Mike Micklewright

Lean trainer and facilitator

Mike Micklewright has been teaching and facilitating quality and lean principles worldwide for more than 25 years. He specializes in creating lean and continuous improvement cultures, and has implemented continuous improvement systems and facilitated kaizen/Six Sigma events in hundreds of organizations in the aerospace, automotive, entertainment, manufacturing, food, healthcare, and warehousing industries. Micklewright is the U.S. director and senior consultant for Kaizen Institute. He has an engineering degree from the University of Illinois, and he is ASQ-certified as a Six Sigma Black Belt, quality auditor, quality engineer, manager of quality/operational excellence, and supply chain analyst.

Micklewright hosts a video training series by Kaizen Institute on integrating lean and quality management systems in order to reduce waste.

Tue, 05/28/2019 - 12:02
Society of the Anti-Deming Are you a member of SAD?
Mon, 09/24/2007 - 22:00
Question: What kind of dishes are made out of lead? Answer: China Many of us in U.S. industry have forgotten the principles of our dearly departed quality guru, W. Edwards Deming, since his passing in 1993. Since then our quality levels as a country…
Quality Hypocrisy The Man in the Mirror
Mon, 07/30/2007 - 22:00
“I’m starting with the man in the mirror,
I’m asking him to change his ways.”
by Michael Jackson Question: What did the registrar auditor do after informing his client that he wasn’t allowed to give advice? Answer: He gave them advice.…
The Mother of (5S) Invention Lean living
Mon, 05/28/2007 - 22:00
Question:Why was the son of an accountant for a U.S. manufacturing company forbidden to name his dog Fifo? Answer: His Dad told him that all four-letter words starting with F are bad. Last Tuesday, I performed another long, exhausting, internal…
Roots Grow Good Things, Too Continual improvement waste
Mon, 03/26/2007 - 22:00
Question:What do you call a root cause analyst? Answer: A whys guy! I had been summoned from my Chicago suburban home and office to visit a company in Wisconsin—Land of Cheese—to discuss the possibility of providing some lean training requested by…
Auditors, Turtle Diagrams and Waste Less is more
Mon, 01/08/2007 - 22:00
In the past several months, registrar auditors strongly recommended to three former or current clients that they develop and install turtle diagrams for each of their processes. Two auditors from one registrar actually taught a former client how to…
The Two-Page Quality Manual How to get lean all over
Mon, 03/27/2006 - 22:00
Our company’s quality manual must mirror the ISO standard, must be between 25 and 40 pages in length and must be customized to our business. After the initial approval of the quality manual, no one within the company ever reads it again. The manual…
Treating Your Registrar as a Supplier What to pay for and how to get it
Mon, 02/27/2006 - 22:00
Why don’t registrar auditors audit clause 7.4 Purchasing of ISO 9001 when it comes to purchasing their services? After all, they’re providing a service that affects the quality of your operations, processes, and eventually, products.ISO 9001 states…
Six Sigma Is No Replacement for a Quality Management System Integrating the tools in your QMS is essential for success.
Mon, 08/02/2004 - 22:00
I’m a huge proponent of both Six Sigma and lean manufacturing. I’ve been teaching the tools used in Six Sigma for more than 15 years, and I make a portion of my living from consulting and training in these areas. However, Six Sigma and lean…