Testimonials:

If you have embarked on a lean journey The Lean Study Tour should be on your bucket list!

It was inspiring to see the Toyota Production System in action as a management system, as well as the small improvements made day in and day out by dedicated and motivated teams all striving to continuously improve. Paul, Ben, Tony and Juan (tour leaders) did an outstanding Job of guiding us through Japan, and highlighting where TPS is improving society as well as manufacturing. Their subtle lines of questioning and coaching combined with observing TPS in action and the instruction of Japanese Sensei inspired tour participants on how they can effect change.

Every detail from transport to meals and accommodation were professionally managed and executed. Practical learning environments such as the Toyota group training center consolidated class room learning with hands on experimentation which lead to real “ah ha” moments with many tour participants.

This tour was an extremely rewarding and enjoyable learning  experience.  I highly recommend the Lean Study Tour.
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The tour has given me the opportunity to understand in a practical way what I learned theoretically. I have checked that the theory is possible to put in practice. This has been the first time that I have felt the lean manufacturing philosophy first hand. Congratulations to the Shinka Team. The organisation has been perfect and the teachers very, very good. They created the motivation we need to implement and improve our current status in lean and the Airbus Operating System. Thank you, it has been a great experience.
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Dear Paul, Ben and Eri,

We would just like to take a moment to thank you for such a wonderful tour. You exceeded all our expectations for a week long journey – from your very professional approach and even more personal service. The week was extremely insightful, and we could not stop talking about what we were going to do when we returned home.

Each plant tour, Q&A and debriefing were all very professional and informative. These taught us so much to help us move forward on our lean journey. Not only were the days very enjoyable but the nights were fantastic and fun. We learned so much about lean as well as experiencing the Japanese culture and the wonderful people.

Since we have been back the four of us have been very quick and extremely effective in rolling out many Kaizen improvements, setting takt times, 5s’ing many areas and much more (fantastic work). I’ve had much time to reflect and think about the tour and our next steps. We’ve written a training manual in 4 modules and have just completed the first module of training through the entire company.

We certainly have a new buzz flowing in and around the company and looking forward to this wonderful journey. Full credit to all of you. This has been the best tour we have ever been a part of and we will be sending more of our team in the future.
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Personally and professionally I found the week extraordinarily rewarding – not only as a fantastic Lean Japan Tour but as a cultural experience not to be missed.

Imagine if you will… taking a group of people you had never met before, under your wing, in one of the most crowded cities in the world. Plenty of traditional food and drink, immersing them in culture, filling their heads with Lean (TPS) concepts and depriving them of sleep whilst being the only two people in the group that can speak Japanese. What could go wrong? All this whilst maintaining the integrity of yourselves and your business (Shinka Management) – which was upheld 24 hours a day. Paul and Ben, you did a fantastic job and the respect for yourselves and your company was apparent with every business we visited. The way the trip was coordinated and flowed was a testament to the organizational skills of both Ben and Paul from Shinka Management.

The systems, machinery, processes and people in Japanese businesses are something to be admired. The passion for TPS shown by every staff member was evident and the dedication shown at all levels of management was significant. The TPS is at such a high level at some of the sites visited that you realize how many more opportunities there are at your own site. Even if the factories are unrelated to your own industry, the message is more about the process and disciplines used to get the business to the current state. Small steps to achieve the ultimate goal, remembering that each one of these businesses started off somewhere and the origin of TPS was born out of a “need” for business continuity.

I have emerged with a new passion and enthusiasm for Lean manufacturing. If you have the opportunity for this fantastic tour, you will not regret it, it is an investment in you and your company’s future.
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The training was fun which also leads to people becoming interested and remembering alot of the content. The delivery and the way the session was run were also excellent. Great presenter, great execution.
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The training was highly informative. The topics regarding Japanese culture will be of great help to our staff who are new in Japan. The topics on working within a multicultural environment were also informative and gave me a good overview of the differences of each culture.

 
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We really enjoyed the training and got a lot out of it! Just understanding those little things helps – we didn’t realise quite a few things about the life of a Japanese person which was very interesting! Thanks for pulling this all together for us.
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We would like to thank Shinka Management for an effective and enjoyable learning experience. Paul tailored a program to meet our specific needs, and was well prepared on the day to take us through important information and advice to help us successfully navigate cultural differences, particularly in a business context. Our small team were highly engaged throughout the session, and appreciated Paul’s interactive and responsive style of delivery. We hope to work with Shinka again in the future, and highly recommend them as a great resource for companies looking to conduct business in Japan!
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Thank you so much for yesterday. I just wanted to pass on some feedback from everyone this morning because they were all overwhelmingly pleased with yesterday’s training. We all agreed it was extremely helpful.

My colleagues mentioned that the way you delivered and also the information provided was exactly what we needed. Comments were made such as you were real but at the same time appropriate and informative for a delegation visit to Japan. Madam Mayor and the team are much more comfortable with this visit thanks to the guidance you’ve provided.

I just wanted to send a big thank you from us for putting this together on such short notice and also for the extreme help that you’ve been not only yesterday but in all the other support you’ve given. We really do appreciate it and I just wanted to pass on the positive feedback.
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The training gave us a great opportunity to develop relationships between us and our Japanese colleagues. Paul presented the culture of the country and behaviors of the Japanese people in an easy and attractive manner.
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