Lean ESL
The team environment and full participation of all employees that are fundamentals of lean manufacturing have led to challenges when working with an increasingly diverse workforce made up of large proportions of Limited English speaking employees. In response to the challenge, OMEP has developed, in partnership with Portland Community College, a strategy of pairing Lean ESL (Lean English Essentials) instruction to help include Limited English Proficient (LEP) workers with lean manufacturing training.
The strategy takes a lean approach and focuses on eliminating waste, in this case, wasted human potential. It is called Lean ESL for two good reasons:
First, it is just enough ESL support and instruction in the essential vocabulary of Lean to prepare most LEP workers to participate in company-wide activities conducted in English. And second, Lean ESL helps organizations more effectively and more quickly implement Lean without wasting the ideas and talents of their LEP workers.
The 12-16 hour class focuses on familiarizing LEP employees with the Principles of Lean Manufacturing — concepts, terminology, and related language that they will face in following training and project implementation in English.
