Client Testimonials

I highly recommend this tour. You will learn lean from the experts which will greatly facilitate your lean journey.
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We learned from the masters (sensei), who were filled with wisdom, passion and experience. The Lean Japan Tour content was very practical and made a lot of sense. We received excellent hospitality from Paul and Craig of Shinka Management.
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I want to congratulate the Shinka Management Team for the fantastic organisation of the Lean Japan Tour 2023.

The tour has been a business and life-changing experience for sure. On Day 1 I was already enlightened, and all the bits and pieces of a huge TQM puzzle came together to form a clear picture. The tour offers a fantastic overview of how lean management works at Toyota and their suppliers in Japan, and also helped me to better understand why lean implementation is sometimes difficult in Europe, and what needs to be considered in order to avoid making mistakes during the transformation journey. I highly recommend this tour: perfect organization (including preparation via video conference with Eri and Juan) and execution, coaching by various senseis, kanban and kaizen exercises in the Dojo, and last, but not least, the very, very nice group of people from all over the world meeting in this fascinating country… Japan!

This is the start of something big for me. I will keep you posted on the results once available. Thank you so, so much!
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It was a fasntastic tour from the beginning to the end. It was very well-organised and informative. Sessions were followed with practical training which concentrated more on the ideas that had been explained. The factories visited were chosen in a way that allowed the participants to see a live supply chain work. Big thanks to the Shinka Management team, especially the director Mr Ben Sparrow for leading this tour with inspiring calmness. Finally, it is a tour related to lean management and the tour also allowed us to experience Japanese culture. Thank you.
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Learning 5S and TPS while experiencing and living the Japanese culture through communication, direct interaction and viewing various live examples from different perspectives, created a solid reference for us to understand the main reason behind the success of these systems. This is a complete lifestyle that involves human contribution, a continuous thrive for improvement, and a strong team commitment. This is a unique experience that marked a new milestone in my career.
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A very intensive and learning Lean Japan Study tour. Alternating with company tours, training session and feeling the Japanese culture. Experiencing the TPS live generated many new inputs and ideas for me. I can recommend it to anyone interested in Lean / Kaizen, but also to experts. It shows what culture is behind it and what can be achieved when we tackle it. Everything is planned from A-Z and it is also constantly being improved. Name is program *Shinka* Management well done.
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The Lean Japan Tour program organised by Shinka Management is a fantastic experience for those involved in business and production. It inspires people to make changes for the better and to more effectively organize production regardless of the industry they represent.
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The Lean Japan Tour was the best lean management experience I have had. I wish I had done this earlier, so I could have done some things differently. One learns that some aspects of lean that one thought one knew, really have a different dimension to them. It helps to see lean management where it originated. I can highly recommend this tour!
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Thanks to the support of Shinka Management we were able to move forward in the implementation of Lean Manufacturing. More importantly, we took another step towards the cultural change we want to generate in our company. In this way, our employees are increasingly committed and focused on achieving continuous improvement.
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The content and delivery of the session was ideal, and as a “first timer” to Japan I think it was pitched perfectly. We had great interaction throughout the training, and the background information on topics such as Japan’s school system etc was very useful to give context to the wider session. There were many useful transferable points for supporting social interactions in Japan which we have since been putting into practice.
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The Lean Japan Tour allowed me to understand in a practical and conceptual way the real essence of just-in-time and operational efficiency. The dedication of the team and their attention to detail have made this an unforgettable experience.
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For me, the Lean Japan Tour was a journey through different companies guided by experts who explained the tools and demonstrated how to live in a work culture based on continuous improvement. This allowed me to discover new concepts and approaches to facilitate the successful implementation of a kaizen culture in American companies.
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If I had to describe the Lean Japan Tour, I would describe it as a great “experience”. It was an experience in every sense – from being surrounded by a new culture, landscapes, food, people; and learning a successful and proven work philosophy with results that are maintained over time. We were able to learn this new philosophy by seeing it in action on the plant floor and through hands-on exercise of what we had learned. Undoubtedly, the Lean Japan Tour leaves me not just with this experience, but also with a great responsibility as a leader – that is the responsibility of transmitting knowledge and implementing it in my company.
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I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to learn the Toyota Production System from the source. I look forward to implementing the many findings in our plant. This experience has given me a different approach to improving our plant’s lean journey. Thank you again for everything.
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I was very impressed with the professionalism and preparedness of the Shinka team. The support both before and during the tour was fantastic. It was the right mix of culture and personal development. There were lots of learnings I will take with me.
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Paul very clearly explained the way the Japanese run things with helpful video examples and demonstrations as well as a very useful presentation.
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QTEC Fire Services partnered with Shinka Management to implement the 5S system within its operations at its head office in Brisbane. We are confident that the new knowledge and information we received during the three days in-house training will further help to make the company even more efficient and understand this is only the first step on our Lean journey. We were especially happy with not only the theory but also with the practical exercises that were focusing not only on our manufacturing but also other areas of the business.
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Everything was great. Excellent job delivered in a very relaxed atmosphere where you were able to learn about Japanese business culture.
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I recently attended a virtual workshop on Japanese business etiquette conducted by Shinka Management which ran for two 3-hour sessions over consecutive days. While I have conducted business in Japan in a very limited way in the past, I was essentially starting with zero knowledge of Japan and Japanese business etiquette. My first thought when registering for the workshop was that it was most probably going to be too long and tedious over Zoom. How wrong I was! The sessions were informative, extremely interesting and very beneficial for anyone not familiar with Japan or the Japanese market. The workshop covered a wide range of aspects of Japanese society and business practices including a basic rundown on Japan’s demographics and education system, insights into the Japanese way of life, cultural “dos and don’ts”, and very practical advice on a wide range of social and business interactions including how to greet Japanese people, business hierarchies, Japanese gift giving, exchanging of business cards, meeting protocols, dining and drinking, etc. In particular, Paul and his team gave an excellent insight into the processes and ways in which Japanese businesses make decisions and the importance of being able to read the subtleties and responses of Japanese counterparts in business situations. On an individual note, having completed his high school and university education in Japan and having dealt with Japanese businesses for many years, Paul was able to give clear insights into Japanese society and business practices which otherwise would take years to accumulate. He did this in an intelligent and informative way which was very engaging and interesting. Again, a fascinating and extremely valuable workshop which I would strongly recommend for anyone planning to enter or new to the Japanese market.
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Shinka Management organized an excellent tour. It was structured to capture professional development and cultural experience. The tour also provided me with experiences related not only to the local culture and food of Japan, but also to the culture and languages of fellow participants from all over the world. This tour has made a significant impact on my personal life and professional career. The kaizen concept and strategy of continuous improvement was presented in a genuine yet easily understood manner. I recommend contacting Shinka Management if you are serious about integrating kaizen into your company. Kaizen can be translated into your own business and partner organizations, but it also translates into your home and personal life. Thank you Shinka Management for such a valuable and unique program!
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