René Ffrench is a seasoned professional with substantial experience working with clients to develop effective operational improvement strategies that drive down costs and build core capabilities.
Comfortable in numerous industries, he has recently led process improvement initiatives in electronics, mechanical fabrication manufacturing, engineering R&D, healthcare, and government/defense contractor supply chain management. As a Master Black Belt, operations Lean Master, and Kaizen Leader, he has trained and coached over 1,500 Black Belts, 650 Green Belts, and 150 Master Black Belts.
Previously, René was an Operations Director with George Group Europe, product and quality manager with Baker Hughes, a Master Black Belt with BAE Systems, and a corporate director of Lean Six Sigma for Avery Dennison Materials Europe.
His leadership style was developed in the US Army where he served 3 times as a company commander in helicopter, combat engineer, and special operations units. He works in Spanish, German, and French.
René's Publications and Insights
Education
- Boston University
MSBA - Texas A&M
BS Industrial Engineering
- Licensed Professional Engineer
Texas - Certified Quality Engineer
American Society for Quality - Certified Enterprise Integrator
Society of Manufacturing Engineers
- Certified Master Black Belt
Notable Achievements
- Developed and implemented a replenishment pull system for a manufacturer that reduced the production WIP cycle from 15.8 days to 7.3 days while reducing active inventory $2.3M and improving the On-Time-Delivery from 64% to 99.3%.
- Developed a floor inventory visualization system for a manufacturer that improved the production flow to reduce the average cycle time from 22.3 days to 6.8 days and reduced the welding rework by 88% in a 3-month period.
- Worked with a UK based banking system to reduce the human handling of international wire transfers between banking systems by 18% over a 4-month period.
- Led waves of Kaizen events for a global Lean Six Sigma deployment in the USA, Germany, Switzerland, France, Turkey, Ecuador, Norway, and Iceland that developed 65 internal Kaizen leaders and delivered accelerated process solutions valued at over $17M.
Innovating Lean Six Sigma
A comprehensive guide for business leaders to tailor and implement Lean Six Sigma in their organizations, offering strategies, tools, and insights to improve efficiency, productivity, and profitability.
Many business books talk about Lean Six Sigma. This one shows you how to make it work.
Download a free chapter Buy online
On the Right Path – A Quick Guide to Creating Customer Journey Maps
Published by ASQ, 2024.
AI Meets Quality – A Practical Approach
Presented to ASQ Austin, 2024.