The Salon sur les meilleures pratiques d'affaires celebrates its 25th anniversary with first-ever presentation in Canada of a cyber-physical factory

High-caliber program draws 3,000 participants

MONTREAL, Nov. 16, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - Le Mouvement québécois de la qualité this morning kicked off the 25^th edition of the Salon sur les meilleures pratiques d'affaires (www.salonmpa.com), organized in collaboration with the Government of Québec, especially the Ministère de l'Économie, de la Science et de l'Innovation. More than 3,000 business leaders, experts and quality enthusiasts converged at the Palais des congrès de Montréal to participate in the largest event dedicated to continuous improvement and innovation in Québec.

"We are proud to present for the first time in Canada the cyber-physical factory of the Centre de recherche industrielle du Québec (CRIQ). This veritable factory-school, which integrates new production technologies and connected systems, promotes learning about how 4.0 industrial projects work and enables participants to discover the best practices surrounding this next industrial revolution," says Johanne Maletto, Executive Director of the Mouvement québécois de la qualité.

Over the past 25 years, the Salon has played host to more than 1,000 improvement, innovation and engagement projects. This year, some 40 teams from across Québec and from all sectors of activity are eager to share lessons learned within their respective organizations. Thanks to their approach, they have improved their productivity, the quality of their products and services, and their innovation processes.

The Salon offers a rich program, including pavilions on trending topics, major presentations, a Leaders' Forum, and training sessions taught by recognized experts. This is a unique opportunity for those who are passionate about continuous improvement and innovation to exchange ideas and discover success stories by Québec companies and new trends.

A diversified program aligned with business needs

Pavilions on intelligent manufacturing and problem solving
The Mouvement québécois de la qualité, the Government of Québec and the CRIQ have joined forces to present a pavilion dedicated to the Factory 4.0. Intelligent manufacturing is about connecting production systems, or even factories, around the globe so that they can communicate and make decisions themselves. This revolution is paving the way for highly flexible and highly customized production systems. Companies that have already begun the 4.0 shift will be on hand to share their experiences.

A second pavilion dedicated to problem solving provides participants with simulations in a structured approach, enabling them to experience all the steps of a problem-solving process. Experts will present a series of creative tools and methods that visitors can test and compare, including 8D, PCRP, Kaizen, DMAAC and A3.

High-calibre presentations
Two major presentations are on the program. Dr. John Izzo, speaker and author of six best-sellers, has advised more than 500 organizations throughout his career to help them build a sustainable competitive advantage through a highly motivated work environment. Backed by compelling examples, Dr. Izzo's presentation, entitled 100% Responsibilities - 0% Excuses, is an invitation to disrupt the status quo and take personal responsibility.

In his lecture, Mr. Imed Othamani, Associate Partner at IBM Canada, is presenting the concepts of artificial intelligence and related fields such as Big Data and the Internet of Things (loT), as well as the latest advances and case studies in the industrial sector.

Leaders' Forum
The Leaders' Forum features four business leaders who are on the rise: Jean Bédard, President and CEO of Sportscene Group; Stéphane Glorieux, President of Keurig Canada; Philippe Morin, President and CEO of EXFO; and Éric Wazana, President and Founder of Yoga Jeans, Beauce Jeans and Second Clothing. These high-level executives have agreed to share with thousands of participants how they have managed to adapt and change their business model to better propel their growth. In lively discussions, they reveal lessons learned and the major challenges they have faced during these periods of profound transformation.

Training Sessions
Training workshops on cutting-edge topics are also being offered to visitors, including the power of group animation as a mobilization tool for action as well as the benefits of the kata approach when deploying performance.

About the Mouvement québécois de la qualité et du Salon
The Mouvement québécois de la qualité (www.qualité.qc.ca) is an association dedicated to performance improvement that brings together 600 companies from all economic sectors. For the community of Québec organizations, the Mouvement québécois de la qualité is both the greatest source of information and the largest association of organizations dedicated to best management practices.

The Salon sur les meilleures pratiques d'affaires is organized by the Mouvement québécois de la qualité and is presented in collaboration with the Government of Québec, especially the Ministère de l'Économie, de la Science et de l'Innovation. The Salon receives financial support from its major partners: Canada Economic Development, Hydro-Québec, Alcoa, AcelorMittal, CNESST, Fink Steel, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Investissement Québec, Kruger and Paccar Canada.

SOURCE Mouvement québécois de la qualité

Nancy German, Primacom, 514 924-4445, [email protected]; Diane Jeannotte, 514 772-8019, [email protected]