News & Downloads

Celebrating 12 Years of Lean Competency Accreditation

Successful Re-Accreditation of Training, Assessment & Certification Services to the Lean Competency System (licensed by Cardiff University) S A Partners and Cardiff University – through the Lean Enterprise Research Centre and the Lean Competency System have a long-standing heritage. After 12 years, we are now celebrating the successful re-accreditation of S A Partners Trainers, Coaches and […]

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S A Partners team members complete the Managing & Promoting Positive Mental Health & Wellbeing Programme
Members of the S A Partners Team have successfully completed the Royal College of Psychiatrists accredited programme – Managing & Promoting Positive Mental Health & Wellbeing as part of our continued professional development.  The training was provided by accredited trainer Stephne Puddy. The team deliver training, coach and mentor UK and international candidates on our [...]
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Webinar: Using accreditation to help embed Continuous Improvement
The Lean Competency System (LCS) is a university developed and industry recognised lean qualifications framework for developing lean thinking knowledge and practical skills in the workplace. Join Simon Elias who heads up this globally recognised programme to understand how it works; the benefits to organisations and hear case studies of companies that have adopted the [...]
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Webinar: Coaching through Disruption (Part 1)
Join Keivan Zokaei to hear how you can use tried and tested coaching and positive psychology techniques to help you lead and support both yourself and your team during disruption. We will look at various models and share with you how these can be deployed immediately. Keivan will also show how good continuous improvement standards [...]
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Webinar: Coaching through Disruption (Part 2)
Join Keivan for the second in this series of webinars where he will talk with companies that have used coaching and positive psychology to rapidly respond to the Covid-19 disruption. Ensuring their teams stay informed, manage their responsibilities and can rapidly adapt to the changing market demands To view this webinar, please fill out the [...]
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Webinar: A3 Problem Solving
Lean management is about asking questions and trying things with the goal of learning about a process and understanding gaps between where you are now and where you want to be. Lean = Learn The A3 management tool can be used to facilitate that learning, clarify thinking, and foster communication within your organization. This session [...]
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Webinar: Problem Solving & Scenario Mapping
“Help! Our new way of working isn’t working!” We are starting to hear that from our clients, our partners, and our network. Let our expert trainers deliver rapid problem solving skills to allow you to frame problems effectively and focus on breaking barriers and improving flow. To view this webinar, please fill out the form [...]
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Webinar: Creating a Culture of CI in Financial Services
Lean and continuous improvement is not a new concept for Financial Services. Many organisations have been using Lean tools and techniques for years, but how sustainable is it as an approach and is the common approach to Lean really moving the needle towards Enterprise Excellence and business improvement? This webinar provides an overview of practical [...]
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Continuous Improvement in Public Sector Organisations
Is there method in our madness, or rather madness in our methods? I had been a civil servant since I was 19, and during that time had personally experienced the joys and sorrows of life as a CI practitioner in various capacities in the Ministry of Justice. I remember the initial buzz as we embarked [...]
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Congratulations to our first successful Master Lean Coach in 2018

We are delighted to announce that we have our first successful Master Lean Coach for 2018 – Malcolm Watson – Group Lean Manager at ABP Beef. This is a rare achievement indeed. Those who seek to achieve the Cardiff University Lean Competency System Level 2b – Master Lean Coach certification are few and far between. […]

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Welsh Government Minister for Skills Shows Interest in Training Offerings
Dr Toni Whitehead was recently an expert panelist at the Welsh Government sponsored  ‘Invest in Skills : Invest in Growth‘ conference for the Food & Drink sector in Wales which was attended by over 100 people. Dr Toni Whitehead was recently an expert panelist at the Welsh Government sponsored  ‘Invest in Skills : Invest in Growth‘ conference [...]
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It’s Not About the Badge

For us and our clients who participate on our Lean Competency System (LCS) accredited ‘learning by doing’ programmes – the value comes from the depth of benefits gained from the learning experience, and sustainable capability that is developed within the teams and individuals on the programme. It’s not about the LCS Certification and Badge – […]

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Lean Training Summary
Here Dr Donna Samuel talks through the different levels of Lean training, and the level of work required to achieve each level.
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Would You Like to Learn Faster Than Your Opposition?

The Lean and Sustainable Consortium provides you the platform to learn faster than your opposition, and you can view the video to see how it provides your organisation that competitive edge.

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Looking at the 8 Wastes in Rugby

To follow on from the end of the 6 Nations rugby competition, congratulations to England by the way, I have used the 8 wastes we all know so well, and applied to the good game of rugby.

