UL partners with Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence

Northbrook-based Underwriter Laboratories announced a new educational partnership with The Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence.

The Shingo Prize is a world standard in the application of business principles that build excellence in organizations.

The new collaboration augments UL’s position as the leading developer of safety standards and education and allows The Shingo Prize access to customers in a broader range of markets across the United States and globally. It enables training and advisory services for companies looking to achieve operational excellence and cultural transformation based on the Shingo model.

The offerings are available from Knowledge Services, a business unit of UL that provides customers around the world with solutions to drive new opportunities, better business results and help build a stronger workforce. Business leaders can look to UL starting this month for educational classes on the fundamental, results-driven elements of a lean transformation.

“Organizations using our services will develop a comprehensive understanding of The Shingo Prize application guidelines and learn how to use the Shingo model,” said Juan Amador, director of continuous improvement, UL Knowledge Services. “This information allows them to conduct an internal assessment and clearly identify areas for focus and improvement throughout their entire organization.”

The Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence is a not-for-profit organization based at Utah State University and named after Japanese industrial engineer Shigeo Shingo. Its mission is to create excellence in organizations through the application of universally accepted principles of operational excellence, alignment of management systems, and the wise application of improvement techniques across the entire organizational enterprise.

“Working with UL extends the reach of The Shingo Prize and provides education to thousands of companies who seek the value of not just a product certification but also the assessment and organizational certification of the business as a whole,” said Robert Miller, executive director of The Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence. “It helps fulfill our mission to create excellence in organizations through the application of universally accepted principles of operational excellence, alignment of management systems, and the wise application of improvement techniques.”