The Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences (FNHS) at Notre Dame University-Louaize (NDU), in collaboration with Sparkers Solutions, organized on October 18, 2017, a conference titled, "Lean Methodology: The Gate for Optimization in Companies, " which was presented by Dany Elias, managing partner at Sparkers Solutions – Middle East.
The conference began with an overview, explaining the current challenges facing Lebanese companies on the level of increasing operational costs and the need to improve productivity through the adoption of new methodologies that simultaneously focus on both quality standards and operational costs, especially at the food industry level.
Following the overview, the LEAN methodology (also known as Toyota Production System-TPS) was introduced as a philosophy aimed at satisfying consumer needs through on-time delivery and offering high-quality products/services by simply removing the non-value-added “wastes” from all company processes. The roots, history, and basic principles of LEAN management were further explained.
Elias said, “The integration of the LEAN tools and methodology to the current ISO and quality standards in industries is a new era in Lebanon, and our students should prepare themselves to occupy new positions in companies as LEAN coordinators.”
The 7 types of “wastes” were explained, along with some practical examples, and the importance of the interaction between the ISO standards and the LEAN methodology on the level of the elaboration of all records and procedures.
Elias added, “Being competitive is no longer a luxury for companies; rather, it is you either have good control of your operational costs and your products’ quality or you are out of the market.”
The conference concluded with explanations of how LEAN tools are being used worldwide, such as in 5S, visual controls, Kaizen…