Engineering a happier life using the ‘lean’ methodology

Author and ‘lean’ expert Michelle Leong who has adopted the principles of ‘lean’ into her everyday life, is designing an app to help others be ‘more lean’.

Three years after the publication of her book “Being Lean: achieve a better quality of life at home, in health, travelling and at work”, she is developing a smart app to help people live a ‘lean life’.

Being created in the UK, the smart Leanier app will learn about a user’s behaviour and suggest ways to be more efficient, save time, reduce waste and boost happiness. For Michelle it’s a ‘behaviour engineering’ app:

“It’s been a long-held dream to be able to bring the ‘lean’ methodology into someone’s personal life. I long ago realised it’s a recipe for happiness after bringing it into the construction industry in the UK. There are many views around this way of thinking. It’s not just about being less wasteful, or being healthier – it’s an holistic way to live aligned to your values,” Michelle said

The 55 year old who lives in Watford, and is known across the UK for her expertise in the  ‘Lean’ methodology which she describes as ‘engineering human behaviour’. She is one of a small group of experts who pioneered the methodology within the construction sector in the UK more than 20 years ago.

“Being lean is not just about reducing waste – it’s far more than that. It’s about values and flow in business and in life. It’s about providing the best customer service as efficiently as possible as cost effectively as possible while keeping waste at a minimum. It’s an ever-evolving way of doing business and a way of living,” she said.

The method first emerged in Japan after the Second World War when resources were scarce. It was first used by Toyota in the automotive sector and the term ‘kaizen’  which directly translates to ‘continuous improvement’ is often associated with it. Since that time, manfacturers have used it, its principles have been partially embraced with the NHS and within other sectors. Indeed a whole area of expertise has now grown up around it in the UK – although Michelle was one of first in the UK to be trained in the methodology.

 In recent months, Michelle has been developing the app which will evolve with each user, offering steps to change which are relevant to their own circumstances – it is not a one-size-fits-all solution.

“The app is under development,” Michelle said “and we are looking for interested people to help us beta test it. We hope then that it will be ready for a full launch in the summer of 2026.”

To find out more or to apply as a beta-tester visit https://www.leanier.app/

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