Mr. Larsen has worked over the past seven years at several Air Force bases under the Air Combat and Pacific Air Combat Command which included, but were not limited to: Hickam AF Base in Hawaii, Pope AF Base in South Carolina, Langley AF Base in Virginia, Dover AF Base in Maryland, Dyess AF Base in Texas and Ellsworth AF Base in Rapid City, S.D., Creech AF Base, Nevada, Shaw AF Base, S.C., along with various other bases throughout the United States. His most resent assignment was at Ellsworth AF… Show more Mr. Larsen has worked over the past seven years at several Air Force bases under the Air Combat and Pacific Air Combat Command which included, but were not limited to: Hickam AF Base in Hawaii, Pope AF Base in South Carolina, Langley AF Base in Virginia, Dover AF Base in Maryland, Dyess AF Base in Texas and Ellsworth AF Base in Rapid City, S.D., Creech AF Base, Nevada, Shaw AF Base, S.C., along with various other bases throughout the United States. His most resent assignment was at Ellsworth AF Base where he has spent the past 21 months working with all groups under the 28th Bomb Wing. The 28th Bomb Wing is a base which houses the B-1 Bomber. His work has been in the areas of Lean initiatives’ to ensure the rapid deployment of aircraft to the FOL’s within the commands jurisdiction. His work has been in the arena of Maintenance, Flight Scheduling, Equipment renovation, and selection of contractors for flight line maintenance houses, implementation of training courses and Training of the personnel to help them understand Lean and the principals therein. Show less

Les Larsen is an expert in lean systems methodology. He is a certified Master Black Belt and Sensei. He has spent over 40 years in various manufacturing industries, including work throughout the U.S., Europe, Latin America, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Viet Nam, Middle East and Egypt. For 28 of those years, he occupied a variety of management-level roles including 11 years with Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Georgetown, Kentucky as Manager of Maintenance and Engineering. Prior to joining Toyota, Les… Show more Les Larsen is an expert in lean systems methodology. He is a certified Master Black Belt and Sensei. He has spent over 40 years in various manufacturing industries, including work throughout the U.S., Europe, Latin America, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Viet Nam, Middle East and Egypt. For 28 of those years, he occupied a variety of management-level roles including 11 years with Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Georgetown, Kentucky as Manager of Maintenance and Engineering. Prior to joining Toyota, Les was a Regional Managing Engineer with Cherry Burrell Corporation, where he focused on process equipment layouts, work flows and Just-in-Time strategies. For the past 10 years, since his retirement from Toyota as Manager of Engineering and Maintenance, Les has worked as a consultant with on an “As Needed”, basis in various areas, including Egypt, Dover AFB, Moody AFB, Mountain Home AFB, Hickam AFB, Pope AFB, Dyess AFB, Ellsworth AFB, Reynosa Mexico (Pentair Corp), Mass Holding, Sri Lanka, Centria Manufacturing, Ky., Mexico (various areas) and the Kentucky State Police. He has established lean principles in both non-manufacturing and manufacturing operations such as not-for-profit organizations (Centria Manufacturing, Ky) and has worked extensively with a local fraternal lodge to establish principles of lean as they relate to lodge services to the community. Show less

Began employment as a Skilled Team member in maintenance, promoted to Engineering Specialist in 1991, then to Asst. Manager of Engineering in 1993, then to Manager of Maintenance and Engineering in 1996.• Administration of a $ 3.9 Million + annual budget• Responsible for all Quality Assurance of fit and Body Quality• Responsible for renovations and Upgrades on all equipment.• Established P.M. programs as well as systematic principals of Lean including automatic order\reorder… Show more Began employment as a Skilled Team member in maintenance, promoted to Engineering Specialist in 1991, then to Asst. Manager of Engineering in 1993, then to Manager of Maintenance and Engineering in 1996.• Administration of a $ 3.9 Million + annual budget• Responsible for all Quality Assurance of fit and Body Quality• Responsible for renovations and Upgrades on all equipment.• Established P.M. programs as well as systematic principals of Lean including automatic order\reorder system for all parts associated with equipment, J-I-T delivery methods and tracking for major breakdowns.• Responsible for all electrical and mechanical changes to existing equipment.• Oversaw all aspects of compliance including OSHA, NEC, ISO and UBC\SBC.• Established policies and procedures for equipment safety, dimensional accuracy and implemented policies to ensure adherence to same..• Responsible for 7 Asst. Mgrs, 9 Engineers and 270 full-time maintenance personnel..• Responsible for all Ergonomic evaluations and equipment modifications to obtain maximum efficiency, including welding jigs, dimensional accuracy and QA profiles.• Instrumental in the selection of welding equipment to include, Robotic, Manual including jig and design. • Established training program for new hires to include electrical schematic reading, hydraulics, pneumatics and computer based systems.• Established PM\Reliability programs on welding equipment, dimensional checking fixtures.• Implemented in-house training for both Maintenance, Production and Quality Groups to work together on assuring equipment reliability and cleanliness with emphasis on maintaining dimensional accuracy.• Responsible for Lean implementation through the various methods of Lean to include, but not limited to: Six Sigma, TOC, FMEA, SPC, VSM’g, J-I-T, 6’S and other applications of Lean. Show less

Resident Service Engineer for 11 Southwestern States and Latin America for manufacturer of high speed packaging equipment.• Responsible for machinery selection and procurement• Responsible for in-plant modifications to existing equipment• In charge of all plant construction and installation of equipment in Saudi Arabia for $32.5 million plant construction including power distribution and installation of generators'• In charge of all safety aspects to include OSHA, NEC and… Show more Resident Service Engineer for 11 Southwestern States and Latin America for manufacturer of high speed packaging equipment.• Responsible for machinery selection and procurement• Responsible for in-plant modifications to existing equipment• In charge of all plant construction and installation of equipment in Saudi Arabia for $32.5 million plant construction including power distribution and installation of generators'• In charge of all safety aspects to include OSHA, NEC and other regulatory compliances• Established in plant training classes for both local and third country nationals.• Established purchasing practices for plant.• Responsible for not only 11 Southwestern states, but all of Latin American Operations regarding equipment installation, upgrade and\or modifications, applying principals of Lean through the use of self taught applications. Show less