Lean Summit Africa
May 2009
News
Reflecting the growing popularity of lean thinking – the management and production system invented by Toyota and now embraced by companies like Dell Computers and Boeing – Cape Town will this year host the third annual Lean Summit Africa.
This conference, which has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 2007, aims to increase the African business community’s knowledge of Lean tools, and promote the adoption of Lean as a means of improving product and service delivery while reducing costs, explains conference chair Professor Norman Faull of the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business. “Lean thinking is gaining devotees in service organisations, manufacturing businesses, logistics companies and supply chains. Its goal is described as ‘to get the right things to the right place at the right time, the first time, while minimising waste and being open to change,” he adds. 
The organisers have announced that this year’s Lean Summit speaker line-up includes Lean Management founder and guru Jim Womack. Faull elaborates: “We are delighted to have secured the renowned Jim Womack as one of our presenters. He is widely recognised as an initiator of the Lean movement, having collaborated on the research that led to Lean thinking.”
Based in the United States, Womack is the founder and chairman of the Lean Enterprise Institute in Boston. This non-profit training, publishing, and research organisation was established in 1997 to advance the ideas of Lean Production and Lean Thinking.
The Lean Summit Africa takes place at Cape Town International Convention Centre on 22 and 23 September 22 – preceded on 21 September by a series of half and full-day workshops. 
For more information contact Wendy Zipp, Express Communications, +27 (0)11 524 0988,  [email protected], or Jenny, Upavon Conferences, +27(0)11 805 6616,  [email protected]
	
 
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