Founded on experience and research
In 1994 a small, multidisciplinary academic group was formed to research lean production
systems and teach their findings to companies around the world. Over the following
12 years, leading global manufacturers in many other industries joined this -academic partnership, leading to a unique body of
lean expertise and the development of a comprehensive lean system
model, grounded in science and proven in industrial practice.
This intensive multiyear collaboration gave birth to the Institute for Lean
Systems in 2006, when key members of this team started the firm to
aggressively apply the lean system model in client companies, pursuing a transformation
business along with providing education and training. Our combined personal experience
and expertise spans over 80 years. That experience includes focused
research and hands-on experience in transforming processes ranging from manufacturing
to services to healthcare. We have expertise in designing, mapping, and managing
value streams; restructuring operations of all kinds; establishing practical problem-solving
systems; shaping leadership and individual behaviors; and creating a lean culture
in organizations.
We continue to grow, to learn, and to improve. We have become the preferred lean
vendor for Monomoy Capital Partners, leading the turnaround and transformation
of the companies they acquire. Recently, a Dow Jones analyst commented “what [Monomoy
does] in five months is what a typical buyout firm does in five years.”
Passionate instructors and coaches
The ILS team has highly diverse yet fully integrated expertise
to clearly explain and apply lean concepts from a variety of perspectives. Our passion,
insight, and demeanor accelerate practical learning in every setting,
and keep it fun while building strong improvement teams within your organization.
Our breadth and depth of experience in applying lean to organizational settings
ranges from automotive to aerospace, from job-shops to process industries, from
healthcare operations to engineering design processes, and enables us to develop
creative solutions and customized programs to meet your organization’s
specific needs.
Strategic transformation partnership
We have taken the best elements of world-class systems, adapted or reinvented them,
and packaged that knowledge to provide truly integrated education
and transformation solutions for our clients. Our experience in developing learning
systems, for work places and for educational programs, gives us a unique capability
to structure solutions for our clients. One of those solutions is our - a program that integrates
rigorous transformation activities and hands-on education to establish lean operations
and build a capable and motivated work force operating effectively in a continuous
improvement culture.
, people-focused
Our approach is and delivers that can’t be ignored. Our people- and learning-focused
programs create a highly capable lean culture at the same time
they create lean value streams within your organization. Beyond that, our respectful
interaction with people in organizations creates a passion to stay engaged in improving
the company, which accelerates both personal learning and growth as well as
organizational learning. It is this combination of knowledge and passion
that promotes a continuous improvement culture that sustains your transformation
and enhances your performance year after year.
Total system perspective
We transform the business, operational, and human systems in organizations using
an integrated approach based on years of experience and research in the workings
of the world’s leading companies. Our total system perspective
on lean is what our clients say that sets us apart from other consulting
firms. In our programs, we create the architecture for blending the human, managerial,
financial, and technical components of business and operational systems. That sets
us apart -- and we can set your organization apart from your “lean” competitors
who haven’t progressed beyond a tools-focused implementation. We enable your business
to permanently operate The Lean Way.
International education partnerships
ILS team members have taught lean systems at the university level for many years
and were founding members of the Lean Education Academic Network, a partnership
of over 40 universities world-wide offering lean education programs. We continue
to develop partnerships with leading educational institutions around the world.
We collaborate with the Center for Supply Chain Research program at Penn State
University. We are partners with TexSkill Limited
in Melbourne, Australia, offering the accredited Graduate Certificate and Graduate
Diploma programs in Competitive Enterprise. We have conducted our lean systems certification
programs in Mexico, as partners with Universidad Politécnica de San Luis Potosí.
We have delivered our Executive Programs in Europe and South America. We conduct
lean study missions to Japan in collaboration with Norman Bodek,
who provided the original translations of the Japanese lean knowledge base into
English. These trips expose executives to the best practices of world class companies.
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