Chautauqua County business professionals will have easier access to business improvement education through the University at Buffalo’s TCIE (formerly The Center for Industrial Effectiveness) fall 2012 lineup when two programs are offered at the SUNY Fredonia Technology Incubator as part of a new partnership.
The incubator, at 214 Central Ave., Dunkirk, will host the Certified Lean Professional (CLP) course and the three-day ISO 9001:2008 Internal Auditor training. Both are open to individuals from all companies, whether affiliated with the incubator or not.
The 39-hour CLP course introduces participants to the Lean methodology of saving money and reducing waste by identifying unnecessary processes.
During the internal auditor training course, participants learn about the ISO 9001:2008 standard, audit activities and techniques, objective evidence to gather, and expectations of third-party external auditors in determining compliance, in the quest to understand how to assess their organizations’ quality performance.
“We have a group of entrepreneurs and small business operators, and a core of large businesses, that have not been able to avail themselves of this type of education and training locally,” said Incubator Director Robert Fritzinger, referring to Chautauqua County. “With the incubator being the flagship economic development project of SUNY Fredonia, this is an important outreach business activity for us.”
The incubator, which opened in late 2009, currently provides business development, mentoring and office space to 17 start-up technology companies, with the capacity to serve 31. Fritzinger explained that as startups begin to transition out of the building, it is important to align them with resources that spur growth. He plans to build upon SUNY Fredonia’s relationship with UB TCIE, which connects the business community with resources of UB’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, through future programming.
The CLP runs from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesdays, Oct. 3 to 17, Oct. 31, Nov. 7 and 14, Nov. 28 to Dec. 19, Jan. 16 and Feb. 13; as well as Friday, Oct. 26. Registrations will be accepted until Sept. 19. The ISO training is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 23 to 25, with registration until Oct. 9.
