Testimonials

David M. O’Brien

The Standard logo

I have known Mike Orzen since early 2017 when we engaged him to assist in the deployment of Lean at The Standard. Working with our fledgling Lean Center of Excellence Mike delivered executive training,… Read more “David M. O’Brien”

David M. O’Brien
CIO & Sr. VP Information Technology
The Standard Insurance Company

Sue Larson

Costco logo

Mike’s Lead with Respect workshop was enjoyed by our entire management team. Mike is a very engaging speaker and his thorough understanding of the behaviors and practices made the two-day workshop fun and extremely… Read more “Sue Larson”

Sue Larson
Plant Manager
Costco

Jeff Bivens

Workiva logo

We added Mike Orzen to our project team at a time when all hope seemed to be lost – the situation was dire, the stakes were immense, and there were no more second chances.… Read more “Jeff Bivens”

Jeff Bivens
Director of Technical Program Management
Workiva

John M. Bernard

Mike is brilliant and understands best-practice management as well as anyone I know. He has particularly deep expertise in the application of these concepts to the IT organization — to a depth that I… Read more “John M. Bernard”

John M. Bernard
Founder and Chairman
Mass Ingenuity

Christopher Kellogg

Mike assisted me in strategizing my company into the next level of manufacturing and drove me into confident decisions for future growth that changed my life into unbelievable directions Thanks Mike, you are a… Read more “Christopher Kellogg”

Christopher Kellogg
VP National Business Development
Corrosion Companies Inc.

Carl Hoefer

Mike is a capable and proven transformation agent who partners with his clients to facilitate their Lean transformation. His approach and ability to coach others is top notch, and I have witnessed his ability… Read more “Carl Hoefer”

Carl Hoefer
Project Manager - Product Development and Engineer
Nike

Chris Richards

Mike did an outstanding job facilitating a large group through a value stream mapping exercise. The team included participants ranging from Sr. VP’s to independent contributors. Mike’s subject matter expertise, coupled with his facilitation… Read more “Chris Richards”

Chris Richards
Vice President
Con-way

Richard Carroll

Mike helped us design, plan and implement our Lean Office program for a campus of over 1,000 people in such a way that provided a clean handoff to internal resources. Their understanding of Lean… Read more “Richard Carroll”

Richard Carroll
VP Information Systems, Lean Program Executive Sponsor
Lean Program

Morris Weinstock-Blair

When Acumed knew that a search for a new ERP system was imminent, Mike helped us to find a path forward in keeping with our innovative product devlopment culture. We knew the task ahead… Read more “Morris Weinstock-Blair”

Morris Weinstock-Blair
IT Manager
Acumed, LLC

Scott Koch

Mike Orzen and Associates Lean Leadership Program helped us consolidate and coordinate our efforts across our entire US operations. Now our continuous improvement initiatives in sales, engineering, planning, production, finance and administration are all… Read more “Scott Koch”

Scott Koch
CFO
Beall Corporation

John Gillam

The combined expertise of Mike Orzen and Associates developed from their diverse experience in employee development, manufacturing, project management and software systems has been instrumental in the successful implementation of an ERP system replacing… Read more “John Gillam”

John Gillam
former Director of Operations
Boyd Coffee Company

Lee Robinson

Mike Orzen and Associates skillfully guided this corporation through a process of identifying and implementing software to provide a strategic advantage over our competition. Working with executive leadership they developed a project plan, interviewed… Read more “Lee Robinson”

Lee Robinson
CFO
Bonar Plastics

Jamie Meyers

Central City Concern is a large and diverse non-profit organization serving the needs of Portland’s homeless community. When I came on board as the first central IT director for the organization, Mike Orzen and… Read more “Jamie Meyers”

Jamie Meyers
IT Director
Central City Concern

Jackie Barretta

Mike Orzen & Associates has consistently delivered high quality lean consulting and positive bottom line results over the past two years. His expertise in Lean and Six Sigma applied to non-manufacturing environments enabled us… Read more “Jackie Barretta”

Jackie Barretta
CIO
Con-way

Ajeet Khalsa

Mike Orzen and Associates represents the highest quality of consultants a business can work with to improve business operations as they have an enormous tool box of practical management skills, a strong appetite for… Read more “Ajeet Khalsa”

Ajeet Khalsa
Director of Operations
Golden Temple

Rajesh Solanki

Mike Orzen and Associates’ deep understanding of Lean Enterprise IT systems provided our team clarity in understanding our Lean execution needs. Their quality approach provided excellent state of the art guidance. We continue to… Read more “Rajesh Solanki”

Rajesh Solanki
Director, Lean Six Sigma
Ingersoll Rand, Security Technologies

John Haines

Our involvement with Steady Improvement has been very beneficial. They have a realistic and practical approach that effectively combines the science and discipline of Lean process improvement with the art of actual implementation within… Read more “John Haines”

John Haines
Executive Director
Mercy Corps Northwest

James P. Fee Jr.

