Kaizen conference to showcase best practices in the government, manufacturing and service sector

Scheduled to be held on May 25, 2004 at the Jumeira Beach Hotel in Dubai, the one-day Conference will evolve around the theme, "Operational Excellence through continuous improvement". Poised to be the biggest gathering of Kaizen experts and industry professionals from around the region, the conference is organized by Knowledge Management International (KMi), a multinational management consultancy company and is the main representative of Kaizen Institute in UAE, Oman, Pakistan and Iran.

The conference will also act as a launch pad for the Knowledge Management Group of companies comprising Knowledge Management International, KM Properties and KAIZEN-Middle East. Ms Khulood Al Rostamani, Group Director, Knowledge Management Group, said "As a group, we are dedicated towards helping businesses grow by adopting powerful building strategies and success principles. Kaizen is one of the many superior management tools offered by Knowledge Management as a Group of companies in the UAE and GCC region."

According to Mr Mohammad Haddad, CEO, KAIZEN-Middle East, "As the sole Kaizen representative in the Middle East, we felt it was timely to organize such a conference as companies in this region gear themselves towards competing in the global market. This conference will set the platform for leading companies from around the world who have implemented Kaizen, share their experiences and best practices in the government, manufacturing and service sectors."

Mr Imai, who will make a special appearance at the conference, will share his expertise on the fundamentals of Kaizen and the benefits derived from its implementation. He will demonstrate how Kaizen can help companies enhance their competitiveness by improving productivity, quality, costs and delivery. Joining Mr Imai, will be Kaizen Institute leaders from around the world and guest speakers from Mauritius, India, Jordan and Bahrain, who together will share their experiences of Kaizen implementation through a series of workshops and case studies.

According to Mr Mohammad, "Since Kaizen can be implemented to bring about a change in any of the processes of an organization, this approach is applicable and beneficial to the government, service as well as the manufacturing sector. The Kaizen approach recognizes that doing is more important than learning, hence Conference delegates will learn to implement various cost cutting steps in a short period of time. This eventually translates into higher and significant profits for their company."

The conference is co-organised by the Department of Economic Development and Dubai Quality Award whilst the National Bank of Dubai, KM Properties and the American University of Sharjah are the co-sponsors. More than 100 delegates from the UAE and the GCC region, comprising Government officials, senior management personnel, Production/R&D Engineers and Quality Managers, are expected to attend this knowledge-sharing forum.