We help Operations Teams and Continuous Improvement Professionals Increase effeciency by 20% using a real time Analytics

Watch the Training Video: Taking Control of Your Data Destiny
BIG OR SMALL THESE COMPANIES ALL WANT TO THRIVE!
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
Prometheus Award Finalist
Top 10 Manufacturing Solution Providers 2020
Iowa Farm Bureau's Renew Rural Iowa Entrepreneur Award
Leveraging Thrive in a Continuous Improvement Minded Organization
CASE STUDIES
"I was spending anywhere from 3-6 hours to read what my champions wrote...I had to key it in to Excel. I was building validation, vlookup tables, a variety of different things in Excel to try to automate it as much as possible. Then I was also cutting and pasting the data into PowerPoint to distribute and display. "
 
 
"Now with Thrive, because I have all of that automated. Once a month, I pull up my dashboard and grab a snap shot of the graphs. It is very natural and takes me 5 minutes vs the 3-6 hours. It also does all the auto calculations for me for the recognition piece as well. Now instead of having to do that manually, it [Thrive] just tells me which team improved the most."

 - Justin Singleton, Continuous Improvement Coordinator
Justin Singleton Testimonial
Justin Singleton
Continuous Improvement Coordinator
ASSA ABLOY
Phoenix, AZ

"...the problem with feeding that [ERP] beast with transactions...it was all rear view looking, there was no real time, there was no red or green, 
you had to really dig deep into the system so it was not yielding any value  
[as a shop floor problem solving tool] and by the time we got the information it wasn't timely to solve problems"  

After implementing Thrive

"we have the entire basis now for an effective daily problem solving system... 
literally from the day we bought Thrive to 2019....we have been on an upward trend"

 - Pete, Continuous Improvement Manageer
Peter Barboni Testimonial
Peter Barboni
Continuous Improvement Manager
Intek Plastics
Hastings, MN
"Thrive fits perfectly. A CI person usually have sticky notes in their pockets...Thrive is kind of like the sticky notes...you can quickly put something [process] together" 
 
"...it was my first experience with Thrive work orders...literally within a couple of hours at the end of the day I showed him the first pilot" 

After rolling out the process with Thrive as the tracking and close the loop mechanism 
"within 2 weeks we were able to reduce our past due orders by 66%"  

- Serge, Continuous Improvement Manager, Yale
Serge Jermakovs Testimonial
Sergejs Jermakovs
Continuous Improvement Manager
ASSA ABLOY Yale and Corbin Russwin
Prior to Thrive, we relied heavily on manual operator production tracking. We relied on people to use pencil and paper to keep track of the part number they were running, quantity they were running, what day they ran it, how they ran, scrap quantity, all your basic production stats. That was all done manually. It was very labor intensive...almost like a second or third job. With any manual input there is a lot of room for errors. 
 
I would go as far as saying it [Thrive implementation] was pretty seemless. We have 25 machines right now, that's just in our department. On the managerial side it [data management] is fractions of what it used to be. I can check the real time time status of any machine right now. I can drill down and see why it's not running. We have a manager's dashboard with all the production data for today, how we are doing hour by hour. 

It gives us a lot of hard data data where before it was a lot of guessing and assuming.

 - Dan, Manufacturing Engineer, Sargent Lock
Time saved per operator per shift by using Thrive machine data collection vs paper tracking
Dan Mach Testimonial
Dan Mach
Manufacturing Engineer
Sargent Manufacturing
New Haven, CT
Empower your leaders to solve problems using Thrive
“When I have an idea on how to make my life easier or how to make the production life easier or how to make my champion's life easier, I am empowered and able to just make that manipulation in the program…and not have to queue it up [with IT support], wait, etc. I can find real life savings and time savings right then and there.” 
- Justin, Continuous Improvement Coordinator, ASSA ABLOY
Stop managing data! 
Start making better decisions and taking action with real time information from Thrive Reports and Dashboards.

"...from the managerial side, it [data management] is a fraction of what it used to be [before Thrive].
I can check real time status of any machine we have connected right now.
Thrive gives us hard data where before it was a lot of guessing and assuming" 
 - Dan, Manufacturing Engineer at Sargent Lock 

“What helps from the IT standpoint, is that I don’t have to create additional reports or develop different applications to reach the data. So for the IT department, it is a burden taken off our shoulders because the users are now able to reach the data in ways they were not able to do before [Thrive was implemented].” - Manuel, Director of IT, ASSA ABLOY Electronic Security Hardware
Save a tree with real time digital productivty tracking with Thrive Goal Boards 
(a.k.a. Hour by Hour Boards)

