Course Overview

Reducing lead times is a critical factor in ensuring customer satisfaction and overall business success. This course introduces QRM principles that eliminate waste, lower costs, and enhance quality across all operational areas. Attendees will gain practical insights into applying QRM strategies to drive efficiency and competitiveness in their organizations.

Learning Outcomes

Assess current lead time challenges within your company
Identify actionable opportunities for improvement
Apply QRM principles to initiate and advocate for meaningful change

Who Should Attend?

Professionals new to QRM seeking foundational knowledge
Managers and team leaders in manufacturing, supply chain, purchasing, engineering, and office operations
Individuals responsible for process optimization, organizational improvement, and strategic decision-making

Course Outline

The Power of Time

The many hidden costs of long lead times and the power of short lead times
Pitfalls of traditional methods and how QRM provides a new approach to lead time reduction
Evaluating your organization(s) through short QRM quiz
Group workshop on waste due to long lead times

QRM and Organization Structure

The Response Time Spiral and ways to eliminate
QRM’s cellular structure and how it works
Case studies on cell implementation

Understand and Exploit System Dynamics

Rethinking traditional efficiency and utilization measures
Strategies for developing effective lot sizes
Capacity planning: key relationships between utilization and lead time
Accounting strategies

QRM – an Enterprise-wide, Unified Strategy

How QRM extends beyond the shop floor
QRM solutions for material planning, shop floor control (POLCA), supply chain management, office operations
Mindeset and performance measures

Testimonials

"Gave the highlights and got me brought in to learning more. Specifically addressed how QRM contrasts from other ideologies in manufacturing." – Kyle Davis, Engineering Supervisor, Altec

Instructor

Vince Clark

Vince Clark is an accomplished manufacturing leader with more than 30 years of experience driving operational excellence across global organizations. He brings a proven record of leading large, complex operations in industries ranging from consumer products to heavy equipment and mining.

Vince spent over two decades with Caterpillar Inc., progressing through roles that included Six Sigma Master Black Belt, Factory Product Manager, Global Manufacturing Engineering Director, and Operations Director. He led organizations with hundreds of employees, managed large-scale global engineering teams, and oversaw complex operations, including Caterpillar’s Ultra Class Mining Shovels and off-highway trucks, developing deep expertise in low-volume, high-mix production environments.

Following his time with Caterpillar, Vince held senior leadership roles with Enerpac, Briggs & Stratton, and Andis Company, where he most recently served as Business Unit Director. Across these organizations, he managed operations of more than 600 employees, oversaw annual capital project portfolios exceeding $60 million, and consistently delivered measurable improvements in safety, quality, delivery, and cost.

A certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt, Vince is recognized for his ability to combine Lean, Six Sigma, continuous improvement, and lead-time reduction principles with a people-centered leadership style, delivering both cultural change and bottom-line results.

He holds a BS and MS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and an MBA from Millikin University.

As an instructor with the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Center for Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM), Vince brings a wealth of real-world expertise to help companies reduce lead times, improve responsiveness, and thrive in today’s competitive manufacturing landscape.

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QRM Introduction Fundamentals of Quick Response Manufacturing