The Lean Enterprise Academy
We are a non-profit Academy established to develop knowledge of Lean Thinking and its implementation and to disseminate this knowledge through publications and workshops.
What we do
Our objective is to work with pioneering organisations to push forward the frontiers of lean thinking, by helping them to solve new business problems and then by reflecting, distilling and disseminating the learning so others can follow their example. We are always looking for challenging new business questions to work on.
We always start by helping to define the business problem to be solved or the opportunity to be exploited and then by translating these into the key performance gaps that need to be closed to do so.
We then help to understand the pattern of real demand and to visualise the processes and identify the root causes of the performance gaps, in order to see where they are broken and where the biggest points of leverage are.
Then we help to define a set of controlled experiments to get to action quickly, possibly through several quick iterations, and to install the necessary real time visual management systems to track progress from end-to-end.
Then we help to put in place the right project management to gain agreement on from all parties, to review progress and issues very frequently and free up staff to carry out the experiments and internalise the learning.
Finally we help to reflect on the results and on the lessons that can be learnt and shared with others across the organisation, before beginning the next improvement cycle.
If you have a challenging new business problem we would like to hear from you.
Working with you ...
Our Lean Action Research goes beyond traditional consulting in its intent, its execution and in the reflections on its results. We work with organisations of various types at different stages of their lean journey ...
In-house workshops and training
Our workshops are best done in-house addressing a real problem so participants go through the experience of putting lean thinking into practice for themselves.
Mentoring and independent advice
We often get asked by senior managers to take an independent look at a particular situation or a lean transformation.
Designing lean transformations
Recently we have been asked to help design and support lean transformations in several organisations.
Developing new business models
One of the most significant results of lean is that it opens up new business models or new ways of delivering value to customers that was previously impossible or too expensive
Our last six months ...
We have an unusually broad experience of working at the frontiers of lean thinking across all kinds of sectors over the last twenty years and we are continually sharing and honing our lean knowledge with the best lean experts in our Lean Global Network.
Our work is always changing as the types of problems change and as we dig deeper into lean as a management system, as well as very powerful set of tools and principles for designing processes. For example, in the second half of 2010 our work has included the following: -
- Running workshops to create lean supply chains for a global multinational.
- Advising on lean transformation design for a global multinational.
- Leading a lean implementation project in retail banking.
- Training senior telecoms executive groups in A3 thinking and problem solving.
- Ongoing mentoring of Toyota car dealers in Norway and South Africa.
- Advising the National Audit Office on designing a lean assessment for the public sector.
Lectures and mentoring visits to hospitals in the USA, Canada, Qatar, Sweden and Italy.- Ongoing mentoring of patient journey design in two UK hospitals.
- Running train-the-trainer courses for hospitals in Italy, Sweden and UK.
- Mapping healthcare supply chains with several organisations.
Presentations to senior management in services, pharma and IT in Italy, France and the UK.- Lecture to the Cardiff University MSc in Lean Operations.
- Keynote presentation to the German Lean Summit.
- Organising the UK Lean Summit.
- Attend the Lean Enterprise Institute Board meeting in the USA and the Lean Global Network meeting in Poland..