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I am Scott Sorheim, founder and president of Lean Technologies, Inc. located in Pella, Iowa. (As my wife would say, here comes my “Wheel of Fortune” introduction) I am married to my lovely and unbelievably supportive wife Jenny. We have two sweet daughters, Riley and Brooklyn (we call them twins born 5 years apart), and a fearless son, Kelby. Oh yeah, and a yellow lab Cymon (pronounced “Simon”, named for ISU Cyclones mascot Cy) that tends to get forgotten since the kids have arrived.

I started Lean Tech because when I was working for a manufacturing company, I was disappointed in the software that I encountered that was intended to manage shop floor processes. I felt that the software was difficult to use (especially in a fast-paced manufacturing environment), that the software was incredibly expensive, and that I wasn’t provided with any useful outputs (reports, etc.) to manage all of the information that was collected. After all, without being able to use the information to make practical decisions, what good is it?  Hence, the tagline for my blog: Eliminating Information Frustration.

I had no idea I would end up doing software. Maybe it should have been obvious from my initial interest in the TI-99/4A computer that my parents bought circa 1982. I also programmed blackjack (complete with card images) and a scaled down version of Arkanoid into my TI-85 calculator in high school. In college (at ISU) I picked up a friend’s C++ programming book for “leisure” reading. But somehow, I missed all of those signs. I plowed through my mechanical engineering degree and took a job with Pella Corporation as an engineer. It was at “Pella University”, however, where I learned so much about lean manufacturing and the importance of having good information to make good decisions. That led to my desire to make it easier for other manufacturers to be able to collect and get their hands on good information.