NEWS RELEASE

Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2007

Contact: Contact: Mike Emery
713.743.8186 (office)
713.415.6551 (pager)
pemery@uh.edu

EFFICIENCY ENHANCING PROCESSES FOCUS
OF UH’S ‘JOURNEY TO EXCELLENCE’ WORKSHOP

The road to more effective work processes and problem-solving abilities begins at the University of Houston.

“Journey to Excellence” is a two-day professional development workshop hosted by the Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center Gulf Coast at UH. Led by industry veterans, classes will focus on enhancing workplace production through interactive exercises and promoting professional and personal growth.

This event takes place 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., June 5 and 6 in UH’s University Center. Students can choose from five classes focusing on topics such as lean enterprise, a business system for organizing and managing product development, operations, suppliers and customer relations, and Six Sigma, a system of practices that improves work processes by gradually eliminating defects. Registration is required.

Classes offered during “Journey to Excellence” include:

Lean 101: This one-day workshop is an interactive, hands-on simulation exercise that provides a team-building environment where participants will manufacture a product and improve their processes.

Lean Office: This simulation-based course allows students to transform a problem-ridden office into a smooth-running operation.

Value Stream Mapping: This interactive course focuses on the tool that is used to map the current flow/state of a process and then improve it by eliminating or minimizing non-value-added activities.

Six Sigma Overview: Students will learn the basic concepts of the “Six Sigma Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control” methodology and how improvement can ultimately affect bottom-line performance.

Growth Strategies: Students will be introduced to methodologies and techniques that successful organizations have implemented to achieve positive growth, including SWOT analysis.

For registration information, call 832-842-7043 or visit http://www.tmacgc.org/.

WHAT: Journey to Excellence
WHEN: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., June 5 - 6
WHERE: University Center
University of Houston – Entrance 1
WHO: Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center Gulf Coast at UH

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.