Summary of Conference ThemesShannon Denson, The University of St Andrews

What has happened in the world recently?

Life was pretty good.

Then there was a banking crisis…

That kind of messed things up!

Universities and the Financial Crisis

Government had to borrow to prop up the economy

Recession means less taxes plus more welfare and debt obligations equal financial imbalance.

There have always been funding problems in Higher Education

Lean isn’t just for times of crises

Lean and Market Driven HE: After the Browne Report

Fee Caps– Will likely increase from £6 to 9k

Admissions– Will ultimately result in lower student numbers– More international students

Diversity– Meeting the needs of the customer

Continuous Improvement– We are going to have to take a radical approach to

redesigning our business

There is a new financial landscape for the Public Sector

Enter stage left…

Introducing Lean– 3 facts

• The term “Lean” came from MIT• Lean manufacturing won’t work in the public services• Lean isn’t just for efficiency

– 3 key messages• Lean should be about customising from a standard offering• Rapid improvement events alone do not make for a Lean organisation• We need to change from being capacity led to demand led

– 3 principles• Value• Flow • Waste

– Gemba – get out there and see what other people are doing

How do we put this into practice?

Parallel Sessions – Cardiff University– Visual Management, David Melkevik– Five Principles of Lean, Sarah Richardson– Plan Do Check Act Cycle, Sarah Lethbridge– Make Work Flow, Christine Stewart– Waste and Demand Failure, Yvonne Taylor

Scenario Exercise

The winner is…

Lean Me Up Scottie

How can we become a Lean organisation?

Lean in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Cardiff University

Drivers for Lean:– The organisation was very complex– Eradication of the “blame culture”– Financial constraints– The school became guinea pig for the Lean team at Cardiff

Projects Sheila’s Wheel- Visual Management Issues and barriers

The 5 day Lean Event

Lean team are independent and autonomous

Have a “can do” attitude 8 steps in a Kaizen Blitz Lean tools- why, why, why… and ideas

generation Perseverance and review The importance of having fun

It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.

-W. Edwards Deming