It’s rare to find a company where the lean manufacturing culture is companywide, ingrained in every employee. But such is the case of Jonesboro, Arkansas-based Hytrol Conveyors, a designer and manufacturer of advanced conveyor systems. As a longtime contributor to Quality Digest Daily, I wanted to dig a little deeper and explore what makes Hytrol the exception to the rule.

I conducted a series of short Q&A interviews with employees from several levels of the organization to capture their individual and collective take on why lean manufacturing drives the entire culture. This is the first of a series of interviews.

Chris Glenn, vice president of manufacturing and engineering operations at Hytrol Conveyors, had experience in lean manufacturing prior to joining Hytrol. He told me where he first learned lean methods and about his role in Hytrol’s lean journey for the past seven years.

Thomas R. Cutler: What was your lean manufacturing experience prior to joining Hytrol?

 …