About the Lean Enterprise Research Centre (LERC)

LERC is one of Cardiff Business School's major research centres, with around 20 staff and associates and a track record of innovative Research, Executive Education and Engagement activities. It was founded in 1994 as Daniel T Jones sought a base from which to explore the ideas centred around the newly coined term 'lean thinking' - popularised in the book The Machine that Changed the World (1990, Womack, Jones & Roos) and then in Lean Thinking (1996, Womack & Jones). LERC's mission is to research, apply and communicate lean thinking; it is one of the largest centre's of its kind in the world.

LERC Lean Enterprise Research Centre

View the video introducing the Lean Enterprise Research Centre and the research, education and engagement activities it undertakes with organisations.

Main Activities of LERC

Our research focuses on the application and meaning of lean thinking in a variety of different contexts and environments. Projects tend to be collaborative in nature, often involving a number of organisations who come together as a network, with common issues that the particular research programme addresses. Our degree education activity is focused on the MSc in Lean Operations - the world's first lean masters programme, while Engagement includes open and bespoke short courses, knowledge transfer activities, action research, project based learning, lean community & networks and the Lean Competency System.

What is Lean Thinking?

The term ‘lean’ was first popularised in the seminal book ‘The Machine that Changed the World’, which clearly illustrated - for the first time - the significant performance gap between the Japanese and western automotive industries. It described the key elements accounting for this superior performance as lean production - ‘lean’ because Japanese business methods used less of everything - human effort, capital investment, facilities, inventories and time - in manufacturing, product development, parts supply and customer relations.

Lean Management Education & Training

LERC delivers a broad range of executive education programmes and lean thinking courses that complement its research activities. These range from 1 day introduction courses to a 2 year part-time executive masters’ degrees. Many of the short courses are open and we also develop bespoke courses, suited to the specific needs of an organisation.

Lean Courses are delivered by LERC staff, other Business School staff and by LERC Associates. Our courses are practical and participative in style, with an emphasis on the application of knowledge in the work place. As well as traditional lectures, we use case studies, simulations and management games as part of the learning process.