About the Lean Enterprise Academy

Since the publication of The Machine that Changed the World our mission has been to deepen understanding of lean. Then to spread lean to every sector and activity. Initially we did this at Cardiff Business School’s LERC. Since 2003 we’ve done it at the, not for profit, Lean Enterprise Academy. More recently our reach has become world-wide as we are a founding member of the Lean Global Network 

Lean in Automotive

Initially, we helped European auto manufacturers benchmark their performance and introduce the key elements of lean manufacturing. We helped the UK Government develop awareness and lean capabilities through Industry Forum and the Manufacturing Advisory Service. We carried out the first end-to-end supply chain analysis in automotive and several other manufacturing sectors. In addition, Daniel Jones helped establish Unipart U, the first in-house lean university.

Moreover, we carried out the first benchmarking of auto retailing and distribution in Europe through the International Car Distribution Programme. David Brunt continues to work with pioneering (mostly Toyota) dealers around the world. The purpose, to demonstrate the power of lean in sales and service, described in Creating Lean Dealers.

Lean in Retail & FMCG

We carried out pilot projects with Tesco to develop demand-driven rapid response supply chains. This enabled them to pioneer modern convenience retailing and home shopping. Subsequently, we helped spread these practices across the grocery industry. For example through the Advisory Board of the European Efficient Consumer Response movement, the influential GCI Supply Chain 2016 report and editing the International Commerce Review..

In addition Ian Glenday developed the final piece of the puzzle, enabling process manufacturers to escape the tyranny of batch thinking and produce in line with demand, described in Breaking Through to Flow.

Government and Lean Construction

Daniel Jones was a member of the client-led UK Government Task Force that introduced lean to the construction industry. The Rethinking Construction report in turn led to the Movement 4 Innovation in Construction. These skills enabled a series of large projects to be completed on time and on budget. Examples include Heathrow Terminal 5, King’s Cross St. Pancreas and the 2012 Olympics. Lessons are now spreading across the industry through the Lean Construction Institute.

Lean Healthcare

In 2006 the Lean Enterprise Academy was approached by the NHS confederation. We were asked to look at how Toyota’s approach to production could be applied to healthcare. Subsequently, we wrote the Lean Thinking in the NHS report. We developed the UK Lean Healthcare Network, triggered many lean initiatives in hospitals and organised the first Global Lean Healthcare Summit in 2007. In addition, we published Making Hospitals Work to help hospital leaders build their own lean hospital management systems. In 2010 we also presented our white paper The NHS Bermuda Triangle.

Lean Across All Sectors of the Economy

Similarly, we have advised many banks, utilities and other service organisations to build lean capabilities. These range from their customer response processes, to back-office and retailing operations. The Lean Enterprise Academy is an advisor to the UK National Audit Office. They assess the lean process capabilities of every central government department.

Coaching Leaders and Helping them Lead and Create their Own Examples

The Lean Enterprise Academy’s work started in awareness raising and benchmarking. After that, it progressed, through proof-of-concept experiments and industry wide assessment of the opportunities, to coaching leaders, designing transformations and building management systems. In summary, the Deploying Lean Across the UK video describes the spread of lean in the UK:

Who We Are

Daniel T Jones Chairman Lean Enterprise Academy

Daniel Jones, Chairman

Daniel Jones’ mission is to inspire, encourage and mentor executives to use lean thinking to solve their business problems. He co-authored the core books on lean and writes extensively to distil and share his research on lean practice.

Dan acts as an advisor to senior management. Helping them lead lean transformations, build lean management systems and design lean value streams. He led many proof-of-concept projects in pioneering organisations to learn how lean can address new problems. Dan is a keynote speaker at in-company events, management meetings and public conferences.

Dan helped to spread lean thinking across the automotive industry. After that to aerospace, construction, retailing, consumer goods, services, healthcare and government in the UK and around the world. He founded the Lean Enterprise Academy in the UK. He then helped establish the Lean Global Network of non-profit institutes to spread lean thinking around the world.

Download a PDF of Daniel Jones’ bio

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David Brunt Chief Executive Lean Enterprise Academy

David Brunt, Chief Executive

David has been both applying and researching lean since 1990. He manages activities at the Lean Enterprise Academy and helps firms making a lean transformation. David has worked with Dan Jones since 1997. He is involved in both pioneering research into lean thinking and the practical implementation of lean practice.

