Declan Higgins

There are three parts to my role in LBS Partners, with whom I’ve worked for the past four years; Lean Trainer [Green Belt and Yellow Belt programmes], Mentor [of workplace improvement projects], and Lean Consultant [driving business development programmes] Training in the classroom or via video link is rewarding especially when Lean teaching exposes participants to new perspectives, new methods not previously understood. However, the applied side of the learning experience is especially fulfilling, where what is taught is reinforced via mentoring in the workplace I hold people working at the coalface of an organisation in high regard and really enjoy assisting them use Lean techniques to transform how work is done and to achieve outcomes more easily A benefit of my role in LBS Partners is the diversity of work environments, people and locations one is exposed to. Whether client companies are private or public sector, industrial or services, they typically share common objectives. Regardless of the challenge, it’s a privilege to help untap the potential of organisations to better their own performance and realise those objectives sooner My own knowledge has been developed over twenty-five years in Engineering and Operations Management roles in medium and large size multinationals, plus five years Consulting with numerous organisations in Ireland and UK, and from university degrees in Engineering and Business disciplines In Dell I managed a range of engineering functions that delivered numerous new product transitions, and drove the optimisation of high-volume manufacturing lines and supply chain processes. Lean thinking and methodology first came to prominence during this period In BS&B Safety Systems Ltd. I managed the R&D team and the execution of a large number of concurrent product development projects. Responsibilities also included capacity planning, the management of capital budgets and co-ordination of technology transfers Earlier Process Engineering roles were fulfilled in Boart Hardmetals SA and at Verbatim Inc.