Four companies have been shortlisted for the inaugural Mid-West Lean Network Continuous Improvement Award with the winner set to be announced on Wednesday, 7 November at the Network’s conference, which takes place in the Analog Devices Building at the University of Limerick.
The companies: Castlecablin Ltd, Limerick; Shared Services Centre DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority), Limerick; and Virgin Media, Limerick have presented their submissions to an expert judging panel and each submission is now being assessed against the Award’s qualifying criteria, prior to the announcement of the winner.
The Award was introduced by the Mid-West Lean Network to encourage and recognize the deployment of lean principles by companies throughout the Mid-West region. In making a submission, companies had to demonstrate that the project being submitted for the Award had the backing of senior management and that a team-based approach was in place to deliver the project. They also had to outline the expected benefits the project would deliver to their companies, financial or otherwise.
Commenting on the shortlist, Mid-West Lean Network chair and general manager of Zimmer Biomet Ireland, Claude Costelloe said: “The Network has seen a substantial growth in membership since its establishment in late 2016. While some of the 100 member companies are proficient in lean, many joined to become familiar with the concept and learn from the monthly workshops we host. Our objective is to share best practice on Continuous Improvement and Lean through member companies to improve their effectiveness. This can be a major enabler of improving competitiveness, driving growth and employment in those organisations and in the region.
“The Continuous Improvement Award was introduced this year to give those who are relatively new to lean the opportunity to gain recognition for their work. It was obvious from the standard of the presentations and content that there is a lot of excellent work going on in the region on Continuous Improvement and Lean. The submissions from the 4 shortlisted companies were assessed under the following criteria: Innovation, Continuous Improvement tools deployed, Collaboration and the Benefits achieved, including sustainability. The judges now have the challenging task of selecting a winner.’’
“We commend all those who entered and are now looking forward to announcing the winner at the Mid-West Lean Network Conference which takes place in the Analog Devices Building in the University of Limerick on Wednesday, 7 November. Bookings are still open and can be made via Shannon Chamber’s website at www.shannonchamber.ie/events/mid-west-lean-network-conference-creating-a-mindset-for-lean/. Full programme details and list of speakers is also in brochure format on the website.”
