Mike Osterling

Mike Osterling specializes in deploying Lean Management systems in manufacturing and non-manufacturing environments. As Lean Manufacturing Manager for Square D Company, he led their six-year transition from traditional production to an operation focused on aggressive continuous improvement. Plant-wide improvements included: 65% reduction in DPMs, 52% reduction in customer complaints, 79% reduction in accident rate, 59% improvement in productivity, 530% improvement in WIP turns, lead time reduction from three days to 15 minutes, 80% scrap reduction and a 93% increase in space utilization.

More than half of Mike’s consulting activities have focused on support and administrative processes. He has supported companies in North America, Europe and Australia in industries such as: electronics, construction, consumer products, capital equipment, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, medical products and oil production.  In addition to coaching companies through their transformation, Mike has certified over 1,000 people on lean principles, tools, and practices.

As a Lean Management Leader in San Diego, Mike led the development of the Lean Enterprise Certificate Program at San Diego State University and has taught in the program since 1999. He is also an instructor in the University of California San Diego’s Lean Enterprise Certificate Program. Mike earned his MBA in International Business (San Diego State University), is APICS certified (CPIM) and holds a Six Sigma Black Belt.  He is also a University of Kentucky Certified Trainer for the Implementation of Lean Manufacturing and is fluent in Spanish.

He’s the co-author (with Karen Martin) of Value Stream Mapping, Metrics-Based Process Mapping, and The Kaizen Event Planner.