I founded Geniu 10 years ago.
However, I had actually laid the groundwork for this many years earlier. After starting my career in management consulting in 2006, I found myself in 2008 working in a quality control lab at a pharmaceutical company in Dublin—my first Lean project in a lab. Back then, I had no idea that this very project would be a part of my life for nearly twenty years.
Looking back, I was one of the first consultants to systematically apply Lean principles in the laboratory. Together with a former Toyota employee who had learned Lean from the ground up, I was tasked with identifying as much potential for optimization as possible. The first step: a waste analysis for HPLC and dissolution tests.
To be honest, it was quite a challenge: The lab staff spoke only with a strong Irish accent. Lean processes and templates were far from mature at the time and weren’t tailored to the lab. And the preparation time on site was extremely limited.
Nevertheless, the results were impressive: With an identified optimization potential of 34%, the outcome exceeded the consulting mantra of the time, “30% is always achievable.” This was followed by numerous projects in laboratories around the globe—from Japan and China to the Middle East and Europe, and on to North and South America—where I was able to apply Lean principles in laboratory settings.
Today—after founding Geniu and carrying out several hundred optimization projects in labs—I know that with Geniu’s current approach, much more would have been possible in Dublin—and, above all, in a more sustainable way.
When the company was founded 10 years ago, I hadn’t yet gained the insight—from hundreds of Lean Lab projects—that even more was possible. However, I was convinced that with a better approach, even more optimizations were possible. Looking back, it was this conviction that led me to found Geniu—with the vision of closely integrating consulting and (online) training to make them more effective.
Today, I can say: This vision has become a reality. Geniu—short for “the genius in you”—is dedicated to empowering leaders and employees to bring about significant and sustainable improvements in laboratories. Today, in Geniu projects, we regularly identify significantly more potential for optimization than in any of my projects prior to founding the company, and at the same time, we implement a much higher proportion of it together with the lab teams.
Read more about the development of Geniu and the innovations designed to optimize laboratories in the press release.
