PEMCO Hosts Lean Summit for US Airlines, Aerospace and Florida-based Companies
TAMPA, FLA. – February 20, 2017 – Aviation maintenance, cargo conversion and engineering company, PEMCO World Air Services (PEMCO), hosted its 2nd Annual PEMCO LEAN Summit last week at its Tampa International Airport headquarters. The Summit was created for companies from various sectors to share their Lean journey, including experiences, triumphs, and failures.
“We believe there is value in collaborating with different companies,” shared Ben Macre, PEMCO director of continuous improvement. “Every organization has something to share in their quest to operational excellence.”
Lean, a term introduced by Toyota in the late 1980s, is a systematic method for the elimination of waste within a manufacturing system. Though originally applied to manufacturing concepts, “Lean applies in every business and every process. It is not a tactic or a cost reduction program, but a way of thinking and acting for an entire organization,” according to the Lean Enterprise Institute, a nonprofit education, publishing, research, and conference organization.
The PEMCO LEAN Summit is not a seminar, or training session, but the beginning of an ongoing opportunity to learn and improve together. The three-day program consisted of presentations, discussions and team building lead by attendees, with the goal of creating new ideas to apply towards their own Lean programs.
“I thought it was the perfect blend of learning, networking and seeing Lean practices up close,” said a program manager from a US-based LCC. He continued, “It was very evident from the presentations and interactions I had with others at the Summit that these concepts, when applied correctly, have amazing transformational results within companies across all industries.”
The Summit included almost 30 Lean champions, coordinators, and implementers from companies in various stages of their Lean journey, many of which traveled across the US to Tampa, Fla. to attend. Attendees included representatives of several US-based airlines, Broward College, Infospectrum, LAUNCH Avionics, The Mosaic Company, PSCU, Regent Aerospace, Stellar Industrial Supply, and University of South Florida professors and students.
“I gained new ideas and tips on conducting successful kaizen events,” commented attendee and presenter Dr. Deborah Posner, associate vice president of the Office of Institutional Planning and Effectiveness at Broward College in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “The LEAN Summit was excellent. It was well-organized, with a good variety of topics and perspectives on Lean implementation.”
PSCU Senior Process Engineer Joshua Patterson stated, “Each Lean story provided a new look and approach to developing and deploying Lean methodologies in a wide range of cultures and industries.”
Since introducing Lean manufacturing processes into PEMCO’s MRO operations in January of last year, the company has improved key metrics such as quality, efficiency, safety, and on-time performance.
“Our Lean program has improved our overall operations and I wanted to share our story with partners and colleagues,” said PEMCO CEO Pastor Lopez. “PEMCO continues to lead the way that Lean is applied to the aviation maintenance industry. We hope the openness and transparency of the Summit encouraged everyone that attended.”
PEMCO will host its 3rd Annual PEMCO LEAN Summit next year with plans for expansion. If you’d like to learn more or attend, contact Ben Macre: [email protected].
