Education Update

Jim Kaufman CPIM,
V.P. Professional Development

 

APICS Computer-based Testing Arrives at Conestoga College, Kitchener Ontario!

 

We are pleased to announce the start of CPIM testing at Conestoga College, Kitchener (Doon) campus effective Friday November 6th, 2009. This site will open up 12 seats for computer-based testing in conjunction with PearsonVue, and testing will be conducted on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings, on the 1^st and 3^rd weekends on each month. The Ontario Grand Valley chapter of APICS congratulates Sheila McGlashan of Conestoga and her team of educators who made this happen. We look forward to students from our neighboring chapters to visit our convenient location as well, just off highway 401 at Homer Watson Boulevard.
Please see the map link: http://www.conestogac.on.ca/about/ourcampuses/dooncamp.jsp

Please follow the regular steps in registering for an APICS exam, and select Conestoga College, Kitchener, as your test site from the list offered by PearsonVue!

 

 

Exam Vouchers at Canadian Dollars!

For a limited time the OGV chapter is selling CPIM exam vouchers in Canadian funds! For only $120 for APICS members and $150 for non-members, you can get a voucher to write your computer-based CPIM exam at any Pearson Vue test site; including our own at Conestoga College Kitchener (Doon campus). We will have these available for sale at our professional development meetings, or contact Jim Kaufman at education@apicsogv.org.

 

 

A Note about courseware and Certification Exams

We have sometimes heard from students that certification exams don’t match the courseware in certain areas or depth. The reason for that is because they are written in different styles and for different reasons. Some students take courses just to learn material, and although they are written to be certification review courses, they are also meant to be education. The certification exams are a test of knowledge and ability to apply that knowledge, so they are often one step up from the course. That is the reason why we emphasize that taking a course is not enough to prepare you for the exam; often you will need to read extra material, and think about application of the concepts, in order to fully prepare. The exam content manual (ECM) for the current year is the base for both the exam and the course, and is very worthwhile to purchase for its coverage of the topics, terminology and sample questions. Also, if you are interested in self-study, there are many resources available from the APICS bookstore to guide you through the process!

 

 

 

Exam Aids Available

As a service to our chapter members taking courses at Conestoga College, we are able to sell APICS 12th Edition Dictionaries at $23.81 + $1.19 GST = $25.00 cash only. Please advise your instructor if you are interested in purchasing a copy. Save the cost of delivery from the U.S.! Also starting in 2009, we will be offering the CPIM Exam Content Manual at the same price. Make sure you understand everything needed to pass a CPIM certification exam!

 

Schedule of Courses – Spring 2010

Spring course registration is now open at Conestoga College! Here is our schedule of courses for the term, starting in April, campus locations as noted and weeknights starting at 630 PM, Saturday starting at 9 AM, all sessions 3 hours long:

Click here to register!

 

Note: All efforts will be made to adhere to this schedule; however Conestoga College reserves the right to make adjustments when necessary

 

Basics of Supply Chain Management

This course is for everyone who needs to have a basic understanding of the planning and control of the flow of materials into, through and out of a manufacturing or distribution organization. The course is an introduction to Materials Planning, Forecasting, Master Planning, Material Requirements Planning, Capacity Management, Production Activity Control, Inventory Fundamentals, Physical Distribution, Quality Management, Purchasing, and Just-In-Time.

Master Planning of Resources

In this course, students learn to develop Sales and Operations Plans, identify demands and use forecasts to build a Master Schedule consistent with business policies, objectives and resources constraints. The course also focuses on developing and validating a plan of supply and relating management of demand to the environment. Presented are methods for integrating sales and operations plans, demand forecasts, and customer demand, using aggregate Inventory Management and Rough Cut Capacity Management Techniques.

Detailed Scheduling and Planning

This course focuses on inventory management, material and capacity scheduling and planning, supplier relationships, and the influence of the Lean/JIT philosophies in these areas. It explains the use of a material dominated scheduling technique, material requirements planning (MRP), in job shop, batch, and certain repetitive processes. The course explains capacity planning in detail, introduces other capacity planning techniques such as processor-dominated scheduling in continuous flow processes, and reviews project management techniques.

 

Execution and Control of Operations

This course focuses on three main areas: prioritizing and sequencing work; executing work plans, implementing controls, and reporting activity results; and evaluating and providing feedback on performance. The course explains techniques for Production Scheduling and Control, and scheduling process operations. It also addresses the execution of quality initiatives and Continuous Improvement plans, as well as controlling and handling inventories. Finally, the course presents techniques for evaluating performance and collecting data for effective feedback.

Strategic Management of Resources

In this course, participants explore the relationship between strategic planning and the management and execution of operations. The course fosters higher-level thinking about how market requirements and social and economic sustainability concerns drive the operations, processes, and resource requirements of the firm. The course addresses three main topics: understanding the business environment, developing the operations strategy, and implementing the operations strategy.

 

CSCP - Certified Supply Chain Professional

Click here for details

The Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) program is a new industry educational and certification program created to meet the rapidly changing needs of the supply chain management field. The CSCP body of knowledge is made up of the following four domains: Supply Chain Management Fundamentals, Building Competitive Operations, Planning, and Logistics, Managing Customer and Supplier Relationships, and Using Information Technology to Enable Supply Chain Management

Lean Enterprise

Lean Enterprise As more organizations decide to go lean, demand is escalating for a skilled team and system-wide approach for developing and implementing lean project plans. This course is designed to equip you with the broad knowledge and tools to map the transformation for developing a lean culture at your organization. Using scenarios from a fictitious company, Murphy's Toys, you will be tasked with finding lean solutions to a myriad of challenges. This method will provide you with the flexibility to immediately customize what you've learned and implement it at your own organization.

Education Rebate Available

The OGV chapter offers its members, professionals and full-time students alike, a rebate on Conestoga College registration, available on completion of the course. Use the attached rebate form and follow the printed instructions.

Please note: Effective January 1, 2009, the deadline for application is 6 months after completion of the course. This policy was enacted so that we could relate claims to the current year, and also allow us to determine membership status (we cannot trace back previous years’ members).

Rebate Form

Accelerated Learning

We have had a number of inquiries from students who can't commit to 10 to 12 weeks of CPIM review classes, the only way this chapter offers courses at the moment. Others have asked about accelerated learning opportunities, or problems with getting to an evening class after a long day at work and before a long trip home. Now we have another choice for you!

We are pleased to announce a new agreement with Dick Verbeek and Performance Plus Consultants, to provide full-day, weekend certification review classes, as an alternative to college-based, once-a-week evening sessions. Dick is a well-respected speaker, consultant and educator who has fine-tuned his presentation, to offer to our chapter residents a quicker path to certification. In order to compensate for the drive to Mississauga to attend his classes, we are offering a $25 discount from his regular session price. Please use the registration form for use by our chapter when applying for these Accelerated Learning Courses through Performance Plus. Note that Performance Plus also conducts weekday classes - see their website for details.

Click here for more information

Jim Kaufman CPIM,

V.P. Professional Development

email: [education@apicsogv.org]

519-894-1709