Viking Academy is a 12 class program with a mission of developing a culture of continuous improvement through education, engagement, and enthusiasm towards continuous improvement practices and Viking. Along with learning various lean initiatives, the class also performs a SWOT analysis on the company, and learns about company history, financials, IT, and quality.  Each class picks an area that they believe can be improved and does a project on it. Class 8’s project was to improve efficiency on a certain press to avoid employees needing to work weekends!

To participate in Viking Academy, employees must write a letter to President/CEO Kelly Goodsel explaining why they want to be in the class, why they should be selected, and what project ideas they have for the class to work on.  Over half of all Viking employees have been through Viking Academy, and members for the 9th class have already been selected.

Each class is made up of a diverse group of individuals from various departments. The graduates from class 8 were:

  • Jesse Barber, Engineering
  • Brandi Naugle, Operations
  • Shana Bailey, Marketing
  • Bryan Malecki, Quality
  • Chad Hutchison, Materials
  • Jeff Murray, Processing
  • Megan Thomas, Quality

Congratulations to Viking Academy Class 8!