Upstate Manufacturers to Support Clemson University's Supply Chain Laboratory
COLUMBIA, SC - September 21, 2004 - Thirty-two upstate manufacturers, all members of the Upstate Lean Alliance, will present a scholarship and library donation to Clemson University's Supply Chain Engineering and Optimization Laboratory (SCEOL) Friday, September 24, at 11:30 a.m. The presentation will take place at the Bosch manufacturing plant in Anderson. The Upstate Lean Alliance Supply Chain Scholarship is an annual award that will be presented each September to an industrial engineering graduate student pursuing work in the manufacturing supply chain field. This year's $2,500 scholarship is the first one given by the Upstate Lean Alliance.
On the same day, the Alliance will present Clemson University with 10 copies of "Learning to See" by lean manufacturing experts Mike Rother and John Shook. This Shingo Prize-winning workbook explains the value stream mapping process, a key lean manufacturing concept to identifying waste in the value stream of a facility. The donation's value is about $500.
"This kind of support for Clemson University helps in our mission of promoting Lean Manufacturing in the Upstate by funding a key source of new talent," says Chris Klasing, facilitator of the Alliance.
About Upstate Lean Alliance
The Upstate Lean Alliance is a membership-based group of 32 manufacturing companies primarily located in the Upstate of South Carolina. The group shares best practices in lean manufacturing and is coordinated by the South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP).
The Alliance pools its resources and opens its plants to each other so that member companies can see how different plants implement and use Lean tools, such as kaizen events, 5S, problem identification and response, work leveling, standardized work, and value stream mapping.
"Being able to compete on a global scale is a matter of survival for many Upstate businesses," says Mike Mansuetti, vice president of Bosch. "We must find ways to improve our manufacturing processes faster by utilizing the strength and know-how of our associates."
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