LCS Conference & Awards 2026
Catrin Archer, Head of LCS, opened the day by challenging delegates to think beyond traditional CI teams and create organisations where everyone has the capability to think, solve problems, learn and improve.
“People are not PowerPoint slides and organisations aren't machines. Culture cannot be delivered through a rollout plan.”
Catrin also shared the next chapter for LCS, including the new digital member portal and plans to refresh the LCS framework with Cardiff University to ensure it remains relevant for the future of the profession.
OpX then explored a challenge familiar to many improvement teams: when the people doing the improvement work become the system holding it all together. Using their “Thunderbirds” analogy, Adam and Hannah highlighted the need for infrastructure that captures the context, decisions, outcomes and learning behind improvement work.
“Keep the context. Show the impact. Scale the learning.”
Oliver Conger closed the conference with a powerful story of how Lean helped transform a struggling manufacturing business into a high-performing organisation. His message brought many of the day's themes together: put people first, make problems visible, use facts and data, and improve processes before turning to automation and AI.
“You don’t come to work to do your job. You come to work to improve your job.”
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The day culminated in the LCS Awards Dinner & Ceremony, celebrating outstanding achievement in improvement across 10 categories. Discover the winners here.
More than anything, the conference was a celebration of the people, passion and energy behind continuous improvement. From the conversations between sessions to the questions from the floor, there was a genuine willingness to share experiences, challenge thinking and learn from one another.
It was a powerful reminder that scaling improvement isn't simply about growing a CI team. It’s about creating a culture where everyone owns improvement.
What our attendees said
The LCS Conference was a genuinely inspiring experience. It was fantastic to connect with passionate people from different industries and countries, all united by a commitment to continuous improvement. I particularly valued the focus on people, alongside practical tools and insights. The panel discussion and sessions from the University of Manchester and Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust were especially relevant to my work at NDCS. A huge thank you to the organisers and everyone involved. I left feeling inspired, energised and already looking forward to next year.
Simon Garry, Lean Transformation Specialist, National Deaf Children's Society
The LCS Conference & Awards left me genuinely energised. It was refreshing to spend time with people who are passionate about making things better and willing to share both their successes and lessons learned. The quality of the speakers, the openness of the discussions and the celebration of achievement created an atmosphere that was inspiring, motivating, and empowering. I left with new ideas, new contacts and even more belief in the difference continuous improvement can make.
Nikki Libera, Head of Business Improvement, NRS
I found the LCS 2026 conference a real insight into how different organisations tackle scaling improvement. While there is no "magic bullet" it did give a view of different key elements you need to consider around people, culture, systems and structure which we can take back to the MTC.
There was a fantastic cross section of people attending from different business sectors and from around the world. I found Oliver's story particularly inspiring and was able to catch up with many of the people face to face, who I had met through the LCS community. I am already looking forward to next year's event.
Sarah Wooledge, Continuous Improvement Senior Manager, MTC
The LCS Conference and Awards in Manchester was truly excellent and clearly the result of a huge amount of hard work behind the scenes. I was honoured to be a Judge and loved the friendly, open atmosphere of sharing and learning. Continuous learning is at the heart of continuous improvement, and that really came through in the sessions and conversations. Oliver Conger’s closing keynote brilliantly brought this to life, sharing his own journey to creating a true ‘deep lean’ culture. We need to share this message more widely and develop more Oliver Congers! Thank you to LCS for letting Catalyst play a part.
Martin Brenig-Jones, Executive Chair, Catalyst Consulting Ltd
Keynote Speaker - Oliver Conger
Oliver Conger is an entrepreneur and owner of high-growth engineering and technology businesses in the UK and internationally, including the British Rototherm Group, a leader in flow, level, pressure and temperature measurement solutions.
He is a passionate advocate of Continuous Improvement and a regular speaker on Lean Thinking and building cultures of improvement. His businesses have been recognised with multiple awards for Operational Excellence, Sustainability and Innovation, driven by a strong focus on people development.
Oliver holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Imperial College London and an MBA from ESC Grenoble, and is committed to advancing manufacturing, sustainability and productivity.
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Catrin has 20 years experience leading operations and commercial teams across multiple industries.
Catrin Archer
Bart van Waes, founder of Leanprofs, helps organisations improve performance through behaviour-driven Lean, collaboration, and human-centred visual management.
Bart van Waes
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Leon Hardwick is Head of OpX, building a scalable operating system that helps organisations embed, manage, and sustain Continuous Improvement.
Leon Hardwick
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Allison is accountable for the contractual delivery of Managed Services and Transition & Transformation. A Continuous Improvement champion & advocate who has seen the value and the benefit both for customers and Computacenter.
Allison Mclean
David Bovis is a global expert in operational excellence, known for his BTFA model, which integrates neuroscience, philosophy, and business to drive sustainable change by aligning leadership, language, and brain function.
David Bovis
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Beth Lee Wilson is Senior CI Manager at the University of Manchester, leading pragmatic Lean and improvement across complex university environments.
Beth Lee Wilson
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Dan Hamilton is a Lean Innovation Management Consultant with experience in nuclear, energy, manufacturing, & consulting. He specialises in Lean Six Sigma, SAFe, & change management, and holds a BEng in Aerospace Technology Engineering.
Daniel Hamilton
Daniel is Head of Business Improvement at Sellafield Ltd., where he has spent six years embedding a CI culture across a 12,000-strong workforce. He helped secure the LCS Team of the Year Award 2025 & brings over 24 years’ experience in nuclear operations & consultancy.
Daniel Capers
Zoe Hawkes is a Continuous Improvement leader at Computacenter, focused on driving operational excellence through Lean thinking, process optimisation, and data-led insight, enabling teams to deliver more efficient, consistent, and customer-centric outcomes.
Zoe Hawkes
Himanshu Makhija is a global operations strategy and Lean transformation leader at Hilti Group, driving continuous improvement across 120 countries. He specialises in Lean, customer experience, and digital enablement, delivering measurable gains in service, speed, and efficiency.
Himanshu Makhija
Ben Duffield is a transformation leader and Lean expert with over a decade’s experience in financial services. He helps organisations embed continuous improvement, translating strategy into disciplined execution that delivers sustainable, measurable performance.
Ben Duffield
Ben Francis is Head of Improvement at Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust, leading organisation-wide improvement, leadership coaching, and systems that embed sustainable, measurable change while enhancing staff and patient outcomes.
Ben Francis
Linda Spinks is a Continuous Improvement Lead at the University of Cambridge, and a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and Lean Competency System trainer, delivering improvement training, coaching teams, and supporting universities globally through LeanHE Global.
Linda Spinks
Oli Isaac is Senior Improvement Manager at Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust, driving capability programmes, data-led improvement, and high-performing teams to embed sustainable, strategically aligned continuous improvement.
Oli Isaac
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Hannah is one of the commercial leads at OpX, supporting organisations to build the missing layer of infrastructure they need to scale improvement.
Hannah Taylor
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Adam is one of the commercial leads at OpX, supporting organisations to build the missing layer of infrastructure they need to scale improvement.
Adam Kinsey
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