LEAN WORKSHOP IN ORLANDO
I attended the Lean workshop for instructors in August in Orlando. Early on there was a communication problem - chapter was first informed that there is no charge for the workshop and later that was changed. The chapter has to offer all the modules with minimum ten sign ups to in order to qualify for free learning materials. While the topic is timely, this educational product is not likely to generate a lot of interest for the chapter members to sign up for classes because it does not lead to any certification. Also the ones with CPIM certification with exposure to JIT concepts may think that there is not much that is new in terms of content. There were many errors in the course material that have to be fixed it before chapters can use it in classes. It can be used to offer company programs but APICS as a late-comer has to compete with AME and Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI), not to mention some universities (e.g., U of Michigan) and consultants who are much ahead of the curve in Lean.
PLANT TOUR
In October we toured Flexial http://www.flexial.com/index.html local manufacturing company in Cookeville which is into design and production of welded metal bellows with a wide range of applications including military and aerospace. We learned that in order to meet the requirements of the different markets the company holds several certifications. It has to comply with the most demanding standards in design, materials, manufacturing, and quality assurance. Another impressive feature is that the information flows and all documentation have been digitized.
BOARD MEETINGS
The chapter Board met twice – in September and November
Reporter: Nat Natarajan .
CHATTANOOGA MEETING
It was busy! The meeting was well-organized, and the new District managers kept things rolling with Chapter sharings (and sometimes, failings) and reports from the APICS Board meeting in Chicago by the District's Rep to that group.
As an "old hand" I confess to missing the ways we used to do things, but acknowledge that there are more opportunities than ever, with such a far-flung District--and so many former Regions rolled up together. It will be a challenge for District leadership to really gather the sense of what chapter concerns are, with so many to represent. In the years I was on the Board (two as VP Education Research and two as Region 12 VP) the Regional VP's could have a strong influence on the deliberations of the Board. This gathering and seeking consensus by the VP's had strong local and regional concerns, but with the SouthEast District we now will find it much harder to make these concerns visible and worthy of anything approaching serious discussion.
In no particular order, I recall the Regional budgets that were constructed to fund travel for staff and for one Chapter representative (for those which needed it) resulting in a fairly broad participation for each region meeting. Now Chapters must scratch up travel funds for much greater distances to travel, as well as cover meeting expenses, education promotion and execution, new training material costs (more, each year). This may not be too tough for the larger, urban chapters (e.g.,Ashville, New Orleans, Jacksonville, Nashville, Memphis . . .) but it may be the death knell for those many smaller chapters that were part of "old" Region 12.
Staff were always available to help individual Chapters with the perpetual struggles to keep membership up and worthwhile professional activities moving onward. Now we seem to need to attend a conference call to get pointed toward ways to adjust what we are doing to meet the Chapter minimum standards--travel across such a far-flung district being a less-often considered alternative. Yet "face time" remains a vital part of counseling and of leadership.
There are many good things ahead if we can somehow retrieve the spirit that was part and parcel of Region 12, and deal with the changes as opportunities.
CHICAGO MEGA-MEETING
As we have done in recent years, the various CPIM examination committees met at headquarters for two days to consider common issues and specific Committee concerns. As an "add-on" our ECO (Execution and Control of Operations) committee had participation from others in attendance (including "raw" folk from industry who added much to the mix) in doing what is called the "cut score".The heart of the exercise is to quantify the answer to the question "Will the minimally-qualified candidate be able to answer this question correctly?" and to do so for the equivalent of the NEXT "live" exam. As it de veloped, the group converged on the same numerical score as had been developed by an entirely different (but equally-mixed) group on a previous cut-score exercise!
ITEM-WRITING WORKSHOP
As a part of the general meeting was a presentation on item-writing done by two committee Chairs (rather than by ACT--the APICS contractor for exam assembly and administration) using strong examples of both good and bad questions (and answers). This same material was given at the San Jose Item Writing Workshop (IWW) and was very helpful to the many CPIM-certified IWW participants. I had the opportunity to work with four professionals who churned out their share of nearly 25 good candidates for inclusion on future ECO exams. Each committee had representatives, and the new item-writers and their more experienced coaches did a fine job of enriching the potential pool of well thought-through and well-written fresh items; Great experience!
Reporter: John Burnham
