PRINCIPAL CONSULTANTS
Tom DeForge
Tom has an extensive background in helping organizations develop and implement Lean Manufacturing principles within a variety of production settings. Tom has served in management positions with United Technologies, Pratt & Whitney, where he was a Manager, responsible for implementing Lean Manufacturing in both the Supplier base and Internal Business Units.
Tom has been featured in several articles and seminars on the subject of Lean Manufacturing implementation. Tom has also studied Lean Principles in the United States and Japan with the originators of the Toyota Production System and has facilitated numerous improvement workshops in the United States, South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Central America.
Tom applies the disciplined approach and analysis tools taught by the Shingijutsu consulting group. These tools are designed to identify specific opportunities for organizations to improve operations, set strategic vision, and achieve corporate goals.
Tom has extensive experience in designing training materials, developing and running "Train the Trainer" seminars and assisting organizations in setting up functional "Offices of Continuous Improvement". He also has extensive experience implementing Kaizen on the shop floor throughout various service and manufacturing industries.
You may contact Tom directly by email at
<tomdeforge@lvsillc.com>
Stephen Crane
Stephen has recently served as the manager of Business Processes in the Office of Continuous Improvement for Pratt & Whitney a division of United Technologies Corporation. There he worked with a team of lean principle experts to develop, design and implement a methodology to identify, analyze and streamline the key processes within the value chain.
Other management experiences include the Industrial Relations organization where he was responsible for establishing a portfolio of services, which would allow for the formulation of consistent and standardized practices. He was also a manager within the Achieving Competitive Excellence for Business Processes organization responsible for the training and mentoring of the continuous improvement practitioners.
Stephen has an extensive background in helping organizations develop and implement a strategic "vision" for the application of the Process Value Management methodology. This set of techniques uses empowered teams to identify, analyze and implement changes that will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the vital processes in their value chain. He has facilitated this tool in a wide variety of organizations across the United States and Asia.
You may contact Stephen directly by email at
<stevecrane@lvsillc.com>
Mark Long
Mark has served in management positions with several Fortune 500 companies where he was responsible for implementing Lean Manufacturing, Supplier Development, and Value Engineering. Mark also held Lean Manufacturing Management positions with BF Goodrich and EG&G.
Featured in several articles and seminars on the subject of Lean Manufacturing implementation, Mark has also studied Lean Principles in the United States and Japan with the originators of the Toyota Production System. Mark has facilitated numerous improvement workshops in the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Mark has an extensive background in helping organizations develop and implement a strategic "vision" for Lean Manufacturing within a wide variety of production settings.
Mark has helped clients with a smooth transition based on lessons learned from actual implementation experience and tailoring the Lean Manufacturing techniques to suit each situation. Mark also has extensive experience with introducing Lean Manufacturing into the supply base as a means of integrating supplied products into a production operation as well as providing Suppliers with a means of achieving cost and lead time reduction targets.
You may contact Mark directly by email at
<marklong@lvsillc.com>
Senior Consultant and Advisor
Akira Takenaka
Mr. Takenaka started his career at Toyoda Gosei. During his tenure, he was appointed to their KAIZEN promotion office which was led by the founder of the Toyota Productions System, Taiichi Ohno. After many years of service in this role, he was promoted to Executive Vice President of Toyota Motor Corporation. In this role, he worked even more closely for Mr. Ohno, who also became an executive for Toyota.
In 1987 he became a partner with Iwata Yoshiki and Chihiro Nakao and together they started the Shingijutsu Co., a Lean manufacturing consultant group. Crafting their skills under the tutelage of Taiichi Ohno throughout their careers, The Shingijutsu Co. and their consultants are widely known as the best implementers of a lean enterprise business strategy.
As a founding member of Shingijutsu, Mr. Takenaka has extensively consulted with several large corporations around the world.
Some of the most notable clients Mr. Takenaka has worked with are the Danaher Corporation, and their very first client, Wiremold, two companies known as the first successful companies in the US to integrate a successful Lean Business Strategy.
