Continuous Improvement (PDF)

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Bruce Hamilton, president of GBMP, is also a director emeritus for the Shingo Institute, a senior Prize examiner, and a certified Shingo Institute workshop facilitator. Bruce is a past recipient of the Shingo Prize in both the business and academic categories and is an inductee into the Shingo Academy (with five awards in all). In 2015, he was also inducted into the AME Manufacturing Hall of Fame. A sought-after speaker on management's role in Lean transformation, Bruce's clients have included Raytheon, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, OC Tanner, New Balance, as well as many smaller organizations. He is the creator of the well-known Toast Kaizen video, as well as numerous other award-winning Lean training videos including Single Patient Flow and, most recently, Improvement Kata. Bruce is co-author of e2 Continuous Improvement System, a comprehensive learn-by-doing guide for Lean transformation. He also publishes the blog, OldLeanDude, which is about understanding the Toyota Production System and gaining its full benefits, and he hosts the free monthly webinar, "Tea Time with the Toast Dude." Before joining GBMP, Bruce held management positions in marketing, IT, operations management, and general management, and, in 1990, he led his organization to a Shingo Prize. He is equally at home in administrative, operational, and healthcare environments. As an early adopter of Lean, his factory was visited by Shigeo Shingo, Shigihiro Nakamura, and Ryuji Fukuda, among others. From 1994 to 1998, he was coached by Hajime Ohba and TSSC. Bruce holds a BA and attended Bowdoin College and the University of Arizona.

Pat Wardwell is a bronze, silver, and gold certified lean practitioner (AME, Shingo, SME) with more than thirty years of operational excellence experience. She is a certified Shingo Institute workshop facilitator as well as a Shingo Prize examiner. In 2011, Pat was a co-recipient of a Shingo Prize in the research and professional publication category. She is also the co-author of e2 Continuous Improvement System, a comprehensive learn-by-doing guide for Lean transformation. Pat has served in a variety of operational and management roles, including vice president of operations at a company that was a 1990 Shingo Prize recipient. Involved with continuous improvement efforts on the shop floor and in support areas since 1987, Pat has trained and coached many companies, some of whom have received recognition through the Shingo Prize process. Pat earned a BA from the University of Maine and an MBA from Bentley University. She serves as an AME representative on the lean certification oversight and appeals committee, and is a lead examiner and Awards Council member for the AME Excellence Award and long-time AME volunteer.