The Psychology of Lean Improvements: Why Organizations Must Overcome Resistance and Change the Culture
Chris A. Ortiz is the founder and president of Kaizen Assembly, a Lean manufacturing training and implementation firm in Bellingham, Washington. Chris has been featured onInside Business(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMm3fVsbPtM) with Fred Thompson on CNN Headline News. He is the author of five books on Lean manufacturing, (see list below). Chris has been featured in dozens of publications includingAssembly Magazine, Industrial Engineer, Industrial Management, Metal Finishes, Plant Engineer, Auto Body News, andCollision Repair Magazineto name a few.Chris Ortiz is a frequent presenter and keynote speaker at conferences such as the IIE Annual Conference and the NACE Automotive Exposition. He has also been interviewed on KGMI radio, and has written numerous articles on Lean manufacturing and business improvement for various regional and national publications. Chris also was recently on the national radio show the American Innovator. He is invited to speak at a few international business and manufacturing conference in Europe every year.Kaizen Assembly’s clients include industry leaders in aerospace, composites, processing industries, automotive, rope manufacturing, restoration equipment, food processing, and fish processing.Mr. Ortiz has been trained by the John Costanza Institute of Technology in "Demand Flow Technology" and by the Georgia Institute of Technology for ISO 9001: 2000 Internal Quality Auditing. He is also a member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. He is the creator of the LEAN Marketplace (www.leanmarketplace.com). Chris Ortiz is considered to be an expert in the field in lean manufacturing implementation.He is the author of:Kaizen Assembly: Designing, Constructing, and Managing a Lean Assembly Line(Taylor and Francis, 2006). Now in its second print.Lesson from a Lean Consultant: Avoiding Lean Implementation Failure on the Shop Floor(Prentice Hall, 2008)Kaizen and Kaizen Event Implementation(Prentice Hall, 2009). Translated into PortugueseLean Auto Body(Kaizen Assembly, 2009)Visual Controls: Applying Visual Management to the Factory(Taylor and Francis/Productivity Press, December 2010).