Lean Manufacturing Consultants

Mentoring Business Leaders

Creating Culture by Design

Every business is challenged with increasing competition and costs. Managers know that the key to long-term success is to align resources to satisfy customers while controlling costs. Many managers, and even consultants, jump at the chance to solve each problem, applying the latest organizational tool or leadership fad to control skyrocketing costs, boost employee performance, satisfy existing customers, and achieve operational excellence.

Unfortunately, these quick-fix ideas and methods create a number of short-term gains, but ultimately fall flat months after the leaders or consultants have moved on to the next continuous improvement program.

That’s why our consultants specialize in coaching business leaders, and their teams, in building a sustainable problem-solving culture. We mentor managers in creating a stable environment where everyone can see and solve problems. We focus on leadership development to improve business performance, control costs, increase innovation rates, and satisfy existing customers. Through onsite mentoring and coaching events, our consultants teach business leaders and their teams to see how day-to-day behaviors, rather than tools, affect long-term sustainable success.

Utilizing principles from the Toyota Production System (TPS), our consultants work closely with business leaders and team members to recognize and apply the appropriate continuous improvement methodologies and Lean tools for any business problem—creating a culture that buys into change and frees people to take ownership for their own problem solving.

Experts at Navigating Change

Meet Our Consultants

Terry Davis is a business and operations leader with experience managing and transforming operations, product lines, and business results within Aerospace, Automotive, and Oil & Gas. His leadership experience includes business P&L, managing organic growth, rationalizing and consolidating sites and product lines, launching new products, integration of business acquisition, and implementing operational excellence while aligning cultures. Terry offers a foundation for fresh perspective and a skill for leading sustainable long-term change. Terry has successfully lead organizations in Autoliv, US Synthetic, Oil Lift Technology, and Dover Corporation. Three of his teams were recognized with the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence.

Jeremy McClellan has played a key role in change management at US Synthetic for 16 years. He has the unique perspective and experience of working in many different capacities from Team Member to Production Manager while US Synthetic embarked on the journey to receive the Shingo Prize. Jeremy has inspired the creation of new cultures through engaging the hearts and minds of individuals at multiple levels of the business. As an effective change agent, he is experienced in the concepts of value creation, understanding gaps, strategy deployment, leadership coaching, and achieving new levels of desired business results.

We Invite you to Beginning your Journey of

Cultural Transformation

We begin the journey of cultural transformation by reviewing or creating clarity of purpose for the organization. This is done by walking, seeing, and understanding the current state of the organization through a site visit and messaging event. The organization’s purpose is realized through the economic engine of the business. Clarity of the mission or scope of the business will further provide focus and guidance to the Value Improvement Process (VIP).

At the heart of each business is the customer. Widespread knowledge of who the customer is and why they utilize the organization’s products or services is paramount. All standard work, measurements, improvements, and problem solving in the business must be linked to the delivery of customer value. Understanding of value extends beyond customers to all stakeholders. The business must also deliver value to employees and shareholders. Establishing clarity of value to customers, employees, and shareholders will guide daily decisions in the business and will be the focus of the improvement work.

Download our

Technical papers

Understanding Sources of Residual Stress in PDC by X-Ray Diffraction

Industrial Diamond Association – Finer Points Magazine An attempt had been made to identify the sources of residual stress in polycrystalline diamond cutters (PDC) by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Residual stress was measured in a finished 16mm PDC insert

Seven Steps to Reducing Failure and Cycle Time

The manufacturing team was looking for a way to reduce the time required to make the cutters. The reason for the cutter failures needed to be determined of frequency and manufacturing time were to be reduced.

The Role of Diamond Surface and Intrinsic Contaminates on Sintering of Polycrystalline Diamond Compacts (PDC)

High pressure/high-temperature sintering of polycrystalline diamond compacts (PDC) is sensitive to impurities in the diamond feedstock, both surface and intrinsic.

Effects of Design and Processing Parameters on Performance of PDC Drag Cutters for Hard-Rock Drilling

Sandia National Laboratories and U S Synthetic Corporation have jointly conducted a multifaceted, baseline experimental study to support the development of improved drag cutters for advanced drill bits.