Building on the foundation established by 2006's Connecticut Silver Shingo Prize for World Class Leadership and Culture, HID Global's North Haven facility continues to excel with their 2007 Lean implementation. By effectively focusing the activities of the Lean implementation in the right areas, with leadership setting the vision and mission to effectively change the organization's culture, HID Global was recognized for achieving tremendous business results.

Significant reduction in lead times, improvement in on-time delivery, reduced scrap and huge increases in shipments with an incremental increase in labor were noted by Shingo evaluators as contributors to the North Haven facility's award-winning performance.

"Customers receiving products from the North Haven facility are getting products from a facility that is on its way to "world class". Very few companies achieve this level of Shingo Prize. We are humbled by our employees' relentless commitment to continuous improvement. They make the difference," says Paul Murphy, HID Global's Connecticut plant manager.

"We continue on the path to our true goal of 100 percent customer satisfaction and in meeting our mission of providing our customers with the highest quality product, on time, every time through our pursuit of world class practices," says John Uliano, director of lean implementation, HID Global.

"The 2007 Gold Shingo prize represents a significant recognition of our commitment to create increased value for our customers," says Steve Wagner, chief operating officer, HID Global "I commend our employees who strive to produce a culture of operational excellence"

The Shingo Award, called the "Nobel Prize of manufacturing" by Business Week magazine, recognizes excellence in manufacturing practices, translating into strong customer satisfaction and business results. Established by the Connecticut Shingo Board of Advisors to promote strategic leadership, effective workforce practices and the implementation of Lean principles and techniques, the award criteria touches all facets of an organization's operations. The prize criteria provides companies with a blueprint for attaining world class manufacturing excellence, by focusing on Customer Satisfaction and Profitability; Quality; Cost and Delivery; Core Operations' and Leadership and Empowerment Enablers.