Logan, Utah, September 18, 2023 — The Shingo Institute, a program of the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University, will induct three Shingo Academy Members—George Donaldson, Noel Hennessey, and Eamonn Murphy—at the upcoming Shingo European Conference in Dublin, Ireland, October 11-12, 2023. Shingo Rising Star nominee Judith McMullan will also be awarded posthumously.
Members of the Shingo Academy exemplify a lifetime commitment to organizational excellence, which is evident by their recognized corporate and thought leadership. These individuals are strong advocates and supporters of the principles of organizational excellence. They have also demonstrated a commitment and willingness to support and promote the Shingo Institute.
When individuals are inducted into the Shingo Academy, they become ambassadors for the Shingo Institute. They are asked to speak at conferences, to provide company tours, to offer advice, and to research topics related to the Shingo Model. Inductees are ambassadors of goodwill.
“We are very excited to welcome these new members into the Academy during the Shingo European Conference. The Academy is the Shingo Institute’s version of a Hall of Fame,” said Ken Snyder, executive director of the Institute. “They are exceptional members of the Shingo community and are devoted to teaching and practicing the principles of organizational and operational excellence.”
In addition, the Shingo Insitute will award Judith McMullan the Shingo Rising Star, a new recognition category for developing organizational excellence professionals. Judith passed away unexpectedly and her family will receive her award in her absence.
“The Shingo Rising Star award is a new recognition that highlights individuals who, though early in their careers as organizational excellence professionals, have already made significant contributions to the Lean community,” said Ken Snyder, executive director of the Institute. “Recipients show their dedication to Lean principles as they significantly impact their organizations in a variety of ways by advocating the Shingo Model and the mission of the Shingo Institute.”
About Shingo Rising Star Recipient Judith McMullan
Judith joined Abbott in 2011 and held various roles within operations, quality, and strategic sourcing across the Diagnostics, Vascular and Nutrition divisions. At the time of her death in August 2023, Judith was the director of program management. This position gave her responsibility of the Shingo program across Abbott Nutrition Supply Chain (ANSC), which includes 14 manufacturing sites across Europe, Asia, and North America. In that role, Judith supported the ANSC enterprise through the Shingo challenge process, integrating systems and tools by driving the right behaviors.
During Judith’s tenure as global excellence manager, four ANSC sites received Shingo Prize recognition. This achievement is testament to the expert guidance and coaching support that Judith provided to the sites. She was widely acknowledged across multiple Abbott Divisions as a true leader and current and future star. Beyond Abbott, she was greatly respected in the Shingo/OpEx community in Ireland and globally. Judith was generous in recognizing the contributions of those she worked with, exemplifying the Shingo Guiding Principle of Respect Every Individual. She also lived the principle of Lead With Humility, always seeking to learn from others and share her learning with all who asked.
About Shingo Academy Inductee George Donaldson
George Donaldson has more than 40 years of experience in coaching leadership and organizational excellence. His career has been a journey of facilitating progression, instilling reliability engineering, and breeding organizational excellence. His role in establishing the Manufacturers Network was a passion project and not merely another part of his career. George has worked closely with top-tier management in unleashing the power of change management to sculpt organizational culture into something phenomenal. Each transformation is unique, and he thrives on helping leaders uncover their hidden purpose to foster sustained business transformations.
George began his career as an electrical and electronic engineer before emigrating to Canada to take up a leadership role with a General Motors franchise. He then joined the Toronto Star (Canada’s largest newspaper) as continuous improvement and engineering manager.
Returning to the UK in 2007 marked a significant milestone as George led improvement and excellence initiatives at News International. Under his guidance, hardworking teams landed a plethora of prestigious accolades, including the Global Operational Excellence Prize (2014), the British Excellence Award for Lean Manufacturing (2011), and the coveted Shingo Prize in 2014. In 2015, George was overjoyed to be recognized as one of Europe’s top influencers in Lean management. He is proud to add “author” to his list of achievements. His book, The Manufacturers Network Organizational Excellence Handbook, is what he calls his humble contribution to the field he loves.
About Shingo Academy Inductee Noel Hennessey
Noel Hennessey was the EU/Asia enterprise excellence director for Lake Region Medical (now Integer) at New Ross, County Wexford. During his tenure in 2012, the site became the first company in Ireland and the first medical device company in Europe to receive a Shingo award. Also in 2012, the site was recognized as the Irish Medical Technology Company of the Year for its enterprise excellence program.
