Recognizing the people and projects improving manufacturing across Nevada, Arizona, and Utah.
Open to manufacturing companies with 100 employees or fewer located in Nevada, Arizona, or Utah. The awards are designed to recognize organizations doing meaningful improvement work without a formal continuous improvement program
Your company must have 100 or fewer employees.
Your manufacturing operation must be located in Nevada, Arizona, or Utah.
Your company should not have an established formal continuous improvement program or dedicated CI department.
Not sure if your company qualifies? Review the award categories below to find the best fit.
Four awards recognizing the people, projects, and practical improvements making manufacturing better. Select the category that best matches the work being submitted.
Recognizing an operations leader who creates measurable improvement through practical leadership, stronger execution, and the development of their team.
A leader who has improved operational performance, built accountability, developed their team, and created results that can be clearly demonstrated.
Best for: Plant managers, operations managers, production leaders, and other operations leaders whose work has produced measurable improvement.
Clear examples of leadership, measurable operational results, team development, and improvements that have been sustained over time.
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Recognizing a practical Lean implementation that delivered measurable operational improvement without requiring a large formal CI program.
An improvement effort that applied Lean principles to solve a meaningful operational problem and produced clear, measurable results.
Best for: Teams that used Lean methods to improve flow, quality, productivity, delivery, cost, safety, or another measurable area of operational performance.
The problem addressed, Lean methods used, measurable before-and-after results, employee involvement, and evidence that the improvement has been sustained.
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Recognizing a focused project that identified and eliminated waste to improve operational performance and create measurable results.
A project that clearly identified one or more forms of waste, addressed the root causes, and delivered a measurable improvement in the operation.
Best for: Teams that eliminated wasted time, motion, transportation, inventory, defects, overproduction, overprocessing, or other non-value-added activity.
The waste identified, how the team addressed it, measurable before-and-after results, employee involvement, and evidence that the improvement has been sustained.
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Recognizing a creative 5S solution that made the workplace safer, more organized, more efficient, or easier for employees to use.
A practical and creative application of 5S that solved a real workplace problem and made the improved condition easy to understand and maintain.
Best for: Teams that created an inventive visual management, workplace organization, storage, labeling, shadow board, point-of-use, or other 5S solution to a real operational problem.
he workplace problem, the 5S solution created, before-and-after conditions, employee involvement, and evidence that the solution is being maintained.
GET APPLICATIONApplications are simple and designed to focus on the work—not polished presentations. Choose the award category that best fits, complete the application, and submit it during the nomination period.
Choose the award category above and select “GET APPLICATION” to access the appropriate application form. Complete the form and email the completed PDF, along with any supporting evidence, to awards@opsvectrapartners.com by October 25, 2026.
Judging takes place October 26–November 8. Winners will be announced November 9–12.