Lean Practitioner

Summary

This three-day course builds on foundational Lean knowledge and develops the practical capability to analyse, design, and improve real processes at a system level.

Participants move beyond Lean awareness to learn how to diagnose performance issues, work with real operational data, and design more effective end-to-end processes. The course focuses on understanding how flow, variability, and system constraints affect performance, and how to make structured, evidence-based improvements that work in practice.

How will I benefit?

After the course you will be able to:

  • Develop confidence to actively contribute to improvement work, and support implementation in practice
  • Diagnose process performance issues by identifying root causes, not just symptoms
  • Analyse real workflows using practical tools such as process mapping and value stream mapping
  • Understand how variation, bottlenecks and system constraints affect performance
  • Design improved processes that enhance flow, reduce delays and improve predictability
  • Make better use of operational data to support decision-making
  • Understand how Lean improvements translate into operational and organisational performance

Who should attend?

This course is suitable for participants who already have a basic understanding of Lean and want to develop practical improvement capability, including:

  • Delegates who have completed a Lean awareness or introductory course
  • Specialists involved in process improvement or operational performance
  • Participants who are expected to lead improvement activity

Course Outline / Key Topics

Understanding the Current State

  • Why performance problems occur in real systems
  • Framing improvement work and defining meaningful problems
  • Symptoms vs Causes
  • Customers, value and measurable performance (VOC, Kano, CTQs)
  • Spotting the traps with operational data
  • Process mapping and value stream mapping
  • Identifying waste, bottlenecks and system constraints

Designing Better Systems

  • Principles of future state design
  • Flow, variability and the use of buffers
  • Information flow design
  • Bottlenecks, pacing and system control
  • Reducing batch sizes and SMED
  • Layout and workflow design
  • Levelling, sequencing and stability
  • Pull systems and replenishment logic
  • Balancing operational performance and financial impact

Making Improvement Work in Reality

  • Gemba-based learning
  • Problem Solving integrated with Lean
  • Human factors and work design
  • Standardisation and 5S
  • Visual Management and Escalation
  • Planning real improvement work, including RACI