What is Lean Thinking?

The term ‘lean’ was first popularised in the seminal book ‘The Machine that Changed the World’, which clearly illustrated - for the first time - the significant performance gap between the Japanese and western automotive industries.  It described the key elements accounting for this superior performance as lean production - ‘lean’ because Japanese business methods used less of everything - human effort, capital investment, facilities, inventories and time - in manufacturing, product development, parts supply and customer relations.

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Lean Management Education & Training

LERC delivers a broad range of executive education programmes and lean thinking courses that complement its research activities. These range from 1 day introduction courses to a 2 year part-time executive masters’ degrees. Many of the short courses are open and we also develop bespoke courses, suited to the specific needs of an organisation.

Lean Courses are delivered by LERC staff, other Business School staff and by LERC Associates. Our courses are practical and participative in style, with an emphasis on the application of knowledge in the work place. As well as traditional lectures, we use case studies, simulations and management games as part of the learning process.

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