He has walked, mapped, taught and coached lean in over 500 value streams. David has consequently worked in almost every conceivable environment. From manufacturing to service sectors. Examples include steel production, vehicle and component assembly, FMCG, retailing, banking and financial services.

He was the Porsche Verbessrungs Process (PVP – Porsche Improvement Process) Manager at Porsche Cars Great Britain. He carried out work to develop lean in sales, after sales, used car processing and parts operations. In addition he conducted a number of other business process improvement projects at dealer and national sales company level. During that time the management team achieved a five fold increase in sales. His work on lean dealer operations formed the basis for several chapters in James P. Womack and Daniel Jones’ book, “Lean Solutions“. It led to him writing “Creating Lean Dealers – the lean route to satisfied customers, productive employees and profitable retailers” with John Kiff (2007.) He helps a growing number of (mostly Toyota) dealers around the world successfully implement lean thinking and practice.

David has an MBA from Cardiff Business School during which he specilaised in lean and supply chain management. In 2011 he contributed cases to the updated “Seeing the Whole Value Stream” book. The workbook, published by the Lean Enterprise Institute was co-authored by Dan Jones and Jim Womack (2011.) He is co-author of the book “Manufacturing Operations and Supply Chain Management – The Lean Approach” with David Taylor (2001.)

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Peter Watkins, Senior Lean Coach

Peter Watkins, Senior Lean Coach

Peter has worked in and coached senior leadership teams in a multi–national environment, where he has gained an exceptional understanding of business improvement opportunities & customer focus. He is a people focussed leader, strategic thinker, structured problem solver and has the ability to work effectively at all levels to manage change and achieve strategic targets. Peter has over 30 years of continuous improvement knowledge through developing people to apply “lean thinking” into their own environment, including: HR, Finance/Shared Services, Product Engineering, Aftermarket, Sales, Manufacturing, Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, HSE and Supply Chain (Automotive, Aerospace, Agricultural Equipment, Aftermarket, Shared Services)

Work Experience:

4 years as Global VP of Operational Excellence in APTIV global technology company (formally Delphi Automotive)

12 years in GKN Plc, 8 years as the Global Lean Enterprise & Business Excellence Director.  Introduced the “Flow of Value” thinking to help breakthrough traditional management culture and developed the group “Lean Enterprise” approach. Peter’s last role in GKN was as Operational  Systems Director for GKN Land Systems.

13 years at ArvinMeritor starting as Quality Team Leader, QA Project Engineering Lead, Continuous Improvement Leader, Quality Manager,  Operations Plant Manager and finally as  Director of CI Strategy, Europe, Asia & Africa. Also developed CI activities in the extended value chain and supplier base and gained his MSc in Lean Operations from Cardiff.

Peter’s passion is designing & improving  management systems to drive & sustain Lean – It’s all about the people!

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David Marriott, Senior Lean Coach

David Marriott, Senior Lean Coach

David originally gained his Lean expertise whilst working at Toyota Motor Europe Manufacturing for over 13 years. Based in the Purchasing Division his role was to support suppliers in new product development and vehicle launches. David received training in the Toyota Production System (TPS) in order to support local suppliers to perform better and become more competitive. This culminated in him managing the UK Supplier Development Department of 100 suppliers and coordinating the Toyota European Supplier Association (TEAM) made up of 44 key strategic suppliers. Since then David has spent his time working in Tier 1 suppliers as a Global Director helping them to develop their lean journeys, lead and support implementation whilst improving the capability of the leaders involved. The goal being, for them to become the teachers and coaches of others in the future. 

A logical thinker, with over 25 years of practical continuous improvement experience. He has worked in over 200 manufacturing facilities and helped more than 700 people become lean thinkers during that time. He has a unique ability to visualise and explain concepts simply in order to get others to understand better ways of working quickly. A passionate problem solver who enjoys seeing people develop and contribute to the business performance and cultural transformation. David’s interest in manufacturing started whilst he was at Loughborough University where he achieved a first-class honours degree in Manufacturing Engineering and Management.

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About the Lean Global Network

The Lean Enterprise Academy’s Dan Jones was instrumental in creating the Lean Global Network. To sum up, LGN is comprised of country institutes and co-learning partners across the globe. LGN is led by a Board of Directors, including one member from each of the Tier 1 institutes.