Archive for July 2022

CASE STUDY – A Chilean company selling and servicing vehicles and equipment for a variety of industries has made of humility the leading trait of its cultural transformation, with great results. Words: Miguel Pastor Furelos “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing,” said Greek philosopher Socrates. This well-known mantra embodies our company…

FEATURE – A former ops manager now responsible for improvement across IKEA looks back at what she learned in one of the company’s stores and explains how she hopes to take lean to the whole group. Words: Inge Otten, Group Business Navigator, IKEA These are interesting times for IKEA. The company is transforming from a…

FEATURE – The only way for lean to succeed is to change a leader’s behavior so the rest of the organization will change too and people get the support they need to become problem solvers. Words: Michael Ballé and Daniel Jones Thirty years after we first used the word “lean” to describe the unique way…

CASE STUDY – We hear from a construction company in Chile that embarked on a lean journey in 2018 to transform its culture and improve the work on its many sites. Words: Daniela Bertin Figueroa and María Paz Mosqueira Arce Lean Thinking came to Socovesa in 2018, but our first attempts to figure out a…

FEATURE – Our editor recently caught up with the director of the largest hospital in the Netherlands and asked him about the lean transformation he’s leading there.  Interviewee: Kjeld Aij, Director, Erasmus Medical Center – Rotterdam, The Netherlands RP: What organization did you find when you took on the position of Director of this hospital?…

A lot of people already know about Single Minute Exchange of Die (SMED), which is sometimes called Quick Changeover, and the traditional application of it. But anyway, I will briefly explain about the methodology and how to apply it. And then I will tell you about a case where I really had to turn everything…