RAB Lighting 
Beginner level

E3: Evolution of empowering employees

The challenges of developing, implementing and sustaining a revolutionary change

Format

Practitioner Presentation
Thursday, Oct. 12 Location Code
9:30am-10:30am Hynes Center, Level 3, Ballroom C ThS/51
Highlights

Discover the journey of team empowerment through visual management for one of RAB’s core value streams, new product development.

Overview

Learn how lean and agile techniques came together to create a new process and custom tool impacting over 40 cross-functional employees. Gain insights into the challenges an organization faces during the development, implementation and sustainment of a revolutionary change. Hear how RAB has seen benefits from reductions in lead-time and shift in culture in as little as four months from implementation. See how this new process unveiled the good, the bad and the ugly, and how a highly variable, knowledge specific environment embraced the implementation of visual management and team-based culture whilst practicing continuous improvement.

Company

RAB Lighting is committed to creating high quality, affordable, well designed and energy efficient LED lighting and controls that make it easy for distributors to sell, electricians to install and end users to save energy. Founded in 1946, RAB has a vibrantly growing infrastructure of manufacturing facilities and engineering capabilities that ensure great product design and quality. www.rabweb.com

Presenters: Nicholas Calaceto / James Lau

Nicholas Calaceto is a mechanical engineer at RAB Lighting, leading in the development and launch of new products. He started at the company as a manufacturing engineer, helping to make process improvements and support manufacturing operations. Calaceto graduated with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Rutgers University and has completed RAB's lean champion certification program specializing in value stream mapping. 

James Lau is a mechanical engineer and lean champion at RAB Lighting. He joined the company after studying aerospace engineering at Boston University. He currently holds six patents for various LED lighting fixtures. As a lean champion, Lau strives to help, facilitate and transform RAB into a data driven and constantly improving company.