Lean Productivity Systems RonKurtz

Executive summary

Ron Kurtz is a Skilled manufacturing engineer known for creative and innovative tooling and process solutions for difficult to fabricate aerospace and automotive parts and assemblies. Ron has continued to provide a passion for social engagement with a natural curiosity for helping to develop people, products and process. He has many business experiences including leadership, management, project management, design of tooling, parts and processes, educational reform, and extensive people skills.

Ron’s passion for people has extended to his community, with his work at the Connecticut Community Technical College in Hartford, Connecticut. As student trustee, Ron created a student proposal, which was subsequently acted upon by the College's Board of Trustees. The proposal was accepted by the board and created a common course numbering system and a transfer and articulation agreement between the 12 community colleges and the 5 state universities. Connecticut college students now have a transparent course articulation and transfer system enabled by a common numbering and course curricula. This agreement was a model for other jurisdictions throughout North America.

Ron’s expertise includes designation as P-ENG as a professional engineer. He is also designated as PMP- project management professional. He also has a Bachelors degree in Mechanical engineering from the University of Hartford. Ron’s passion for continual learning is evident.

Ron is currently the co-chair of the SME for Creativity and Innovation, Toronto Chapter 26. Ron is working on a unique program called Innovation to Cash, which seeks to help entrepreneurs develop the capability and connections to see their ideas and innovations brought to market in a timely and effective manner. Ron is using Lean tools and his engineering background to help innovation to flourish in the GTA and beyond. Ron is an active member of the SME, attending many conferences and seminars.

Ron is married and has two children and lives in Whitby Ontario.

Below is a compendium of Ron’s experience in business and the many accomplishments he has engendered through his tenacity and knowledge of improvement thinking. Ron was doing TPS/ Lean long before he knew the systems. He has a natural ability to solve problems and he has developed and learned many problem solving systems for design tooling and process innovation.

Ron is a natural addition to the associates at Lean Productivity Systems Inc

Education, Designations

SME – Chapter 26 Toronto- Co-Chair STG Creativity and Innovation

P-ENG -Professional Engineer

PMP-Project Management Professional

BA-Bachelors Degree Mechanical Engineering, University of Hartford, West Hartford, Connecticut

Accomplishments

Trustee

Connecticut Community-Technical Colleges, Hartford, Connecticut

As student trustee, created student proposal, acted upon by the Colleges Board of Trustees, which created a common course numbering system and transfer and articulation agreement between the 12 community colleges and the 5 state universities. Connecticut college students now have a transparent course articulation and transfer system enabled by a common numbering and course curricula.

President and Engineering Manager

Kurtz Brothers, Inc.

Designed and built prototype and production tooling and parts for the turbine engine and large axial flow compressor industries. New innovations included shimmy trim die process, shroud airfoil piercing techniques, molten carbonate fuel cell air/fuel separator plate fabrications, 1^st machined combustion liners, 1^st wire EDM of root form slots in a turbine disk, 1^st hot formed low pressure turbine struts.

Contract Consultant; Manufacturing Engineering

The Ariel Company

Provided customers with tooling and processes for aircraft engine production parts. Provided customers with self-assessment and continuous improvement business plans to reduce costs and improve throughput using the “Template for Success” method.

Senior Project Engineer

GM of Canada, LTD, Oshawa, Ontario. Created advanced body-in-white prototype planning, development and construction methods, manufacturing feasibility studies, corporate frame configuration strategy, and advances in lightweight cradle and frame development. Share a Three Dimensional Frame patent with the development team. Part of the prototype development team on FX3 hydrogen fuel cell powered Sequel, the GM STAR high fuel economy Suburban learning vehicle, and project manager for a hybrid aluminum/steel constructed prototype Cadillac CTS engine cradle.

Current Work Effort

Associate

Lean Productivity Systems Inc, Brantford, Ontario

Lean enterprise self-assessments, creativity and innovation methods, continuous improvement planning and execution, and advanced process and product development. Ron and LPSinc are currently developing an innovative assessment model for organizations and companies. This assessment will help to identify bottlenecks and opportunities for TPS/Lean implementation. The assessment model is based on “Templates for Success.”

Ron looks forward to helping businesses with the assessment and with TPS/Lean consulting based on the LPSinc model which emphasizes developing people based on the Toyota model. “We create solutions by developing problem solvers” or “We build people before building cars.” This is the philosophy of Lean Productivity Systems, Toyota, and Ron’s perspective, as well.