Skip to content

ABOUT US

We optimize human potential in the workplace.

We help people realize their potential in a way that achieves sustainable results.

We value and respect every person’s ability and capability. We know that inside everyone is the desire to do better and to be better. Developing and nurturing that desire unlocks potential and transforms ability and capability into achievement and self-satisfaction. 

We are a people business that coaches and trains. As such, we see our role as enabling that transformation and elevating the effect of frontline people on the success of their organizations, in their communities and in their lives.

People are central to our values and beliefs.

People mean everything to us. People are the focal point of our training and coaching programs. Also, the word – PEOPLE – reflects our values. Each letter in the word, PEOPLE, stands for a value that we work to live by every day.

Potential

We believe in what is possible for people. That first with respect, followed by guidance and trust, every individual has the potential to create and contribute in all of their surroundings.

Engagement

We believe that engaged people improve workplaces in big ways. When people feel freed to think, when they feel involved and appreciated, their emotional commitment takes performance and improvement to new heights.

Originality

We believe in authenticity. Thus, we will be faithful to the original tenets and principles of TWI (Training Within Industry). We will deliver coaching and training programs in TWI, Kata and Standardized Work, in the most effective and conscientious ways, to organizations and their people the world over.

Principled

We believe in integrity, honesty, loyalty and mutual respect. These are the qualities that guide our relationships with people, partners, businesses – all those who entrust their success to us.

Leadership

Leadership shouldn’t be about size or position. Leadership should be what drives inspiration. We believe in building a “leadership workforce.” Individually and collectively we listen, learn, solve problems and achieve the smaller goals that contribute to realizing larger ones.

Empowerment

We believe in people who believe in themselves. We don’t just train people. We impart the knowledge that builds skills and self-confidence in a way that helps them achieve success in life and at work.

The Impact of Our Training and Coaching

We feel great satisfaction in the value we have generated for our clients in so many different industries, including manufacturing, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, distribution and retail, energy and environmental, government and institutions, and transportation.

45

%
Increase in productivity

78

%
Reduction in training time

23

%
Reduction in employee turnover

70

%
Fewer accidents
These statistics represent documented composite results from actual improvements measured in client engagements and tracking metrics from the U.S. government.

History

Our roots go back over 70 years to the formation of TWI in the workplace. TWI, and our role in reviving it, have had a significant impact on lean management and the improvement culture in the United States.
1940
1945
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2002
2007
2012
2020
1940
Impending crisis creates a need
TWI, or the Training Within Industry service, was created by the United States Department of War, within the War Manpower Commission. Standing on the doorstep of World War II, the US developed TWI because the war effort would require an enormous amount of manpower and materials. The people who replaced the workers in the manufacturing plants, including women who had never worked in factories or shipyards before, not only needed job training, but also a different approach to work in order to produce what was needed – in short spans of time – by the armed services.
1945
The war ends and so does TWI in the US
Even though Training Within Industry was a tremendous success, the US government shut down the service after the war ended. Soldiers by the tens of thousands would return and provide the manpower for manufacturing in post-war America.

However, the government did think TWI was ideal for the rest of the world, especially as Japan rebuilt its infrastructure and industrial base. Channing Dooley, Walter Dietz, Mike Kane and Bill Conover (collectively known as the four horsemen) continued the TWI program development and created the TWI Foundation. One of the district directors, Lowell Mellen, created TWI Inc. and was contracted by the US Government to deliver TWI to Japan as part of the rebuilding effort.
1950
TWI gains momentum in Japan
The concepts of TWI and its core principle, respect for the worker, were just what Japan’s working culture needed. As the training continued and worked its way into manufacturing processes, the benefits became clear and the TWI methods were spread throughout the country by the Japanese Labor Ministry.