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Webinar: Continuous Improvement in Retail and Distribution
This webinar is designed to introduce you to both the best practice method and real life examples of continuous improvement in distribution. You will hear about our sustainable improvement system which delivers stable ways of working and a simple but effective improvement method. We will show how leaders can develop the right thinking and behaviour [...]
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Life on the Road

The glamour of being a consultant travelling the world is not all what it seems to be you know, and here’s why travelling can be stressful. This week I set off for a journey to Mexico:

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S A Partners Thought Leaders who Inspire & Motivate

Last month we highlighted Prof Peter Hines, S A Partners Chairman, who is a world renowned leader in his field, who delivers speeches at events around the world.

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When Lean Improvements Fail to Show Up on the Bottom-Line

Lean improvement initiatives that focus on cost savings are destined to come unstuck. Why? Because it is extremely difficult to justify that these improvements have had a real effect on business financial performance.

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New Lean and Green Qualification

The Master in Lean & Green Supply Chains of the Technical University of Madrid (UPM) is a joint initiative of a UPM team, led by Prof. Joaquín Fuentes-Pila, and Dr. Keivan Zokaei

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PDCA Panic Do Crisis Argh!

I recently ran a lean simulation for 350 people-32 sessions, I could not find anyone who wanted to plan or anyone who was willing to work in a team, everybody was picking up bricks and building solutions- great enthusiasm but no structure. The discipline of PDCA is fast becoming a lost art.

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The challenge of coaching the coach

We are what I believe to be a successful and forward-thinking manufacturing business. We’ve been implementing our own form of CI over the past two years with good results; we spent a lot of time researching successful lean implementations in other organisations before we began our journey and believe that we profited from that investment.

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S A Partners training courses are CPD accredited

S A Partners have recently teamed up with the Continued Professional Development (CPD) certification service to offer CPD accreditation to sit alongside our existing Lean Competency System (LCS) and Shingo Institute accreditations.

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98% of all 5S programs are dead within 6 months

5s is a great tool, but if it isn’t implemented correctly, it will almost always fail.

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5S is not dead-its just upside down!

How many times have you heard “we are implementing 5s and we are up to the second’s” what does that mean?

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Whoooo Hooo we Gemba walking

What is the Value of the GEMBA walk by a manager in an organisation? Some perceive it as essential, some perceive it as not so essential.

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The 12 Hau’s of Improvement

12 questions on how you can improve processes in your organisation

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How Can you Implement 5S Without Stress

A team has a problem implementing 5s, find out how Kevin Eyre would solve the problem and get things back on track!

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Put Your Tools Back in the Box

Don’t let consultants sell you tools, make them work with you to develop systems, systems that will deliver your results….leave the tools in the box until we need them.

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Billy and the Duchess Café

Customer Mr Parker a senior purchasing manager from a leading welsh automotive company is going to London for a conference on the benefits of big picture mapping. His expectations for the course is nice buffet, a new pen, have had a nice little jolly and be home in time for Eastenders. Mr Parker not one […]

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The foodmanufacture.co.uk publishes a podcast by Jeff Williams

Listen to this podcast recorded by the Food Manufacture website where Jeff, food & drink sector head, explains how organisations should implement continuous improvement on a sustained basis

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Cultech Lean Academy Success

S A Partners were delighted to award Lean Academy certificates to delegates at Cultech following the successful completion of training and improvement projects funded by the Food and Drink programme.

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Lean and Green Infiltrates The Huffington Post!

Drs. Keivan Zokaei and Donna Samuel have been networking with The B Team to explain the huge opportunities enjoyed by companies who have embraced lean and green. They are delighted to announce that one of Dr Zokaei’s articles has now been published as a blog in the Huffington Post.

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The Lean Toolbox: The Essential Guide to Lean Transformation

The Lean Toolbox 4th Edition, the Essential Guide to Lean Transformation’ is written for practitioners and for students, and is the extensively revised version of the best selling ‘The New Lean Toolbox’.

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The Lean Toolbox for Service Systems

All material in the book has been ‘field tested’ by exposure to service professionals and executive programmes. A feature of the book is that it integrates several approaches rather than advocating a particular approach.

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The Power of Customer Value

The first of the five traditional lean principles probably remains the most elusive. Many companies, who are deeply embroiled in lean and continuous improvement, fail to put sufficient effort into understanding value in the eyes of their customers.

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S A Partners Award 1a Lean Awareness Certificates

Lean Awareness training have taught Matt and Stuart the principles of lean thinking and an approach to problem-solving that will enable them to drive lean improvement within their

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Jonny Wilkinson and Kaizen!

Jonny Wilkinson writes ‘One of the most appealing things about sport is the way it fulfils your natural desire to get better. For me, sport has always been about a search for more’. One of the ways I achieve the mindset is to follow the Japanese concept of Kaizen

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Muda is not the only fruit!

Lean Thinking by Womack and Jones (1996) has undoubtedly played an important role in the lean movement over the past few decades.

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