USU Jon M. Huntsman School of Business names new leader for the Shingo Prize
LOGAN – The Utah State University Jon M. Huntsman School of Business has named a new executive director of the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing.
Bob Miller, associate executive director for the nationally known organization, has been selected for the job. He has already been given operational responsibilities for the Shingo Prize, according to Dean Douglas Anderson. He will officially be named the executive director July 1 when Ross Robson will become the director of the public-sector Shingo Prize. The public-sector Shingo Prize assists the U.S. Department of Defense.
Robson has been the executive director of the organization, which is part of the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business , almost since it began 20 years ago. He plans to retire in August 2008.
Robson will assist Miller until February 2008, helping Miller organize the first major Department of Defense lean symposium the Shingo Prize has held, Anderson said. In March 2008, Robson will take a sabbatical leave until August 2008 to author a book about the principles he learned and taught while promoting the Shingo Prize.
Miller has held many senior-level positions in some of America’s top companies prior to joining the Shingo Prize a year ago. Miller had been a senior partner in a consulting firm located in Boulder, Colo., where he built its international practice, advising executives in many countries and establishing an Asia/Pacific subsidiary of his firm in Melbourne, Australia.
"We are lucky to have someone like Bob who has not only the specialized professional expertise to take the Shingo Prize to the next level but the strong leadership skills to do that effectively," Anderson said.
Robson played a key role in promoting the Shingo Prize over the years, Anderson said.
"It is hard to calculate the depth of influence Ross has had on the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business and Utah State University," Anderson said. "He has guided the consistent progress of the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing for nearly 20 years. His work has impacted numerous and diverse companies that have stretched themselves to measure up to the exacting standards of the Shingo Prize."
Robson said consulting work will keep him in contact with many of the companies and individuals who are pioneering lean principles.
"I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to play a role in promoting this philosophy that can have such a dramatic positive impact on any organization that wants to improve," Robson said. "Continuous improvement, grounded in lean, is necessary to be globally competitive."
The Shingo Prize organization promotes a philosophy called "lean" that emphasizes the importance of showing respect for employees, while eliminating waste, saving money, increasing productivity and improving quality.
The lean philosophy was originally articulated by Shigeo Shingo, an industrial engineer in Japan whose teachings were key to Toyota’s success. In 1988 he came to Utah State University and was honored with an honorary doctorate in business. The Shingo Prize organization was created not long after that visit.
In 2000, "Business Week" called the Shingo Prize the "Nobel prize of manufacturing." Robson was inducted into the World Academy of Productivity Science in 1999 and was listed in 2006 by Superfactory.com as one of "10 people who really matter" in manufacturing in the world today.