In the early 1950s, TWI was introduced to Toyota; it soon became an essential part of Toyota’s management system and ultimately foundational to Taiichi Ohno’s Toyota Production System (TPS). TWI was off and rolling.
1960
Global TWI: A step forward, two steps back
By the late 50s and early 60s, TWI usage was heating up in Japan, but would ultimately burn out in America and Europe. The British Ministry of Labour actively promoted the TWI programs, listing 65 countries in addition to the US and England where TWI was known to be in use as of 1959. Expansion into Europe was driven by Standard Oil, which led the translation of the manuals into native languages. However, these efforts would largely be forgotten by the 1980s.
1970
Toyota’s success in America gets attention
By 1970, Toyota unit sales in the US broke through 150,000 and had become second in imports from sixth place in 1966. Growth was astounding and consumer acceptance was so high that Toyota decided to expand distribution from only the West Coast to the entire US.

Domestic manufacturers took notice and sought to learn Toyota’s secret. One of them was TWI.
1980
Seeds of TWI’s rebirth planted at SANYO
Kazuhiko Shibuya takes charge of international training at SANYO Electric Corporation. He had been taught TWI earlier in his career by Kenji Ogawa, one of the 35 original TWI Trainers certified in Japan. Mr. Shibuya taught TWI to a newly hired American, Patrick Graupp. He would become TWI Institute’s Vice President and Senior Master Trainer.
1990
“Lean” as a concept connected to Toyota and TWI
In the early 90s, “Lean” debuted as a buzzword for the Toyota Production System (TPS), which would become the epitome of efficient and highly productive manufacturing. Lean describes how an organization operates. It’s an organizational mindset where thinking is unified and behaviors, such PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act), are universal and repetitive. TWI begins a steady rebirth in interest because of its critical link to TPS.
2000
TWI Institute emerges
Patrick Graupp, having seen the power of TWI to deliver better skills, better relationships and better results, begins collaborating with other people who also believed in the benefits of TWI. In 2001, Graupp partnered with Lean consultant, Robert Wrona, to conduct groundbreaking TWI pilots in Syracuse, New York. Meanwhile, Scott Curtis, who would become President and CEO of the TWI Institute, was experiencing the impact of TWI training as Plant Manager at Albany International.
2002
TWI Institute officially launched
Recognizing that a TWI rebirth in America was needed, Graupp and Wrona launched the TWI Institute with the support of CNYTDO. This consulting and training organization’s mission was to grow its local economy by helping Central New York manufacturers and technology companies drive operational excellence and cultural transformation.
2007
Award-winning work
Graupp and Wrona enhance their partnership as authors of the definitive contemporary text on TWI, The TWI Workbook: Essential Skills for Supervisors. Then, they receive the coveted Shingo Research and Professional Publication Prize. TWI and the TWI Institute gain traction as advisor, coach and trainer to major corporations around the world.
2012
TWI Institute grows its footprint
Graupp and Wrona write Implementing TWI: Creating and Managing a Skills-Based Culture in 2010. In 2012, Graupp partnered with Martha Purrier, a nurse at Virginia Mason Medical Center, to write Getting to Standard Work in Health Care: Using TWI to Create a Foundation for Quality Care. Scott Curtis leaves Albany International to join TWI Institute and begins a global expansion initiative.
2020
Curtis and Graupp take ownership
By now, TWI Institute has far outgrown its Central New York roots. Scott Curtis and Patrick Graupp purchase the TWI Institute from CNYTDO and leverage the benefits of its Global Leadership through over 3,000 certified trainers who teach on six continents in over 30 countries and in 18 languages.

The Value of Our Team

To every engagement, TWI Institute brings an extraordinary team of executives, advisors and trainers who not only know your business and industry, but who also have experience in solving problems and meeting goals like yours.

Meet Our Team

Worldwide Presence

Since 2002, TWI Institute has served clients around the globe. We deliver TWI, Kata and Standardized Work coaching and training on six continents and in 18 languages.
Global Locations

Australia

Austria

Belgium

Central Europe

China

Czech Republic

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Hungary

Iberia

Ireland

Italy

Lithuania

Mexico

Netherlands

Nigeria

New Zealand

Poland

Portugal

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

United Kingdom

Interested in being a TWI Institute Trainer?

Let's Talk