The LCS & Coping with Coronavirus
Working as normal.
The LCS team will be working as normal on accreditation and certification activities during the current crisis, albeit from home rather than in the office.
Accreditation flexibility.
With the suspension of face to face training, there is less of an immediate need for organisations to accredit, unless they are delivering training online. However, for those organisations thinking of accrediting for the first time, they can still can complete the accrediting process and the LCS will not invoice until the time when business activity is back to normal.
This has the advantage of the organisation being able to promote its accredited status after sign off, use the current lull productively and have accreditation already in place when demand for training resumes.
For those organisations due to re-accredit over the next few months, the LCS is available to continue with the process to ensure continuity, though it will not send an invoice for the accreditation fee if the organisation has ceased training activity. This will be sent once normality resumes.
Assistance
Over the coming months the LCS will look for ways to assist practitioners and accredited organisations cope with crisis – through topical articles, useful tips, information sharing and collaboration initiatives.
The Top 100 Lean Related Books
If you want to expand and develop your lean knowledge and not sure what you should read, then John Bicheno’s Top 100 Lean Related Books is a great place to start.
John started the list in the late 1990’s when developing the world’s first lean master’s programme at LERC, Cardiff University and has been regularly updating it since, so newly published books have an opportunity to be included. The Top 100 is now in its 38th edition.
The list provides useful information on each book:
- Whether it is manufacturing or service focussed (or both)
- A short descriptive comment on its content, theme or focus
- Year of publication
- Amazon ranking (where available)
- JB’s personal one to five star rating for each book
John, of course, has published many lean books, several of which are best sellers, including The Lean Toolbox and The Service Systems Toolbox
New Accreditations
March 2020
Haven Power Ltd
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Haven Power has over 12 years’ experience in the energy industry, which has given them a deep understanding of the renewable market, as well as the needs of their clients – on both a small and larger scale. |
Metropolitan Police
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The Metropolitan Police Service, formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police and informally as the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard, is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement in the Metropolitan Police District, which currently consists of the 32 London boroughs. |
Network Rail
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Network Rail is the owner and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an arm’s length public body of the Department for Transport with no shareholders, which reinvests its income in the railways. |
GuideWell
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GuideWell, formally GuideWell Mutual Holding Corporation, is a mutual insurance holding company primarily focused on health insurance in Florida. It was created in 2013 by a reorganisation initiated by Florida Blue, a member company of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. |
Mastermind
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Mastermind is an independent management consultancy firm translating vision and strategy into concrete innovations, sustainable solutions and supported changes. They not only come up with these plans, but also implement them. |
Improven
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Improven focuses on complex (financial) transitions and projects with major impact and change as well as on helping customers optimise business operations by designing, designing and testing business processes. No thick reports but working solutions and implementation power. |
Seasons Greeting from the LCS!
This year we’re dreaming of a Lean and Green Christmas…..and perhaps Santa would…
- Take Greta to her next conference in is eco-friendly sleigh,
- Recycle some of last year’s presents,
- Implement Collaborative Logistics,
- Wear a more environmentally friendly outfit,
- Have his sleigh lights lunar powered,
- Join up with some green protestors!
100 LCS Accredited Organisations!
Milestone Reached…
December has seen a milestone reached by the LCS, with the Metropolitan Police – London’s police service – becoming its 100th directly accredited customer, though of course, the number of organisations using the LCS is much higher, due to the work of accredited consultancies around the globe.
Director’s Reflections
Reflecting on the achievement, LCS Director Simon Elias commented, “this reassures us that the LCS continues to add value for its customers and it’s heartening to know we are helping them implement lean thinking to improve their effectiveness and achievement of purpose. It’s not an easy task to introduce CI in an organisation, let alone sustain it and build a CI culture, so managers need to call upon a wide array of props to aid them in their efforts – and the LCS is just one of these.”
Success Factors
As for the reasons behind the success, according to Simon it’s not due to the execution of a clever, predefined strategy, but rather “being in the right place at the right time, and regularly adapting the proposition after sensing market changes and assimilating underlying customer needs. Undoubtedly, the LCS’s unique, highly flexible, ‘disruptor’ accreditation model and its agnostic and holistic position on lean thinking are root causes of its popularity, plus of course because the original concept was based on sound thinking and research by its creators at the Lean Enterprise Research Centre.”
LCS Job Vacancy
To support its growth and development, the LCS is recruiting a Marketing & Administration Coordinator
November 2019
Overview
Based in Cardiff, this new role will support LCS sales and marketing activities and provide associated administrative duties. It will initially be part time, though this may increase to full time as the business grows. There may also be opportunities for flexible working. Candidates should be IT literate, have well developed digital marketing skills and several years working in a commercial sales and marketing environment.
The role will require flexibility, self motivation, creativity and initiative. This is an opportunity to work for a young company in a small team and there will be the chance to shape and develop the role.
Key tasks to include:
- Ongoing communication with LCS community
- Management of the LCS assessment centre
- Sales leads coordination
- LCS Accreditation life cycle management
- Practitioner Membership support & communication
- LCS website updating, management and development
- Digital marketing activities, including the use of social media
- Marketing material development & management
- Events management
- General administration
Person profile
- At least two years relevant work experience
- Marketing, media, digital related skills and/or qualifications
- Familiarity with CRM systems, marketing automation platforms & email marketing services, online testing systems, WordPress content management system, G-Suite and Microsoft Office applications.
- Self starter, comfortable with the uncertainty that comes from working in a dynamic and changing environment
- Good organisation & communication skills
Salary & Benefits
- £22,000 to £26,000 pa – depending on qualifications, experience
- Training and instruction in all aspect of the business
- Flexible working potential
Further Information
Contact us to request a more detailed job description and/or for a discussion about the role.
16th November: For the time being, applications are no longer being accepted
