| Friday, July 3rd, 2026 🌟 AT A GLANCE Upcoming Events Lean Coffee Amazon Facility Tour – Live Event “Respect for People – The Social Pillar of Lean” – Virtual Event “AI & BI as Catalysts” – Virtual Event Article Innovation with AI CLN Annual Summit Spotlight 2026 Precision Meets Process: Case Study AI  Welcome to the July edition of the Colorado Lean Network newsletter! Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming how organizations approach Lean, Six Sigma, and Continuous Improvement. What used to take hours of manual analysis can now be done in minutes. What once required guesswork can now be predicted with accuracy.This month, we explore how AI is becoming the spark that ignites innovation — you can jump to the article or explore our June case study to bring more clarity and flow to your team and how these sparks will Flow into Excellence at our Annual 2026 CLN Summit Spotlight!!!And of course, July brings another Monthly Lean Coffee and other virtual and in-person events!!Interested in hosting an upcoming Colorado Lean Network event, presenting on a topic with us, or sharing a tool you’ve found helpful? Visit the Lend A Hand page here! UPCOMING EVENTS  Join the Colorado Lean Network for our free monthly Virtual Lean Coffee – a relaxed, engaging space for Lean enthusiasts and practitioners of all experience levels to connect, learn, and share ideas. Each session is discussion-based and participant-driven, but there’s no pressure to speak – you’re always welcome to simply listen in and learn. Whether you’re brand new to Lean or a seasoned practitioner, you’ll gain fresh perspectives, practical insights, and peer learning in a supportive, low-stakes environment. Come curious, bring questions if you’d like, or just tune in and absorb.🗓️ Wednesday, July 8th ⏰ 12:00 – 1:00 PM MDT đź’» Sign up on Eventbrite to receive a link!REGISTER HERE!  Amazon Facility Tour (Round 2) Join the Colorado Lean Network for an inside look at an Amazon Fulfillment Center and see their processes and operations in action!An event so nice we decided to run it twice! Our first round sold out and had great feedback so we are offering a second tour! Join the Colorado Lean Network for an exclusive behind the scenes tour of an Amazon Fulfillment Center. The tour will begin at 1:00 pm and run through 2:30 pm, offering a firsthand look at operational processes and lean principles in action.Following the tour, we will gather at a nearby restaurant for appetizers and to discuss what we saw. This is a great opportunity to reflect on key takeaways, share insights, and connect with fellow attendees in a relaxed setting. Attendance at the post tour gathering is completely optional, so feel free to join for as much or as little as fits your schedule.This event will be capped at 25 people and registration will close 7/10. Our first tour sold out so don’t wait!🗓️ Wednesday, July 15th ⏰ 1:00 – 3:30 PM MDT đź’» Sign up on Eventbrite to receive a link!REGISTER HERE!  Your most expensive operational problem isn’t a system or process. It’s the human interactions that determine whether anything works:Respect for People – The Social Pillar: The Multiplier that Compounds Operational PerformanceThe most expensive friction in your operation may not be in your systems or processes. It may be in the daily interactions that determine whether problems surface, decisions move clearly, accountability holds, and improvement actually takes root.This session explores the social side of Lean: what drives human friction, what it costs your operation and your people, and how building Respect for People into everyday ways of working can multiply performance, engagement, and growth at scale.You’ll walk away with a clearer understanding of the conditions that support continuous improvement and the behaviors that power execution, trust, ownership, and engagement. The gap between your current state and what your operation is capable of may be smaller than you think, but it depends on how people are treated while the work gets done. 🗓️ Wednesday, July 22nd ⏰9:00 – 10:30 AM MDT đź’» Sign up on Eventbrite to receive a link!REGISTER HERE!  AI and BI as Catalysts: Empowering the Learning OrganizationExplore how BI connects support requests and performance metrics to improve learning, decision making, and operational outcomes.Join us for a one-hour virtual deep dive into the evolution of Business Intelligence (BI) and its pivotal role in supporting the commitment to becoming a true learning organization. We will explore how to anchor unstructured support request data to structured performance metrics to better understand the true impact of uncertainty on operational performance.This session will explore the following topics:· Identifying systems and signals used for support requests in operations.· The value of mapping unstructured inputs, such as support tickets, directly to structured process metrics.· The business case for targeted development and “just-in-time” knowledge transfer.· The benefits of escalation channels and data-driven insights on team engagement.  🗓️ Friday, Aug 21st ⏰12:00 – 1:00 PM MDT đź’» Sign up on Eventbrite to receive a link!REGISTER HERE! CLN PRESENTS: THE ANNUAL SUMMIT 2026 SPOTLIGHT FLOW TO EXCELLENCE  Get Ready for the 2026 Colorado Lean Network Summit!Join us in person on Thursday, October 15th for an exciting day packed with insightful talks, hands on workshops, and awesome networking opportunities. Whether you’re a Lean enthusiast or just curious, this Summit is the perfect place to connect, learn, and grow with over 150 attendees. Don’t miss out on the chance to meet with likeminded folks and dive deep into Lean principles. Details to follow and lunch will be provided. Hope to see you there! EARLY BIRD DISCOUNTED TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW WHILE QUANITITES LAST!!!REGISTER HERE!  AI is not replacing Lean — it’s supercharging it. Here are the top ways AI is reshaping CI work:1. AI‑Enhanced Root Cause AnalysisAutomated clustering of defectsPattern recognition across large datasetsComputer vision for error detectionNLP for analyzing customer feedback2. Predictive Flow ModelingDigital twins simulate future statesAI forecasts bottlenecks before they occurPredictive takt time adjustments3. AI Waste DetectionAI can identify:Waiting timeMotion wasteOverprocessingRework patternsDefect clusters4. AI‑Powered Visual ManagementDashboards that update automaticallyAlerts for abnormalitiesPredictive trend linesAutomated KPI storytelling5. Generative AI for CI TeamsTeams are using generative AI to:Draft SOPsBuild A3sSummarize Kaizen eventsCreate training materialsGenerate improvement ideas Learn more at our upcoming virtual event in August – register above..! |
 Background A Colorado healthcare team struggled with long patient intake times. Traditional Lean tools helped, but bottlenecks kept shifting. AI InterventionThe team used: AI‑powered process mining to map real workflows Predictive modeling to forecast peak congestion Automated text analysis to categorize patient complaints Results 37% reduction in cycle time 22% increase in staff capacity Real‑time dashboards replaced manual reporting Flow stability improved across all shifts Key Insight AI didn’t replace Lean — it accelerated it. The team still used PDCA, A3 thinking, and Gemba — but AI made each step faster and more precise. Closing Thoughts As we move through July, we invite you to ignite innovation using the power of AI — and prepare for those sparks to flow into excellence when we gather on Thursday, October 15th at CSU Spur.Stay inspired. Stay curious. Stay connected.Thank you for being part of the Colorado Lean Network. We look forward to connecting with you at our July and August events! |
Newsletter July 2026
