What do an auto manufacturer and an NHS ward have in common? In this episode, Steve Boam, CEO of Develop Consulting, explains that the Lean principles he learned on Toyota production lines apply to all types of sectors, including defence suppliers, airports, and hospitals. Since founding Develop in 2018, he and his team have used those principles to support hundreds improvement projects across more than 50 clients.
Steve traces Lean back to Toyota’s drive for continuous improvement, built on two foundations: people and process. He explains how Develop works shoulder to shoulder with clients rather than advising from a distance, why the Lean principles hold regardless of product development speed or scale, and that the hardest part of any transformation is rarely the boardroom or the shop floor, but the in the middle.
The conversation covers productivity challenges as well as the skills mismatch leaving young people without work. As part of this, Steve emphasises the need for education and apprenticeships in industry, as well as worker empowerment: the need to “flip the pyramid” and place the person doing the job at the top.
Check out the Develop Consulting website.
Supported by Norman Broadbent.
Steve Boam