At Lake Region Medical, Noel facilitated more than 300 visits from organizations from all around Ireland, which enabled many of those organizations to begin their own CI journeys, several of which ultimately received the Shingo Prize. Additionally, Noel has been integral to the personal and professional development of numerous individuals within Integer and elsewhere.
A committed life-long learner, Noel’s search for best practices has seen him participate in global benchmarking visits across Europe, Japan, the United States, and India. He holds an MSc in Lean Operations from Cardiff University and a Doctorate in Business Administration from WIT (now South East Technological University). In 2021, with co-author John Bicheno, Noel published Human Lean, which received the Contribution to Knowledge award at the Lean Business Ireland Awards in 2022.
Now semi-retired, Noel continues to share his experiences and expertise with organizations across various sectors through his Practical Lean Solutions (PLS) company as well as through his work with S A Partners in supporting their clients’ adoption of the Shingo Model. Noel’s generosity of spirit and passion for Lean and CI make him a regular and popular contributor at conferences and events where his distinctive sense-making ability and good humor help audiences better understand the opportunities Lean and CI present for leaders, managers, and team members.
About Shingo Academy Inductee Eamonn Murphy
Eamonn Murphy is professor emeritus of quality and applied statistics at the University of Limerick. He was the first person to be awarded both the Excellence in Teaching award (1997) and the Outstanding Achievement in Research award (1999). He has published more than 70 refereed publications and was recognized for an Outstanding Paper Award by IEEE (2001).
His paper entitled “Total System Reliability: Integrated Model for Growth and Test Termination” influenced a significant revision of both the British Standard (BSEN 62429) and European Standard (CENELEC EN62429). The revised standards include considerable material copied directly from this paper and two other related publications.
Professor Murphy has supervised 20 PhD and more than 40 students at master’s level and received a European Excellence Award for Research Supervision (2000). In 1998, he initiated the European exchange program for PhD students of quality and reliability. In 2009, Eamonn initiated the Professional Doctorate at UL, the first program of its kind in Ireland.
Professor Murphy fully subscribes to Stern’s (1991) principle that a commitment to learning at work is as much a statement of values, an assertion of the kind of society that people will want to live in, as an economic imperative. It implies a preference for a more inclusive society. Eamonn was principal investigator for the Programme for University Industry interface, which successfully amended the national policy for Modular Accreditation Program (MAP 2005) that led directly to the Micro Credential programs so common in industry today.
In 1998, he established the Irish Centre for Business Excellence (ICBE), a non-profit knowledge exchange network. Guided by its 70+ members, ICBE identifies best practice in Ireland and internationally and through a series of innovative programs. In association with Skillnet Ireland, it helps members adapt new practices and innovative thinking as quickly and effectively as possible. ICBE is currently partnering with institutions in five other EU member states to evaluate the impact of artificial intelligence on the labour market.
About the Shingo European Conference
The event, held in collaboration with the Irish Centre for Business Excellence, will focus on “Connecting People and Technology.” Attendees will participate in sessions for professionals who are just getting started on their Lean journey, sessions highlighting Shingo Award–recipient companies, workshops presented by Shingo Faculty Fellows, and company benchmarking tours to Astellas Pharma, Ipsen Ireland, Viatris, West Pharmaceutical Services, and Jabil Bray. The conference is sponsored by S A Partners, Meet in Ireland, BoxMedia, and Fáilte Ireland. To learn more about the event, please visit https://shingo.org/events.
About the Shingo Institute
The Shingo Institute administers the Shingo Prize, an award that recognizes organizations that demonstrate an exceptional culture of fostering continuous improvement. A program of the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University, the Shingo Institute is named after Japanese industrial engineer and Toyota adviser, Shigeo Shingo. Dr. Shingo distinguished himself as one of the world’s thought leaders in the concepts, systems, and improvement techniques that have become known as the Toyota Production System (TPS).
Drawing from Dr. Shingo’s teachings and years of experience working with organizations worldwide, the Shingo Institute developed the Shingo Model™, which is the basis for its educational offerings, including workshops, study tours, and conferences. Workshops are available in multiple languages through the Institute’s licensed affiliates. For more information on workshops, affiliates, or to register to attend the Shingo Conference, please visit www.shingo.org.
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