Biography

Mr. Jacob Raymer is assistant director of Lean Education for The Shingo Prize at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business, Utah State University. The Shingo Prize is regarded as the premier operational excellence award and recognition program in the world, with Business Week dubbing The Shingo Prize as “the Nobel Prize of Manufacturing.”

In his current position, Jacob oversees the development of the framework and architecture of The Shingo Prize learning management system. He is also deeply involved in the creation of lean coursework, simulations, and workshops. Jacob leads the development and training of The Shingo Prize examiners and their understanding of The Shingo Prize Model and Guidelines. He was part of the development team that refined the current Shingo Prize Model and continues research and application of the model for continuous improvement.

Jacob has trained numerous individuals and various companies about the lean transformation that occurs by applying The Shingo Prize model and its principles. Defense companies he has taught include: The Boeing Company, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, Raytheon Missile Systems, Hill AFB, Robins, AFB, Rock Island Arsenal, Letterkenny Army Depot, and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Automotive companies he has taught include: Autoliv, DaimlerChrysler, Delphi, Ford Motors, and TI Automotive. Jacob has taught companies in the food/chemical processing industry, which include: Schwan Food Company, Pepperidge Farm, and McNeil Nutritionals (Splenda). He has also taught many more companies in various industries, including: Textron, HON Company, LA-Z-BOY, American Pacific Corp., TXU Power, John Deere, Intel Corp., Primus Technology, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. As a certified instructor for the Air Force Smart Operations (AFSO21), he has trained several lean facilitators throughout United States Air Force Europe (USAFE) in England, Germany, and Italy. His passion for lean has helped these groups navigate through their lean transformation.

He is a member of the National Oversight and Appeals Committee for the Lean Certification program that was created by The Shingo Prize, AME, and SME. In this capacity, he actively participates in the development of the certification program and review of candidates.

As a lean motivational speaker, Jacob shows organizations that true innovation is not achieved by superficial imitation or the isolated, random use of lean tools and techniques and systems (“know how”), but instead requires the “know why” — i.e., an understanding of underlying principles. By blending his real-life stories and five years of Shingo Prize site visits, he educates, motivates, and entertains—delivering solutions audiences can use right away.

Jacob earned a master’s degree in business information systems with an emphasis in instructional technology from Utah State University. His research has been focused on using information technology for continuous improvement with proven techniques learned from the evolution of lean manufacturing. He has also guest lectured at various conferences and universities on lean information systems and lean transformation.