In this episode, I share an interview with Patrick Adams, founder of Lean Solutions based in Michigan. We met virtually during the pandemic in the Lean Communicators Network, and later in-person at the Lean Six Sigma World Conference. He hosts an annual conference called Lean Solutions Summit that will take place in a few weeks Continue Reading
In this episode, I share an interview with Sammy Obara, Founder and Senior Partner at Honsha, a consulting firm made up of former Toyota employees. He recently presented a topic called “Kaizen without Borders” at the 2025 UCSD ProcessPalooza, and I invited him on the podcast. We discuss applying these powerful concepts to NGOs and Continue Reading
In this episode, I share an uplifting interview with Kristle Bulleman, Process Manager at Make-A-Wish. She shares insights into her process improvement role at this well-respected nonprofit, outlining the impactful work done by Make-A-Wish to grant wishes for children with critical illnesses. We dive into her experiences in using Lean and Six Sigma tools to Continue Reading
In this episode, I share an inspiring interview with Dr. Lucas Chesla, Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt with Value Added 616, and founder of the nonprofit, Full Armor Ranch. In a world where continuous improvement leads to transformative change, he stands out as a master in blending Lean Six Sigma methodologies with meaningful purpose. Continue Reading
In this episode, I share an interview with Eric Moore, Global Director of Food Safety & Industry Outreach at Testo Solutions, where we discuss Food Safety and Quality, Sustainability, and Innovative Data Monitoring. Eric delves into his extensive 25-year career in food safety, beginning with his education in hospitality at Penn State University and his Continue Reading
In this episode, I share an interview I had with Andrew Rowe, former CEO and Executive Chairman of AllMed Healthcare Management in Portland, Oregon. After 20 years of leading AllMed through a Lean transformation, he is now focusing his time on bringing Lean and quality principes into the Portland metro area as a community service Continue Reading
In this episode, I share an interview I had with Alen Ganic, an experienced Lean and Six Sigma coach who spent 14 years with the City of Grand Rapids implementing Lean and has also setup numerous volunteer groups and organizations to help those in need. He shares examples of project improvements he worked on in Continue Reading
In this episode, I share a webinar I gave to the ASQ Lean Enterprise Division I share examples of how Lean tools like process mapping, 5S, and Kanban boards helped improve efficiency and effectiveness for nonprofit organizations focused on societal or environmental challenges. I also share my favorite real-world examples from the City of Denver, Continue Reading
In this episode, I share a presentation that the Lean Sustainability Global Network (an unofficial team that I’m involved with) gave at the Lean Global Connection virtual conference in Nov 2024. We share how Lean principles can be applied to tackle pressing environmental challenges and improve processes. For example, Lean and Green expands the traditional Continue Reading
In this episode, we interview Jennifer Peterson, the manager of Continuous Improvement at Muscatine Power and Water (MPW) in Muscatine, Iowa. She discusses how she got into continuous improvement (CI) and the impact it has had on MPW employees and customers. She highlights the importance of: Jennifer also shares several examples of successful CI projects Continue Reading
In this episode, we interview C.J. Nord, a passionate supply chain manager and consultant, who shares her journey towards driving societal change through supply chain. As the founder of Supply Chains for Good, C.J. discusses her extensive career in supply chain management, her recovery from cancer, and how that inspired her skills to launch impactful Continue Reading
In this episode, I interviewed Sarah Cook, a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt consultant from Pepper Foster Consulting in Portland, Oregon. She shares her journey from the VA medical center to becoming a performance engineer in healthcare. She discusses the application of Lean and Six Sigma methodologies to healthcare, the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare Continue Reading
In March of 2024, the Iowa Sustainable Business Forum (ISBF) and Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS) were still separate organizations, and they agreed to host a joint webinar to promote Energy Efficiency and Lean. I was fortunate to connect up with Paul Lemar, Jr. from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), who has Continue Reading
Continuing our discussion on Lean Six Sigma and ESG, I brought back last episode’s guest, Erin Bauer (Product Development Manager at ASQE) and added a new guest, Beth Cudney. She is a Professor of Data Analytics and the Program Coordinator for Data Analytics at Maryville University. She received her B.S. in Industrial Engineering from North Continue Reading
I had a great interview with Erin Bauer, who is the Product Development Manager at ASQE, which is a trade association created by ASQ to provide benchmarking assistance to corporations within ASQ. One of their key products is the Insights on Excellence® (IoE) Benchmarking Tool. The benchmarking survey results are available to members and nonmembers Continue Reading
I had a great interview with Aleshia Jordan a few weeks ago, to discuss how she transitioned from finance to Lean and Six Sigma consulting, and how she is now taking her Master Black Belt skills and over 20 years of experience into her firm Virtualocity, LLC to help organizations, nonprofits and individuals in their Continue Reading
Making a real difference in your organization can be a struggle, but there is a way to leverage powerful tools and strategies to drive positive change, while also boosting your own career development. In this episode, I introduce you to Sarah Tilkens, a former biologist turned operational excellence leader, who cracked the code on impactful Continue Reading
Sally worked many years in the hospitality industry applying Lean Six Sigma, and she shares her experiences to improve the guest experience. She also shares an example of a project that determined the optimal reward points to get customers to agree to reduced or no housekeeping, which was good for the environment, resulting in less Continue Reading
In this podcast, I share the presentation given by my peers who helped us create the Lean Portland group back in 2015. They gave this presentation at the Lean Global Connection on November 30, 2023. It is a free annual online event put on by the Lean Global Network (LGN). The event took place over Continue Reading
In this podcast, I share the presentation I gave virtually at the Lean Global Connection on December 1, 2023. It is a free annual online event put on by the Lean Global Network (LGN). The event took place over a 24-hour period. All the presentations were recorded, and I encourage you to check out all Continue Reading
Nester Ortega
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