"We put Thrive in and immediately it just worked.  - Travis, Manufacturing Engineering Manager

"As a manager, it [Thrive] gives me instant access to the status of every single production line in the facility at any time. It also gives every production line a direct conduit of communication. It has really ramped up our communication capabilities between the line and leadership..." - Ross, Senior Production Manager

"Thrive allows me to work more efficiently and effectively in analyzing overall how we are doing overall as a production team." - Eddie, Production Lead

Ensure process sustainability and compliance with Thrive Audits
“We have reduced our external customer complaints 40% over the last year. That is directly tied to verifying that our processes are being done accurately and completely on the floor.” 
- Crit, Quality Manager, Ameristar Fence
Close the Loop with CI Project/Process Management
Before Thrive
The team was using paper forms on the line, white boards at the end of the line but "the visual control really wasn't there for us...didn't have action plans...we had stand alone systems or now systems"

Thrive has "really helped us start and drive engagement at Intek. We started tracking improvement projects, engineering projects, it was a one stop shop for a lot of stand alone things we had and some of the things we didn't have"

"Thrive is a good basis for tiered accountability system"

- Pete, Continuous Improvement Manager
Consolidate CI Event Tracking and Ensure Follow Up is Completed with Homework Assignments
"Our organization defines a formal kaizen event as having a problem or opportunity with an unknown solution requiring a cross-functional team to solve. Management of this process from problem identification/scoping through completion of the last action item is often a complex and sometime lengthy process.

 Thrive enables us to track each event from inception to resolution, assure accountability of kaizen participants with embedded task management, maintain indexed records of associated documentation, and provides automated reporting to roll up impact without any additional time or effort.

 The aggregate of the “event” tools in Thrive allows us to focus on solving problems and making improvements rather than managing tasks and tracking data leading to an increase in both quality and quantity of Kaizen Events accelerating organizational improvement."
- Trey, Manager of Continuous Improvement and Safety
THE TEAM
Scott Sorheim
Founder and President
B.S. Mechanical Engineering
Iowa State University
Manufacturing Experience: Maintenance, Engineering, & Assembly Dept Manager
 
Founder of Lean Technologies and original developer of Thrive
Jamie Gyolai
Vice President
B.A. Business
North Dakota State University
 Manufacturing Experience: Operations Manager, Program Manager, Supply Chain Manager, Plant Scheduling, Continuous Improvement Leader

