AME Excellence Award Program Overview
Overview
The Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) Excellence Award process helps organizations better understand the maturity, sustainability and effectiveness of their improvement systems.
In this session, Michael Bremer will explain how organizations are using the AME process to gain external perspective, identify opportunities for growth and strengthen leadership and continuous improvement practices.
Topics will include:
- How organizations use external assessments to identify blind spots and improvement opportunities
- The role of leadership systems in sustaining operational excellence
- Why some organizations with strong internal assessment processes still participate in the AME process
- How the process helps organizations identify opportunities to advance to the next level of improvement maturity
- The difference between recognition-focused participation and learning-focused assessments
The process also helps organizations better understand where leadership intentions, improvement activities and actual organizational impact may not be fully aligned.
The AME Excellence Award recognizes organizations demonstrating strong enterprise excellence practices across manufacturing, maintenance, healthcare, and other operational environments. More importantly, the process is designed to help organizations learn how to get better at getting better — while strengthening the AME community’s ability to learn from one another.
Host Company
Presenter
Michael S. Bremer, author & Improvement leader, is a semi-retired business executive and award-winning author, with a diverse career spanning productivity, information systems, financial leadership, and global consulting.
He began his corporate career at Beatrice Foods, serving as Director of Productivity and later Director of Information Systems. He served as Chief Financial Officer and Board Member of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME). Michael spent 28 years as President of The Cumberland Group, a Chicago-based global consulting firm.
Michael was also involved in education and innovation, serving as adjunct faculty at the University of Chicago’s Graham School for 15 years, and mentoring manufacturing-focused startups at mHUB Chicago, an innovation incubator.
Awards & Recognition
· 2016 Shingo Prize for Research & Publication Award – How to Do a Gemba Walk
· 2019 Mac McCulloch Lifetime Achievement Award – Association for Manufacturing Excellence
Publications Michael has authored five books on leadership and performance improvement, including:
1. How to Do a Gemba Walk (2025, Self-Published 4th Edition)
2. Learn to See the Invisible (2025, Productivity Press)
Current Activities
Michael continues to serve as volunteer Vice President for AME’s Excellence Award activities, coordinating over 50 volunteer assessors. Assessments focus on elevating organizational improvement maturity. He also moderates a bi-weekly discussion group on global issues.
Agenda
Wednesday, June 18, 2026
3:00 p.m. Welcome and introductions
3:05 p.m. Program overview
3:45 p.m. Questions and closing comments
4:00 p.m. Adjourn
PARTICIPANT BENEFITS
- How the assessment process works
- What organizations typically gain from assessor feedback
- How “Pearls of Excellence” are identified and shared across the AME community
- Why organizations do not need to apply for the award to benefit from an AME assessment
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
· “C” level senior leaders
· Operations leaders
· Continuous improvement practitioners
Safety Requirements
OTHER REGISTRATION INFORMATION
We strive to host events that are inclusive and accessible to everyone to fully participate and engage. Please email events@ame.org if you have any questions.
If you are not already a member of AME, we invite you to join at this time. Membership benefits include complimentary and discounted event registrations throughout the entire year. To learn more about membership benefits, please visit here.
By participating in this event, you grant AME, or anyone authorized by AME the right to use or publish in print or electronic medium any photograph or video containing your image or likeness for educational, news, or promotional purposes, without compensation.
Cancelation Policy: This event may be canceled by AME for any reason. AME is not responsible for incidental costs incurred by registrants. For paid events, registration fee less a $20 administration fee will be refunded up to one week before the event. Substitutions may be made up to three days prior to the start of the event.
