1. BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE24 www.hull-humber-chamber.co.uk
COMPANYPROFILE
Take a close look at the management consultancy
market these days and you’ll find all manner of
organisations offering to help you achieve greater
efficiency, cut costs from your business and improve
profit margins. While some may be laudable, many
have a tendency to be process focused and often
deal primarily with management teams, with the
result that the real people that matter – the ground
level employees – fail to buy the intended goals of
the change process.
Talk to the team at the Lean Consortium, however,
and you’ll find an organisation that has developed a
completely unique way of doing things. And what’s
more, it is so confident of its pioneering approach that
it guarantees to save participating companies at least
£50,000 per year.
The Lean Consortium is a specialist consultancy and
training organisation with a track record of providing
quantifiable and sustainable business improvement.
Founded in 2002 by two highly experienced Lean
Manufacturing practitioners, The Lean Consortium
has evolved to be one of the UK’s most successful
improvement programmes. Its unique approach has
enabled it to establish a solid track record for
completing successful improvement projects within
clients’ businesses.
John Macdonald, business development manager of
the company, says: “The Lean Consortium engages
employees at all levels – we make sure that
improvements are not just directed by management
but are implemented by all those on the shop floor.
Unlike many consultancy organisations, we transfer
the skills and understanding we have developed to
the client company, so they can keep going with
improvements after the programme’s finished.
“Our programme is delivered to three to six
companies at a time, so they work together, share
best practice, motivate each other, and make the
whole thing very cost effective.”
So how does the work of the Lean Consortium differ
from other business improvement service providers?
John explains: “The Lean Consortium provides a
unique blend of consortium learning, practical
workshops and tailored in-company projects.
Participants not only apply the “Lean Toolbox”, but
gain the essential Leadership and Change
Management skills to really embed Continuous
Improvement into the business and make sure that
improvements are sustained – the “Acid Test” of true
improvement.”
The team from the Lean Consortium works with
clients’ senior management to enable them to be
effective improvement sponsors and to coach them
on project and people selection. “We also provide
strategies to help get the very best out of
improvement teams,” says John. “We develop our
clients’ people with a mixture of ‘hard’, practical
improvement tools, combined with the ‘soft’ skills
required for really effective change management, to
ensure true ownership and durability of solutions.
And people love it – they often tell us how much they
enjoy learning and then applying what they’ve
learned to make real differences.
“We recognise that ‘one size’ doesn’t fit all, and that
each business has unique needs and issues. We
provide tailored onsite training and project support to
ensure improvements are a success.
“We have worked with light and heavy engineering
companies, food companies, furniture and textile
makers, plastic product manufacturers, portable
building producers, electronics companies, timber
processors, component manufacturers, chemical
works and window makers. Almost everyone
can benefit.
“Lean has been proven in action for over 50 years
now but we believe that the last five years have
demonstrated that The Lean Consortium is the most
effective way to engage employees in sustainable
Lean improvement.”
Are you a cost-conscious manufacturing company, keen to significantly
improve your performance? Use the services of the Lean Consortium
and you’ll not only save thousands of pounds –you will have a great
learning experience too. MARK LANE reports
Please call John on 07957 336856 ,
or email jm@leanconsortium.co.uk
for further details.
A UNIQUE APPROACH
TO PERFORMANCE
IMPROVEMENT