Session ID:
VS4-07
Audience Rating: ln Beginner/Intermediate
Company: Canadian Blue Bird
Speaker: Tony Kerwin, General Manager
Title: Leadership, Culture and Employee Engagement– A Roadmap for Sustaining the Gains
Leadership provides the driving force behind establishing the culture which is essential to engage all employees in a quest to banish waste and maximize gain.
Presentation
Abstract : 		The power of people can never be underestimated. Many organizations have stuttered in their attempts to take their game to the next level even though they have read the books and witnessed pockets of excellence in their business. Find out how CBB engaged its people and transformed its business with a 63% reduction in lead time, 73% reduction in Work-In-Process, 11% reduction in hours per unit, 60% increase in sales and much more. Find out how 5S+1 helped us change our safety performance to go our previous record of 28 days with no lost time accidents to over 500 days and counting. During this session you will hear first hand about a unique educational process for managers and supervisors to align language and approach. As well you will hear about a workforce with an average seniority approaching 20 years becoming actively involved and totally embracing Kaizen (currently documenting over 37 implemented per month), 5S, Visual Controls, Standardized Work and much more. A successful lean implementation requires unwavering commitment from senior management and Tony will discuss how this was achieved and how it has transformed this 75 year old business.
About the
Company:

Blue Bird Corporation is one of the world's leading bus manufacturers, delivering thousands of school buses, commercial buses and recreational vehicles to the market each year. Founded in 1927, Blue Bird has nearly 3,000 employees and three facilities in two countries. Blue Bird has an extensive network of distributors and service parts facilities throughout North America.

Canadian Blue Bird Coach is located in Brantford, Ontario and produces school buses for the North American market. CBB began its lean journey nearly 2 years ago and has enjoyed significant success. It has a very energized and motivated team and is one of the tour sites for this year’s conference as well as a host for an Accelerated learning Experience. CBB is the only school bus manufacturer in Ontario.

Speaker
Biography:

Tony Kerwin, General Manager

As the General Manager of Canadian Blue Bird Tony lead his team to be one of three Canadian companies to ever achieve the IndustryWeek Magazine top 25 Plant in North America. CBB has also received awards from AME, CME, IAPA, and registered to ISO 14001 & ISO18000 as a result of its lean implementation. He has had the good fortune to participate on some other excellent teams that have been recognized with the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing (one of only three Canadian Companies to be awarded), four QS9000/ISO9001 registrations, three ISO14001 registrations, GM Targets For Excellence Award, Ford Q1 Award, 4 Chrysler Gold Pentastar Awards, Valeo Award for Supplier Excellence, Allied Signal Six Sigma Award for Supplier Excellence,.

Tony is a Professional Engineer and has an MBA from the Ivey School of Business. Tony has over 20 years in business having held positions of increasing responsibility in companies engaged in automotive, aerospace, appliance and transportation manufacturing in North America and Europe. His experience spans the business circle including R&D, IT, engineering, project management, maintenance, quality, operations, finance, HR, and Executive Management. Tony’s experience has allowed him to be engaged in a wide range of processes including machining, assembly, metal forming, stamping, ceramics, heat treating, rubber/plastic moulding, extrusion, and welding.