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Rodger Lewis (Developing OE)
Coaching (We Coach | You Win)
KCOE Institute (Sharing Ideas)
Academic Program (Earn a Degree)
The pathway of cultural change and lean transformation, Adams coins as The Georgetown Pathway (Adams, 2010), which consists of leaders and doers of the Toyota Production System - i.e. Rodger Lewis and the other managers from “The Georgetown Ramp Up.”
The Georgetown Pathway because Georgetown, Kentucky is the location of the first plant Toyota established in North America. Georgetown is the place where Americans first learned and worked within the Toyota Production System as it has been culturally adapted to work within the United States.
Out of the Georgetown Pathway thought leaders such as David Meier (co-author of the book The Toyota Way Field book) and Mike Hoseus (co-author of Toyota Culture) have emerged. Hoseus was the Assistant General Manager of Manufacturing and Human Resources at Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America. David Meier was a Group Leader at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky. One of the top-level American leaders at Toyota was Rodger Lewis, the General Manager for Quality.
The Journey to Volkswagen
Rodger came to Saint Vincent College on the GI Bill and graduated 1975. He then went to work for Volkswagen where he developed a reputation for his attention to quality and his tenacity for seeing quality work and products. When Volkswagen closed their operation in Westmoreland County, PA, Rodger took an exciting opportunity to work in management for a Japanese car company. The company was building their first plant dedicated solely to the production of their own vehicles in the United States. That company was Toyota.
The Journey to Toyota
Lewis was one of the first 12 American managers hired at Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America and their Georgetown, KY plant. In the following years Rodger learned deeply the production system of the Japanese automaker that would lead the company to eventually become the world’s largest automotive manufacturer in the world. In addition to learning the production system tools and methods, Lewis developed an understanding and appreciation of the human system, which supports Toyota’s operating practices. This elusive human component has only become clearer to the watching world near the end of the first decade of the 21st century. Organizations, such as the Lean Institute and authors, such as Jeffrey Liker, began calling attention to the cultural aspects which support what has become known as “lean manufacturing” in the United States.
It was during his time at Toyota that Lewis began to understand the cultural underpinnings of a world class manufacturing system. Lewis will often relate the anecdote of his values card to illustrate this learning. He tells his listeners that, while at Toyota, he had a little card that reminded him of the values and principles that leaders must hold to be successful. Things like “ensure teamwork” and “respect for people” were ingrained in the leaders, many who had come from environments where there was little, if any, organized cultural system. Rodger would keep that card in his pocket at all times, while on the job. When he would get in his car to go home, he’d take that little card and stick it in his visor and take out another that had his own personal values and beliefs outlined. When he tells the story it’s as though a light goes off. He’ll confess to listeners that, over time, those two little cards became more and more alike till they were nearly indistinguishable.
The Journey to General Motors
Rodger could have stayed there at Georgetown, working his way through the Toyota organization. Before he left, he served as head of Engineering, Quality and General Manager. He could have stayed, but he didn’t. Lewis styles himself as a life- long learner and there was a question he had to answer. Could he replicate the human and operational systems found at Toyota in other places, cultures and companies?
To answer that question, Lewis migrated to General Motors as a leader in international quality, tasked with developing production systems at start-up plants in the Opel division. With his values card in hand, Lewis traveled to Brazil, Poland, the UK and Thailand setting up plants with the tools and principles he learned at Toyota. In these years he learned about the nuances and necessary adaptations when applying a set of principles in diverse cultures. But the challenge of language barriers and globe trotting implementation of the production system did not satisfy Lewis’ need to grow as an innovative leader. The next frontier was to jump the fence.
The Journey to Bombardier
They say that the grass is always greener on the other side. In the case of a new plant start up, the “grass” is definitely a brilliant shade of green. What about the other side of the fence? Could the human and operational system Lewis had learned deeply, and adapted and implemented in new start up plants, apply to an existing organization with its own ingrained culture, history, methods and people? If a new plant is a green field, could the system work in an established plant, a brown field? There was only one way to find out.
When the chance came to lead Bombardier Recreational Products Rotax Division in Wels, Austria, Lewis was finally afforded the opportunity to answer that question. As of 1999, BRP-Rotax, manufacturer of engines for recreational vehicles, had its own history. They had their own culture, their own processes, their own way of life, and their own methods for solving problems. And, as of 1999, they had Rodger Lewis as their president.
Over the course of 5 years, Lewis developed and implemented what would come to be known as the Rotax Quality Production System (RQPS), which served as a foundation for what we now call Operational Excellence.
The Journey Back to Saint Vincent
After 5 years with BRP-Rotax, Lewis returned from Austria to his home in Western Pennsylvania and to his alma mater, Saint Vincent College. Saint Vincent is America’s oldest Benedictine institution with a strong liberal arts education, a thriving school of business and top graduates populating the region. For these reasons and more, Saint Vincent was an ideal place for Lewis to take on his next challenge. “How,” he asked himself, “do I move beyond the four walls of one company to touch the lives of many companies in a region?” In pursuing this question, Lewis connected with members of the Saint Vincent community who were attempting to answer the question, “How do we supply students to regional companies with the skills they need to manage and lead?”
Lewis along with a grant from the Kennametal Foundation founded the Kennametal Center for Operational Excellence at Saint Vincent College. Over the first six years, the Center hired a staff of trainers and coaches to empower regional enterprise to achieve world-class performance by coaching the tools and techniques of Operational Excellence. Operational Excellence was the name given to the management system developed by Lewis over the course of his journey.
Through this team of coaches, Lewis began working in regional manufacturers, job shops, hospitals, social services, international corporations, non-profits and service companies to teach and train the tools of the system. Several clients began their own journey, similar to the one taken by BRP-Rotax. The KCOE team has served as their guide.
While serving as Executive-in-Residence for the College, Lewis also began his most recent journey – global corporate cultural change – with Bombardier Aerospace and their companies in Mexico, Ireland, the United States and Canada. Today, Lewis and the team at KCOE continue to coach the tools, both human and operational, of the system. The team exists to spur on a pervasive culture of mutual trust and respect in every organization they touch. They do this through programs and training, conferences, short-term projects, facilitated retreats, and long-term engagement.
