Most organisations think of Lean as a range of implementation tools and techniques.  These are an important part, as they provide immediate, tangible benefits.  But what about the future?  How can we ensure that the benefits are sustained and that the workforce continues to be engaged with the culture of improvement?  This is where Lean leadership behaviours come into play.

In this course, Professor Peter Hines, chairman of the Lean Enterprise Research Centre, will help senior managers to take Lean beyond tools and techniques, get managers at all levels to take ownership of continuous improvement activities and engage the workforce in a way that sustains results.  We subtitle it "leading the Lean lifestyle" because leadership from the top is key to ensure that Lean becomes "the way we do things around here".

Click here to download the event flyer and booking form.  The course is also available as an inhouse workshop for you and your team, email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.

UPDATE - We are now able to accept credit card payments for delegate places at our events over the phone on 01443 844048.  Please return your completed booking form as normal before calling us with your card details.

The Irish Centre for Business Excellence (ICBE) will be holding its 4th annual Lean Symposium on 30 March (9am-5pm) and 31 March (9am-1pm) 2010 in Clonmel.  The event will provide plenty of opportunities for knowledge-sharing, collaborative learning and networking through keynote speakers and participative parallel sessions.

S A Partners will be presenting two sessions at the event as follows:

- a case study of the Lean journey of C&C Group (producers of Magners cider and Bulmers cider in Ireland)
- a case study of Lean in an administration or shared services environment

For more information click here.

We are currently putting together a Lean Coach Programme and would like to hear from companies that would like to send delegates.

Our Lean Coach Programme transfers knowledge and skills to individuals in your business so that they can take on the role of internal coach or change agent and help to implement and sustain business improvements.  More than 500 people have already participated in the course.

The programme is 20 days in total, delivered in training modules over the course of several weeks, and can be adapted for service or manufacturing environments.  Delegates receive a certificate on completing the course, recognising their development as a Lean Coach.

The programme involves some classroom training, but also includes 'learning by doing' in real live business environments.  The style is interactive and engaging.

“I have done a lot of theoretical work on continuous improvement before, but this was my first opportunity to put it into practice. This, together with cross-fertilisation from other sites, was excellent.”

Click here for more information.  To register your interest, email Chris Butterworth or contact him on +44 (0)7968 837635.

The Food Manufacturing Excellence Awards honour the very best food and drink manufacturing companies.  They assess companies' progress across a range of criteria from category and supply chain management, to new product development, from process innovation to health, safety and environmental management, and from marketing to human resource management.

This year S A Partners is sponsoring the "Chilled Ready Meals and Prepared Foods" category and will be present at the awards dinner in November to award the category prize to the winner selected by a judging panel. 

Click on the link for 2009 awards the awards website. 2010 awards information coming soon.