Over the past 18 months I’ve worked with Mike Orzen and Associates on EDI, Web Store, Product Configurator, and ERP projects. I have found the Mike Orzen and Associates consultants to be excellent communicators,… Read more “James P. Fee Jr.”

James P. Fee Jr.
Vice President, Portable Monitoring
Welch Allyn Monitoring

Paolo Chiappina

Mike was instrumental in providing our company with a deeper understanding of Shingo Prize criteria during an OPEX workshop. He made the workshop fun and provided lots of great coaching points to help us… Read more “Paolo Chiappina”

Paolo Chiappina
Director of Lean and QMS
Hanesbrands, Inc.

Roger Chen

Mike received rave reviews from a group of 20 leaders that attended his Shingo Assessor Workshop over 2 days. He is able to build rapport and engage people with diverse experiences in meaningful dialogue… Read more “Roger Chen”

Roger Chen
Corporate Director of Performance Executive
Martin Memorial Health Systems

Christopher Kellogg

Mike assisted me in strategizing my company into the next level of manufacturing and drove me into confident decisions for future growth that changed my life into unbelievable directions Thanks Mike, you are a… Read more “Christopher Kellogg”

Christopher Kellogg
VP National Business Development
Corrosion Companies Inc.

Elizabeth King

Mike brings a wonderful blend of energy, experience and knowledge to his work. The team really came together and delivered wonderful results under his guidance as a teacher and coach. I highly recommend him!… Read more “Elizabeth King”

Elizabeth King
Exec Director
ESCO Corp.

Richard Day

Mike is one of the sharpest guys I know. He really understands business, processes and most importantly people. He’s a hands-on manager/leader that owns his projects and delivers… Read more “Richard Day”

Richard Day
President
PED Manufacturing and ColumbiaSoft Corp.

Robert J. Witt

Mike Orzen and Associates has helped guide the development and implementation of large and complex ERP, EDI, and CRM projects at Veris. As consultants and team members they keep highly diverse teams on schedule,… Read more “Robert J. Witt”

Robert J. Witt
Controller
Veris Industries

Travis Pierce

Mike Orzen and Associates are the type of people who look out for the well being of their client above all else. I do not consider them just consultants; they are also excellent mentors.… Read more “Travis Pierce”

Travis Pierce
IT Operations Mgr
Warn Industries, Inc.

Nathan Holt

Mike met all of the key attributes of a successful workshop and it showed in our workshop survey where participants scored them 93% for overall satisfaction. Beyond professionalism and dedication to creating successful workshops,… Read more “Nathan Holt”

Nathan Holt
Corporate Leader, Enterprise Lean Sigma Transformation
Avery Dennison

Gayle Burrow BSN, MPH, CCHP-RN

Michael’s vast expertise and experience working with groups allowed the team to look at their work, step out of the box and look at new ways of doing the work. He is calm, supportive… Read more “Gayle Burrow BSN, MPH, CCHP-RN”

Gayle Burrow BSN, MPH, CCHP-RN
Director
Multnomah Health Department

Robert Witt, Dir MI

I have worked with Mike Orzen and Associates on numerous projects centered around IT and business process improvement. They have consistently provided high-quality project management skills, experienced insight and a relentless focus on delivering… Read more “Robert Witt, Dir MI”

Robert Witt, Dir MI
Insitu

Keith Burnett

I would recommend Mike Orzen to anyone who is looking for a facilitator for a Lean Kaizen event. We used Mike to facilitate an EDI Customer On-boarding Kaizen event and he did an outstanding… Read more “Keith Burnett”

