For Immediate Release
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Lela Glikes
Program Manager
Phone: 617-969-1396
Email address: [email protected]
Jeffrey Siddiqui Awarded 2017 Silver Toaster Award for Employee Excellence in Lean
WORCESTER MA, OCTOBER 2017 - Jeffrey Siddiqui, Operations Lead, Test Branch at Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA) in McClellan CA was awarded the 2017 Silver Toaster Award for Employee Excellence in Lean during the 13 th Annual Northeast Lean Conference on September 19, 2017. DMEA is a semiconductor manufacturer near Sacramento CA. Jeffrey is only the ninth recipient of this prestigious award.

The Silver Toaster Award was created by GBMP in 2009 to recognize leadership and participation by an individual in the Lean transformation of an organization. The name of the award was inspired by GBMP’s popular Lean training DVD “ Toast Kaizen ”, which has sold more than 100,000 copies in 18 different languages, in which the simple process of making toast is used to teach the basic but key elements of Lean thinking, such as kaizen, the seven wastes and direct observation.

The award recognizes outstanding employees who always perform their jobs with Lean in mind, who help others implement Lean concepts, who demonstrate exceptional understanding of Lean principles, tools and philosophy and possess the ability to share this knowledge and enthusiasm with fellow employees. Recipients of the award are truly special individuals who undertake these extra responsibilities voluntarily, are not in a management or supervisory role, nor do they have Continuous Improvement as a specified duty of their primary job responsibilities. GBMP received a record high of sixteen nominations this year.
According to former Branch Chief Jeremy Bridge:

“No one asked Jeff to take on this initiative and he has done so without manager mandate. He has evangelized Lean to the point that others seek his Lean knowledge to better achieve our mission. Our branch now has fantastic morale, 7 lines where we only had 2, going from literally the laughing stock to one of the best in less than 3 years. Jeff designed training that flies by, is fun & instills the critical Lean information.”

In addition, Jeremy wrote of Jeffrey:

“Jeff has taken on the goal of installing Lean in our culture in order for us to better meet our mission. He has a unique talent for seeing problems and then instead of jumping to the solution he uses the issue as an opportunity to teach a Lean concept. In this way, Jeff is not only helping to solve problems, he’s helping us grow our future leaders. Jeff’s efforts have been noticed by upper management enabling him to secure a budget to train 20 employees in the SME Lean Bronze body of knowledge. Simply seeing upper management buy-in has pushed our culture towards Lean in even more ways.”
[To read the entire nomination letter, please visit the Silver Toaster Award website .]
Bruce Hamilton, President of GBMP, organizer of The Northeast Lean Conference and coordinator of The Silver Toaster Award, and creator and star of the Toast Kaizen video, added:

“ GBMP is thrilled to award The Silver Toaster Award to an employee of Jeff’s caliber. Jeff perfectly exemplifies the vision and values intended by the award. His talent and devotion to the principles and methodologies of Lean as a method to achieve operational excellence, as well as his ability to lead by example and to recognize the bigger picture of what’s required for cultural transformation, is commendable. DMEA is lucky to have such an exceptional employee.”
 
The 14 th annual Northeast Lean Conference will be held on October 10-11, 2018 at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence. Silver Toaster Award nominations are being accepted through August 10, 2018. Nomination forms will be available on the conference website at the start of the year.
About GBMP:
GBMP is a not for profit offering customized Lean and Six Sigma training with a mission to increase global competitiveness and employment opportunities in the United States. GBMP is a licensed affiliate of The Shingo Institute with 4 certified instructors on staff. GBMP also produces the annual Northeast Lean Conference which attracts more than 600 manufacturing professionals from around the country where it presents the prestigious Silver Toaster Award to recognize a standout employee who demonstrates exceptional understanding of Lean principles, tools and philosophy as well as the ability to share this knowledge and enthusiasm with fellow employees. Learn more at www.gbmp.org . Purchase your copy of Toast Kaizen at www.shopgbmp.org and nominate an exceptional employee today for The Silver Toaster Award at www.NortheastLeanConference.org .
GBMP & The Northeast Lean Conference | Newton MA