Small Business Owner and Entrepreneur
Kale Sparling
Vice President
B.S. Mechanical Engineering
Purdue University
Manufacturing Experience: Engineering Manager, Environmental Management, Maintenance Management, Machine Controls, Continuous Improvement Leader 
The Lean Technologies Team
While our backgrounds vary from science, education, engineering, operations, IT, and software we all share a common desire to build useful tools and build long term partnerships with Thrive users.
QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS
What is unique about the Thrive / Lean Technologies solution?
Thrive was born on the shop floor. Thrive was built for operations by operations leaders. 
What do those two statements mean? Well, the original concepts behind Thrive started simply as a way of solving a problem experienced by Scott (founder) while carrying out his leadership role on a shop floor. The tools he built to solve the data management problems he was experiencing became the foundation for Thrive. As stated, Scott was an operations leader at the time and decided he wanted to help out other operations leaders beyond just his company and that is when Lean Technologies was founded. Kale and Jamie joined the leadership team later down the road and were able to add another 20+ years of operations leadership to the team. The mindset has always been specifically on solving operations and shop floor challenges.
Is Thrive an ERP? MRP? MES?
Thrive is NOT an ERP. In the traditionally sense, an ERP has a top down focus on the company's financials - typically driven by the executive and accounting level leadership. Thrive is built with the shop floor operations leaders in mind and therefore focuses on all things process and operations minded (for example, continuous improvement, productivity tracking, audits, and project management).
Thrive fills the gap between what the ERP does and what the operations teams need to be successful at their roles and allows the operations leaders to take control of their own data destiny.
What does Thrive do for me? What evidence do you have to back up these promises and claims? 
With Thrive on your side, you will be able to take control of your "data destiny". What does this mean? You (or your operations team) will be able to configure Thrive to fit your process. IT teams are usually very willing to help, but they are constrained by limited resources just like you. Their priorities do not always align with yours, so Thrive releases you from their constraints and allows you to be in control of your operations system. With a powerful, yet user friendly tool on your side, you will be able to make better decisions with real time information and reach your efficiency and improvement goals faster. What makes us so confident? Every Thrive user since 2005 is still using Thrive today.
How do I know Thrive will work for me? Who hasn't it worked for? 
If you are an operations leader (CI Leader, Project Manager, Plant Manager, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality Manager, etc) with a continuous improvement mindset and want to take your current processes to a new level, then Thrive is for you. In fact, every manufacturing customer that has purchased Thrive since 2005 is still using Thrive today - click the button below to schedule the introductory call to find out if you fit in this category as well.
How do I present this to my team? 
We highly recommend that you keep it simple. Thrive can do many things for many people, but the best place to start is to solve a specific problem. We are confident that once you solve the first problem you will then be able to leverage Thrive to keep solving more problems - likely for other people in other departments. If you are experiencing Spreadsheet Chaos, spending hours building the same report over and over each week or making decisions on outdated information then tell us about it during the intro call and we will help you understand if Thrive can assist you in solving the problem. In watching the case studies, you will see a number of scenarios where 20% or greater improvements were realized. In other cases, a leader was able to significantly reduce the number of hours spent administering a critical process. In either scenario a cost justification can usually be built around solving that first problem.
What are typical contract terms? 
Thrive is a cloud hosted subscription. You can pay month to month with no contract and no commitment beyond the current month. (You can save on the cost of the subscription by paying in annual installments). 
An on premise installation is available to qualifying companies
How do I get training for Thrive? What type of support does Lean Tech offer? 
Thrive Training comes in three primary forms
(1) Initial set up and admin training via one on one "train the trainer" style web conference meetings between Lean Technologies and you (or your designated Thrive admin)
(2) On line documentation where you can follow along with training videos and step by step screen shots
(3) Monthly/Quarterly User Webinars - join other Thrive users to hear about the latest features and updates. Claim your spot at the table to contribute to the next round of enhancements to Thrive (remember, Thrive is built for operations leaders so we want to know what you need) 
Support is available via email and toll free number to all Thrive users with a current subscription in good standing.
How did Thrive get started? 
Thrive was an idea that was born on the shop floor as way to alleviate the pain of managing data and process. Scott (founder) felt he was spending too much time managing data which was taking focus away from leading his team and making improvements. By solving some of his own challenges he caught the attention of other leaders in his organization and soon he was building similar tools his colleagues to ease their pain. Scott found a passion for helping others in this way and decided to build a software platform to help others in the manufacturing industry. Thrive was born in 2003 and has grown and matured with more than 15 years of development and solving real problems like the ones you are experiencing on the shop floor.
What size of company uses Thrive? What industries use Thrive?
We have found that Thrive works just as well for billion dollar companies as it does for million dollar companies. Thrive is used in manufacturing processes such as plastic extrusions, doors and windows, locks and hardware, heavy equipment, perimeter security fencing, trailer fabrication and assembly, sheet metal products, paper products, and national defense contract manufacturing. If the annual revenue and the product are not the common denominator, then what links all of these successful Thrive users? The ideal Thrive user has good leadership, has or is establishing a lean and continuous improvement minded culture, has processes in place, and wants to take the next step by enhancing those processes while eliminating the waste in managing the processes so that leaders can make more informed decisions with real time information.
How do I get started using Thrive?
The first step is to schedule the introductory call. During this call we will learn about you, your team, any pain points you are currently experiencing, and your goals. With this information, we can help you determine if Thrive is a good fit. Provided there is mutual agreement, then we will proceed with scheduling a product demo for you (and your team). When you are ready to take control of your data destiny, then a credit card or purchase order will cement your place in the Thrive community. Soon after a URL will be provided so you can access your Thrive environment in the cloud. Training and roll out will be largely dictated by you as you decide how fast (daily) or slow (weekly) you would like to schedule the "train the trainer" sessions with the Lean Tech team.
Does Thrive offer tools beyond continuous improvement?
Yes! Thrive has great tools for all aspects of shop floor operations such as operations team management, safety, quality, engineering, and maintenance (CMMS). All of these tools leverage the same great features for notifications, administration, dashboarding, and reporting. We recommend you start with one specific problem within Continuous Improvement, but you can take comfort in knowing that you are using a software platform that will be able to expand to other areas of your operations when the time is right.
How can I see my data? Does Thrive have standard reports? Can I make my own reports?
If you watched the 4 steps to 20% efficiency video above, you know that being able to see your process information in a timely and meaningful fashion is a key part of achieving your goals. This idea is coded into the core of the Thrive software platform. The ability to have real time information at your fingertips is a standard feature using the Thrive reporting and dashboard tools. Whether you start with one of the dozens of standard reports already in Thrive or build your own from scratch, you will be deploying real time reports and templates to your team from the very beginning.
Lean Technologies, Inc
1109 Washington St, Pella, IA 50219 
All Rights Reserved. Terms of Service. Privacy Policy.
Powered By ClickFunnels.com