(Durham, N.C.) BBH® University, BÖWE BELL + HOWELL’s award-winning training and development organization, today announced a limited-time, 25 percent discount on its “Leading Mail Center Operations” program. Enrollment must be complete by Jan. 15, 2010, to qualify for the discount. Prospective attendees can find more information at http://www.bowebellhowell.com/bbhucourses. Leading Mail Center Operations helps mailers develop the leadership skills needed to effectively manage people, processes and systems in today’s production mail environment. The course is ideal for managers responsible for the efficiency and productivity of their mail center. Alumni of this program have seen operational efficiency increase by 10 percent or greater after implementing the ideas and strategies presented.

“Because our trainers have decades of professional experience managing production mail centers, we have first-hand knowledge of the challenges that managers face,” said Lana Chandra, BBH’s executive director of BBH University and Organizational Development. “We bring our insight and practical expertise to the classroom, and I believe this personal knowledge of how best to run a production line is a unique and valuable feature of our courses. We’re not just talking theory, but the practical application of industry best practices.”

The course was developed after a number of years of onsite customer efficiency assessments. “We compiled all of the learnings and best practices that our consultants have engaged in and created a curriculum that distills this knowledge into easy-to-understand, hands-on training,” said Chandra. “We’re now seeing mailers faced with an increasing need for cost controls. This course helps managers learn how to weed out inefficiencies, coach and develop employees in using metrics to drive performance, and implement quality management best practices.”

The program includes an introduction of the concepts of Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma; employee coaching, motivation and engagement; production mail metrics, aligning metrics with business strategy, and using metrics to drive performance; and mail center layout, ergonomics and safety.

“What’s unique about our programs is that we incorporate institutional best practices, including applicable concepts of Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma, and apply them specifically to mail center operations,” added Chandra. “This sets us apart from other vendors who may not take into consideration how quality improvements found in manufacturing environments can apply to the mail center.”

For more information, please call 1-800-220-3030 or e-mail BBH University at bbhuniversity@bowebellhowell.com. Additional program information can be found at http://www.bowebellhowell.com/bbhucourses.

Headquartered in Wheeling, Ill., BÖWE BELL + HOWELL is a leading provider of high-performance document management solutions and services. The company pioneered gripper arm mail-inserting systems in 1938, and has one of the world’s largest installed bases of such inserters as a result of the technology’s flexibility, performance and reliability. The company’s complete portfolio of inserting, sorting, plastic card, integrity, cutting, packaging, print-on-demand and software solutions is one of the most comprehensive product offerings for paper-based communications. These solutions are supported by one of the largest dedicated service organizations in the industry. For more information, visit www.bowebellhowell.com.