The Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence Designates UL as an Official Education Partner

NORTHBROOK, Ill., March 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Today UL, a leader in global safety science, announces its new educational partnership with The Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence. The Shingo Prize is a world standard in the application of business principles that build excellence in organizations.

The new collaboration augments UL's position as the leading developer of safety standards and education and allows The Shingo Prize access to customers in a broader range of markets across the United States and globally. It enables training and advisory services for companies looking to achieve operational excellence and cultural transformation based on the Shingo model.

The offerings are available from Knowledge Services, a business unit of UL that provides customers around the world with solutions to drive new opportunities, better business results and help build a stronger workforce. Business leaders can look to UL starting this month for educational classes on the fundamental, results-driven elements of a lean transformation.

"Organizations using our services will develop a comprehensive understanding of The Shingo Prize application guidelines and learn how to use the Shingo model," said Juan Amador, director of continuous improvement, UL Knowledge Services. "This information allows them to conduct an internal assessment and clearly identify areas for focus and improvement throughout their entire organization."

Companies will see increased efficiencies, decreased defects and a culture of continuous improvement thanks to a clear set of processes that apply in any industry, any geography, and at any time. The offerings from UL and The Shingo Prize empower individuals and organizations by giving them the expertise and techniques required to conduct their own lean transformation.

"Working with UL extends the reach of The Shingo Prize and provides education to thousands of companies who seek the value of not just a product certification but also the assessment and organizational certification of the business as a whole," said Robert Miller, Executive Director of The Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence. "It helps fulfill our mission to create excellence in organizations through the application of universally accepted principles of operational excellence, alignment of management systems, and the wise application of improvement techniques."

An up-to-date listing of course offerings from UL and The Shingo Prize is available online at www.ulknowledgeservices.com or www.shingoprize.org.

About UL
UL is a premier global safety science company with more than 100 years of proven history. Employing nearly 9,000 professionals in 46 countries, UL is evolving the future of safety with five distinct business units – Product Safety, Environment, Life & Health, Verification and Knowledge Services – to meet the expanding needs of customers and the global public. For more information on UL's family of companies and network of 95 laboratory, testing and certification facilities, go UL.com.

About The Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence
The Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence is a not-for-profit organization housed at Utah State University, under the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business, and named after Japanese industrial engineer Shigeo Shingo. The mission of The Shingo Prize is to create excellence in organizations through the application of universally accepted principles of operational excellence, alignment of management systems, and the wise application of improvement techniques across the entire organizational enterprise.  For more information, visit www.shingoprize.org

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