Timothy Schipper is a graduate of Calvin College and the University of Michigan (Bachelor's of Mechanical Engineering and Master's of Science). His career has spanned 30 years and includes time as a tool designer, engineering educator, CAD specialist, senior product engineer, IT manager, and Lean expert, author, coach, and consultant. His teaching experience includes positions in the Engineering Department at Calvin College and in industry. He has led Lean transformations in the areas of office value streams, IT development, product development, new business initiatives, government agencies, and nonprofits.
He currently works for Steelcase Inc. of Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he coaches leadership and teams in the areas of lean product design, Lean management systems, and business transformations. He is the founder of Lean Inspiration, which promotes Lean concepts to organizations and nonprofits through writing, educational classes, coaching, and workshops.
Timothy served for 3 years as an officer on the Board of Directors of LPPDE, Inc. , an international nonprofit group that promotes the exchange ideas and practices used in Lean development. Timothy is the co-author of Innovative Lean Development: How to Create, Implement, and Maintain a Learning Culture, Schipper & Swets, (Productivity Press © 2010), which explores how rapid learning cycles, knowledge management, and other Lean techniques can be applied in development. He has also written articles in AME Target Magazine, in Wikipedia ("Design for Lean Manufacturing"), and he has contributed material for other authors (Steve Bell, Katherine Radeka, and Durward Sobek). He speaks at North American and international conferences on the topics of Lean, innovation, and leadership. You can follow him on Twitter (@LeanInspirations) or on his blog (http://innovativeLean. wordpress. com).
