About Us

The Orchid Group has successfully implemented Lean and Organizational Transformation for over 20 years in manufacturing, education, government and other production and service industry sectors. Lean training (emphasis on hands-on application and train the trainer thinking); project coaching and facilitation; leadership development and management consulting are all integral to Orchid Group services.

In recent years Orchid Group has developed successful applications of Lean deployment in the healthcare sector, improving organizational performance as well as both provider and patient satisfaction. We have guided clients in implementing effective team projects in healthcare clinics, pharmacies, hospitals and laboratories as well as healthcare support functions including MIS, billing, coding, finance and inventory management.

Our principals and partners have worked on more than 400 consulting and educational projects for over 200 organizations. Those engagements have had measurable return on investment that typically exceed 10 times the amount that our clients invested in those projects.

Meet the Orchid Group

Brian Fairbrother,
MS-Business, BS-Education, Certified Lean Trainer

Brian Fairbrother has been a consultant for fifteen years following twenty-five years in ownership, management, and technical positions with a variety of businesses.  He has assisted over 100 firms to grow and sustain improvements resulting in a total impact of over $200 million. These firms represent several sectors including: manufacturing, healthcare, publishing, finance, engineering, government, and education. Brian has a strong track record of helping organizations apply Lean approaches to simplify complex processes, grow, and improve.  Brian has a BS in Education and an MS in Business from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Mike Strasser, Orchid Group Partner,
MPA, Process Engineer, UW Health Partners –  WRMC

Michael Strasser holds two professional degrees, an MPA (Healthcare Emphasis), UW Oshkosh and a BA Psychology – Bethany College, Lindsborg Kansas.  Mike has over 20 years of experience in Healthcare in a variety of positions including Quality Improvement Analyst, Hospital Case Management and Utilization Review, Hospital Education Resource Department Manager, completed the Lean Manufacturing Certificate training program with the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership and MATC- Madison in 2007, and has worked as Process Engineer and Project Manager at UWHP Watertown Regional Medical Center since 2008.