Lean Thinking Network in 2004 and authors and produces “Competing” podcasts. Dwight is an M.E.P. certified Value Stream Mapping instructor a member of the Lean Institute, ASQ, past vice-chair of the Performance Excellence Committee of the Lancaster PA Chamber of Commerce and sits on the board of directors of Assets Inc. a non-profit located in Lancaster PA. In February 2008 Dwight was accepted as a member of the Shingo Prize Board of Examiners.
From 2008 through November 2012, Dwight worked with Bruce Hamilton’s Greater Boston Manufacturing Partnership, GBMP. During that time he founded the Western Mass Lean Network, continued to grow the Lean Thinking Network in Pennsylvania, and produced E2 and SACS podcasts while training and consulting businesses from Massachusetts to Colorado in healthcare, services, manufacturing and distribution.
The concepts of Lean apply effectively in the following environments:
Manufacturing:
Make to Stock – Dave Wolf, President and CEO of Clean Burn Inc. a manufacturer of Furnaces located in Leola, PA has consistently supported his team’s efforts to implement the concepts of Lean Manufacturing and Administration. The primary fuel used by Clean Burn’s furnaces is used oil so it is no surprise that demand increased significantly in the fall of 2005. Clean Burn’s business is seasonal therefore requiring finished goods inventory to be maintained at levels effectively to respond to customer orders. The concepts of Takt time, Pull, Kanban and finished goods Supermarkets have repeatedly help Dave and his team reduce internal lead-time, reduce inventories, as well as increase competitiveness and profitability and meet record, customer demands.
Make to Order/Engineer to Order – The Rose Corporation, based in Reading, PA, an Engineer to Order manufacturer of large structural steel units has gained a competitive edge by applying the concepts of Lean Manufacturing and Administration. When the company began it’s lean journey it had work-in-process everywhere, costs high and growing, and profits down and sinking. The concepts of flow, FIFO lanes, in process supermarkets provided the entire Rose team with a system which, with their diligent efforts, created a competitive and profitable company with significantly reduced response time to customer orders, reduce costs, increase capacity and improve overall working conditions, profitability. As a result of implementing Lean concepts, sales are up, costs are down, and capacity is increased significantly.
Mixed Mode – Misco Product’s began their Lean journey in December of 2001. In that period they reduced their internal lead-time from 10 to 3 days, reduced inventories, created needed space, reduced costs, and more than doubling their product offerings. Misco now maintains fewer items in lower quantities in finished goods, producing the majority of customer demand to order. President Tony Byrne and his team live the Lean concepts each and every day and recognize the ongoing efforts needed to support continuous improvement. Tony’s primary focus for the company is continued growth of it’s Lean culture. “It’s not who’s right, it’s what’s right.”
Healthcare:
Dwight has worked in reducing patient room changeover reduction, improving patient flow, value stream mapping outpatient care, improving physician, laboratory, nursing and administrative communications.
Distribution and Service:
Distribution – Inventory levels, pick and pack systems and light assembly can all be improved through the application of Lean concepts. Excess INVENTORY, MOTION, STORAGE AND TOUCHES, all add to effort and cost, yet provide little or no value. Lean focuses on identifying and eliminating all unnecessary activities.
Administrative – The Rose Corporation, Misco Products, UtiliTech, Clean Burn Inc. and many others have used the concepts of Administrative Lean to identify and eliminate waste, creating a more supportive, competitive and profitable environment. Tools found in “The Complete Lean Enterprise: Value Stream Mapping for Administrative and Office Processes Authors: Beau Keyte, Drew Locher, benefit many and earned the authors a Shingo Prize.
Partial Client List:
- Bollman Hat Company
- The Rose Corporation
- Misco Products
- Excelsior Integrated
- Lowell General Hospital
- Cord Master Engineering
- Jarvis Surgical
- Institute of Industrial Engineers
- Yuasa
- Insinger Machine
- Bachman Pretzels
- Yoder Brothers Greenhouse
- APICS – CP31 Baltimore April 2006
- UtiliTech
- Delta Paper
- Remcon Plastics
- Massachusetts General Hospital
- Childrens Hospital of Waltham
- Emerson Hospital
- Raytheon Andover
- Crane Currency & Stationery
- EIS Wire and Cable
- Clean Burn Inc.
- Biogen
- Bollman Hat
- Madico
- Protonex
- AW Chesterton
- Hologic
- Accellent
- Merzen
- Bemis
- Ingram Books
- Adhesives Research
- Beth Israel Hospital
- Miriam Hospital
- Charlton Hospital
- Quadrant Engineered Plastic Products of U.S.A
- Henry Molded Products Inc.
- Reading Powder Coatings
- Snap-On-Tools
- Tyco Electronics
- Boscov’s
Links:
Shingo Prize
The Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing was established in 1988 in honor of Shigeo Shingo. The Prize promotes world-class manufacturing and recognizes companies that achieve superior customer satisfaction and business results.
Training Within Industries – learn more about this valuable and proven process.
Reading Area Community College – network partner
Berkshire Community College – network partner
Harvard Business School “Working Knowledge”
Insightful articles on many business areas. Keep ahead with weekly updates on critical business news, new ideas, business book reviews etc.
Meryl Runion Rose (Associate of Dwight Bowen)