Keith Burnett
V.P. Administrative Services
Con-way

Thomas R Yackel MD MPH MS

Mike presented a workshop for our IT managers and staff on Lean for Healthcare IT. Our organization is just getting started on our Lean journey and Mike’s presentation was a very helpful introduction with… Read more “Thomas R Yackel MD MPH MS”

Thomas R Yackel MD MPH MS
Chief Health Information Officer
OHSU Healthcare

Vanetta Abdellatif

Mike has worked with Multnomah County Health Department for more than three years. I have enjoyed getting to know him and his work. Mike demonstrates enthusiasm, insight and humility as he supported our quality… Read more “Vanetta Abdellatif”

Vanetta Abdellatif
Director, Integrated Clinical Services
Multnomah County Health Department

Tom Paider

I engaged Mike Orzen for a Coaching Workshop focused on uplifting the skills of our internal lean and agile transformation coaches. Mike did not disappoint, creating a one day workshop that brought a practical… Read more “Tom Paider”

Tom Paider
AVP, IT Build Capability
Nationwide

Ron Davis

I highly recommend Mike Orzen to help launch a Lean IT improvement initiative. Mike helped WD IT understand Lean IT concepts, how to apply them, and help us assess and identify the areas for… Read more “Ron Davis”

Ron Davis
Sr. Director
Business Information Systems Western Digital

Tom Armstrong

I first heard Mike speak at Ohio State University, Centre for Operational Excellence and was impressed with his ability to clearly translate the principles of Lean and Operational Excellence into tangible, credible examples applied… Read more “Tom Armstrong”

Tom Armstrong
CIO
Aggreko

Lee Ann Dudney

It is my privilege to recommend Mike Orzen as an excellent resource for Lean consulting. Mike’s consulting services to PNNL in 2012-13 were invaluable in helping us launch a Lean IT improvement initiative. Mike… Read more “Lee Ann Dudney”

Lee Ann Dudney
Principal Project Manager
Information Management Services

John McCoy

We contracted with Mike Orzen to initiate our Lean IT improvement project, and I am highly pleased with the results. Mike engaged effectively with both management and staff. He takes a holistic approach to… Read more “John McCoy”

John McCoy
Division Director, Information Management Services
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Robert Slepin

Mike Orzen literally wrote the book on Lean IT. Several colleagues and I first had the privilege of experiencing Mike’s Lean training at the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value where he is on the… Read more “Robert Slepin”

Robert Slepin
Chief Information Officer
Healthcare Industry

Peter Walsh

Mike Orzen was engaged by Lean Enterprise Australia to work on the implementation of Lean improvements for the Technology Service Management group within ANZ bank, one of the major banks in Australia. Mike’s expertise… Read more “Peter Walsh”

Peter Walsh
President
Lean Enterprise Austrailia

Aaron Duhig

I highly recommend Mike Orzen as an expert in Lean methodologies, specifically in the application of Lean concepts when applied to IT Service Management. Mike was contracted by the ANZ Bank as a Lean… Read more “Aaron Duhig”

Aaron Duhig
Manager
Global Incident Management

Rajesh Solanki

As the AMER Regional Lean Sigma Champion of Plexus Corp., it is my pleasure to prepare this letter of recommendation for your future clients based on the exemplary services rendered by you at our… Read more “Rajesh Solanki”

Rajesh Solanki
Lean Sigma Champion - AMER
Plexus Manufacturing Solutions

Linda Pearce

Mike is truly a professional, a coach, a teacher, and an excellent communicator. His understanding and training on solving problems using Lean principles is the best in the country. He shares and effectively transfers… Read more “Linda Pearce”

Linda Pearce
CFO
Tillamook Creamery

Bill Smith

We have worked with Mike Orzen for three years and during that time, our organization has significantly transformed the way we do our work and the way we improve our work. Mike is a… Read more “Bill Smith”

Bill Smith
General Manager
Plexus Boise

Angie Palmer

Our organization was so pleased with Mike Orzen’s Lead with Respect Workshop that we engaged him two months later to guide us through a Two Day Lean Problem Solving Workshop. In the Lean Problem… Read more “Angie Palmer”

Angie Palmer
President/COO
Health Systems Management, Inc.

Humberto Melo

I strongly recommend MIke Orzen as a knowledgeable consultant in Operational Excellence. I have worked with Mr. Orzen during the last 18 months and he has assisted my team to develop an Operational Excellence… Read more “Humberto Melo”

Humberto Melo
Monsanto Operational Excellence