ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses how the Business Process Improvement Initiative became a part of Macquarie University’s story. It considers the importance of core dependencies for a successful implementation of Lean, including executive support, the unit leader and a high functioning central team. These three components are essential for the sustained success of an institutional implementation of Lean. The chapter explains why these three components are necessary, and why it is imperative to sustain the support of each level are head, heart and hands to maintain the momentum of the methodology and ensure it is adopted as ‘business as usual’. Sustaining Lean in an organisation requires the continued support of the Executive and a group of senior staff who advocates for and provides practical support to the Business Process Improvement leader and team. As Lean higher education developed and became ‘business as usual’ for Macquarie, several challenges shifted the momentum of the initiative.