Who should attend?

This workshop has been designed for people with various degrees of Lean understanding and experience.  If you are just starting to learn about Lean, this workshop will teach you how to enhance your future implementation efforts.  If you have previously attended some workshops or simulations, read some literature, or participated in Lean improvement teams, this workshop can fundamentally change the way you approach becoming Lean.

The workshop is expressly designed for participants at two levels:

Senior managers must understand the process and believe in it before attempting to apply it within the organization.
 
Managers, Engineers, Team Leaders and Lean Champions must fully understand how to use the process for more efficient planning and reporting and apply the process in a way that gets work off their desks more speedily!    

Speaker
Mr. Charles Dagher, CEO DCG (Canadian)

Charles Dagher is the founder and CEO of DCG (Dagher Consultancy Group), a leading Canadian consultancy firm in the area of Lean Manufacturing (TPS - Toyota Production System) management and industrial engineering in the textile and apparel industries. Specific areas of expertise include quick response/just-in-time systems, productivity improvement and materials handling, as well as creating and implementing programs for production and performance management, social and buyer’s compliance, and custom-made training for garment producers located throughout the export apparel world. 

As a private consultant, Mr. Dagher is presently serving as expert advisor and program developer for national productivity improvement programs in Pakistan and Bangladesh and recently terminated a similar position in Sri Lanka.  The Sri Lankan project was jointly funded by government and the local apparel industry association (JAAF) with the participation of some 30 privately owned local factories employing 500-1500 workers.  One of the project objectives was to develop local professionals to consultant level to continue improvement programs and to market lean manufacturing. 

In Bangladesh, Mr. Dagher is advising the local cut-and-sew knit industry in a cluster development project funded by the German Technology Corporation (GTZ) and the Bangladesh Knitwear and Manufacturer Association (BKMEA).  He was primary trainer for 14 newly graduated engineers in lean manufacturing to work as industry-wide consultants.  In Pakistan, Mr. Dagher works with the Technical Upgradation and Skills Development Company (TUSDEC) in another government-funded project to upgrade skills in the garment industry.  Other past assignments have included developing technical assistance for 50 Sri Lankan apparel factories in a project organized by the national Export Development Board and funded by the Commonwealth to identify areas needing improvement and providing key staff within the industry. 

To serve its growing roster of clients in the private sector, DCG was established in 2001 and is based in Canada (head office), Sri Lanka (South Asia and Middle East) and Singapore (Southeast Asia, Far East and S. Africa).  DCG has worked with over 30 factories employing 1000 to 9000 workers producing both wovens and knits in Canada, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Mauritius, Malaysia and throughout South Asia to transform operations according to lean manufacturing principles.  Using TPS concepts such as lean manufacturing, lean office, accelerated product development and TSS (Toyota Sewing System), significant savings through space maximization, optimal labor and machinery utilization, and supply chain waste elimination in work practices, materials and information flow have been achieved.  Other areas of focus include quality at the source, manufacturing management, modular manufacturing, teamwork building and empowerment, and management information systems on both national and international scales. 

DCG’s widest ranging improvement programs involve comprehensive turnkey solution projects based on lean manufacturing precepts currently underway at some of the largest manufacturers in several garment producing nations with annual revenues up to and exceeding $300 mn.  Here DCG develops, sets up and manages all aspects of operations from infrastructure/construction to garment shipment.  Project areas include lean process layout and flow, recruitment, management and staff retraining, work and control methods, setting up core values and costing drivers, engineering functions, quality system and procedures, work methods, compliance, etc.  The factories produce casual wovens (trousers, shirts, outerwear), cut-and-sew knit items (T-shirts, fleecewear, knit jackets), underwear/swimwear and home furnishings. 

A recent initiative aimed at factory clients in the private sector has been the development of Corporate Solution Teams using recent local engineering and business management graduates to provide corporate solutions using lean manufacturing improvement and management precepts.  The program lasts from 6-8 months and includes modules such as training, mapping, idea development and implementation, and coaching.     

In addition, Mr. Dagher has handled assignments related to industrial linkage and economic development planning, as well as made detailed feasibility and national capacity assessment studies for the apparel industry in a wide variety of apparel exporting countries.  He has also carried out several business promotion programs for Asian producers which involved assessing strengths and weaknesses and identifying opportunities and business tie-ups in North America and Europe.  On the buyer side, Mr. Dagher has conducted garment sourcing surveys among major North American and European retailers giving him insights into buyer requirements when selecting suitable suppliers.

Mr. Dagher has also been extremely active in workshops, seminars and regional/international conferences dealing with a wide variety of topics related to lean manufacturing, management and engineering in the apparel industry, such as increasing value-added, just-in-time production, strategic and operational planning, unit costing methods, quality control, productivity work methods, as well as social corporate responsibility, an area of ever growing importance.  Soft skills such as teamwork, developing worker’s skills, facilitation skills, leadership, management conflict, troubleshooting and problem solving have also been addressed. 

Mr. Dagher has also lectured on and written numerous training manuals and magazine articles on lean manufacturing, manufacturing management and industrial engineering.  In 2004, he was co-author of an in-depth research book entitled Sourcing Practices in the Apparel Industry: Implications for Garment Exporters in Commonwealth Developing Countries, published by the Commonwealth Secretariat.  Currently in preparation is a series of books discussing lean manufacturing experiences gleaned in the field.    
 

Date /  Time
May 28, 29 & 30, 2008
9.00am – 5.00pm

Registration Fees
SGD $ 650 (TAFF Member)
SGD $ 700 (Non- TAFF Member)
·   Fees include lunch, 2 coffee breaks and seminar notes
·   All currencies are quoted in Singapore Dollars

Venue
Furama Riverfront Hotel
Venus I (Level 3)
405 Havelock Road, Singapore 169633

Registration
Complete the attached Registration form. Forms may be submitted by e-mail or fax.
Participants need to pay all registration fees in full before the start date of the workshop. 
Final date for submitting registration form: 16 May 2008.

For more details, please contact