Thursday, October 2, 2025 Virtual Conference

Peter Palmér, LPPDE and Juha Tammi, Lean Association of Finland - Welcome and Instructions

Peter and Juha represent the two organization who organize these virtual online events and will moderate the Virtual Summit.

Marcos Esterman, Enterprise Excellence Manager, Product Design Engineering at A. O. Smith Corporation – Evolving A.O. Smith’s Study Phase

Evolving the study phase  involves a lot of knowledge gathering and creation, focusing on both gathering existing knowledge and creating new knowledge to accelerate this phase?

Marcos Esterman has over 30 years of combined experience in industrial and academic settings His passion is to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of product development so that the amazing innovations developed by technologists reach the communities that need them. He is an expert in product development and complex systems engineering. At A.O. Smith, Marcos is responsible for the development, deployment, and support of the product development process. Prior to joining A.O. Smith, Marcos served on the faculty of the RIT Industrial and Systems Engineering Department, where his research contributions included: The Integration of Lean Principles with Systems Engineering, Sustainable Development, Advanced Manufacturing Technology Development, Community Engaged Design, and Medical Device Innovation. Marcos’ previous industry experience includes General Electric Medical Systems and Hewlett-Packard. His analysis work at HP enhanced design and product architecture decision-making.

Andy Wagner, Process Engineer, BCA Future Production System at Boeing – Developing Teams of Responsible Experts: Bringing Forth Knowledge in People

The presentation will focus on how you develop teams of responsible experts. "I confess that I prefer true but imperfect knowledge, even if it leaves much in-determined and unpredictable, to a pretense of exact knowledge that is likely to be false." - Friedrich Hayek

Andy Wagner has been a student of aerospace production systems for his entire career, striving to understand their technical, business, and human aspects, and how the unique aerospace context influences their performance. A sponge for ideas in this domain, Andy is continually testing approaches against the lens of his current and past work to find novel and hybrid solutions to persistent problems.

• 8+ Years leading automation, producibility and process improvement teams and initiatives
• 12+ Years in manufacturing-technical functions, (process engineer, manufacturing engineer, and quality engineer)
• 17+ Years of collaborative Design-Build engineering experience in aerospace
• Lead, coach, and mentor continuous improvement and integration between engineering and manufacturing
• Focused on understanding problems and root causes to drive meaningful solutions

Geoff Neiley, Director Continuous Product Improvement and CM, Rapiscan Systems – Accelerate Knowledge : Accelerate Innovation

Innovation is the engine that drives growth, progress, and transformation. Whether it’s the development of groundbreaking products or the refinement of existing processes, innovation plays a critical role in shaping the future. At the heart of every innovation lies knowledge—both the knowledge we already possess and the knowledge we continuously create. The faster we can access and generate this knowledge, the faster we can innovate, adapt, and lead.

In today’s fast-paced world, the ability to quickly tap into relevant information and insights is more important than ever. Organizations and individuals alike are seeking ways to accelerate their learning, improve collaboration, and stay ahead of the curve. But how do we do that effectively? What tools, strategies, and communities can help us unlock the full potential of our collective knowledge?

Geoff Neiley has been in the mechanical engineering field for 30 years. After graduating from the University of Maine, Orono, he learned much about the custom equipment business at NESLAB Instruments designing water chilling systems. Following this he spent 15 years working for BTU International where he designed and lead projects for conveyorized furnaces using in the electronics and solar industry. During this time, he earned his master’s in mechanical engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. It was at BTU where Geoff began to see the value of concurrent engineering. Geoff joined AS&E in 2011 where he led the mechanical team to introduce state-or-the-art x-ray products for the security market. Three years after joining AS&E (now Rapiscan Systems) in 2011, the leadership team introduced the concept of Lean Product Development. Geoff joined the leadership team reading many Lean PD books, inviting Lead PD practitioners to AS&E and attending LPPDE for several consecutive years. AS&E has roundly embraced the concurrent engineering aspects of Lean PD focusing greatly of Set-Base Innovation and cross-functional collaboration with our supply chain and manufacturing team. In 2022, Geoff took the role of Director of Continuous Product Improvement and Configuration Management. In his new role, he continues to leverage his learning from 8-years for practicing LPPD. Geoff has been a member of the board of Lean Product and Process Development Exchange since 2019. Today he is still learning and experimenting with lean processes and enjoys the pride felt in enabling a cross-functional team to achieve challenging, rewarding goals.

Final reflections and remarks

End

By Juha Tammi & Peter Palmér

End