GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, a unit of GE Enterprise Solutions, recently hosted the Second Annual Executive Forum on “Lean Operational Excellence” at GE’s Corporate Offices in London. The event featured speakers and discussion on issues related to the current global economic issues, what manufacturers can do to weather the storm, and the role that new technologies can and will play in future success.
Mark Elborne, president and CEO of GE UK, Ireland Benelux, served as keynote speaker at the Forum. “GE’s governmental engagement and our expertise in Lean Six Sigma and Operational Excellence position us as a trusted partner that can bring the necessary products and methodologies to help customers reduce costs and improve their operations around the world,” he said.
The event has now run in London for two years straight, a response to the building need of regional and global manufacturers to find solutions to the ever-increasing business challenges they face. GE Fanuc has hosted and engaged resources from across GE to bring the most value possible to the event attendees.
“Business leaders are turning to GE and GE Fanuc in these turbulent times,” said Erik Udstuen, general manager of software and services for GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms who hosted the conference. “They understand that we can help them run their plants better to run their businesses better. And, they trust that our technology today and in the future will meet their needs.”
Attendees had the opportunity to hear Eka Chemical’s Stefan Malmsten, global IT leader, tell his company’s story of its successful adoption of the latest Operations Management technology. Eka Chemicals, a division of Akzo Nobel, developed a world-class inventory management system which led to decision-making based on a much wider and more detailed set of metrics with two major outputs: an optimal manufacturing process and significant cost savings.
In addition, attendees enjoyed ample time for interaction with peers to swap best practices, calibrate company progress towards operational excellence and learn of initiatives from their own and other industries that delivered material financial impact.
“The GE Fanuc Executive Forum on Lean Operational Excellence really helped me to understand what we could achieve if we installed the right performance management system and embedded the right culture,” said John Power, supply director, The Silver Spoon Company. “These two things go hand in hand; one without the other makes little sense. The presentation from Akzo Nobel was particularly compelling as it clearly demonstrated the benefits that can be delivered; producing chemicals on night shift without a single person in the factory was a startling demonstration of the power of the GE system and culture they have put in place. This is a forum that I will always make time for.”
For more information on GE’s Lean Operational Excellence initiatives, visit www.gefanuc.com/operationsmanagement.