Boston, MA - The Shingo Prize announced this week that the GBMP Lean Training DVD "Toast Value Stream Mapping" will be honored with The Shingo Prize Research and Professional Publication Award at its annual conference in March. The Shingo Prize is recognized as the premier award for recognizing and promoting research, writing and tools regarding knowledge and understanding of lean and operational excellence. The script was written by GBMP President Bruce Hamilton and GBMP COO Patricia Wardwell.
 
"Toast Value Stream Mapping" is the sequel to GBMP's first Lean Training DVD, "Toast Kaizen", a 2003 Shingo Research Prize recipient. The new DVD takes viewers on an odyssey to mimic the typical conditions employees encounter when they attempt to value stream. Whether a process is factory, administrative or service-related, "Toast VSM" offers a realistic "day-in-the-life" experience for lean implementers who wish to benefit from Value Stream Mapping in their business.

Watching the process of making toast in "Toast Kaizen", it seemed so easy to separate the waste from the work to make the job easier, faster and more cost-effective.
 
"What if the toast-making process were laid out like our businesses?" asks GBMP President Bruce Hamilton.  "Then the toaster would be in the attic and the refrigerator in the basement!  That was the premise for Toast VSM, to follow a surreal value stream to demonstrate the key points of value stream mapping.  Most of our GBMP staff 'starred' in this DVD, and we're all excited to be recognized by the Shingo Prize in the Research and Professional Publication category."
 
With the rigorous review given to the numerous new lean publications and training DVDs, lean practitioners can use The Shingo Research Prize as a way to filter through the many tools available and identify the most relevant and noteworthy titles.
 
The 23rd Annual International Shingo Prize Conference., "A World Standard for a Global Economy" will be held March 28-April 1, 2011 at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.