Case studies

All articles about: Case studies

Lean management in a Brazilian insurance company
February 6, 2018
Lean management in a Brazilian insurance company

CASE STUDY – An insurance company in São Paulo is experiencing a complete turnaround driven by a very capable Lean Office that understands its role is to gradually make people autonomous.

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How lean management saved a butcher's shop in Botswana
December 11, 2017
How lean management saved a butcher's shop in Botswana

CASE STUDY – Faced with complex logistics and customer complaints, a small deli and butchery in Botswana saw in lean a way to bring the business back from the brink. The philosophy didn’t fail them.

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Developing our people to flow value to our customers
December 5, 2017
Developing our people to flow value to our customers

CASE STUDY – One-piece flow and a focus on lean leadership and kaizen have allowed the Halfway Production Centre in Johannesburg to turn itself around in just 14 months.

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Kaizen and improved maintenance in a Turkish mine
November 7, 2017
Kaizen and improved maintenance in a Turkish mine
lean thinking mining Turkey

CASE STUDY – Over the past four years, by developing its kaizen capabilities and crafting a better approach to maintenance, a Turkish gold mine has significantly reduced its extraction costs.

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The people-led lean turnaround of a chain of car dealerships
September 4, 2017
The people-led lean turnaround of a chain of car dealerships

DOCUMENTARY – In PL’s first ever documentary, we share the story of a chain of car dealerships in Africa. Watch and learn how people development and lean leadership made for one of the best turnarounds you’ll ever encounter.

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How lean is enabling the growth of a Turkish company
July 18, 2017
How lean is enabling the growth of a Turkish company

CASE STUDY – With plans to double capacity year on year in its new precision machining business, a Turkish company found in lean a way to control growth by stabilizing old processes while new ones are introduced.

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How lean is enabling the growth of a Turkish company
July 18, 2017
How lean is enabling the growth of a Turkish company

CASE STUDY – With plans to double capacity year on year in its new precision machining business, a Turkish company found in lean a way to control growth by stabilizing old processes while new ones are introduced.

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The impressive lean turnaround of DBS Bank in Singapore
June 5, 2017
The impressive lean turnaround of DBS Bank in Singapore

CASE STUDY – Over the past few years, DBS Bank in Singapore has undergone an extraordinary turnaround inspired by lean. Here, the COO explains how the company has become the world's "best digital bank".

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Lean in higher education: improving Macquarie University
May 24, 2017
Lean in higher education: improving Macquarie University

CASE STUDY – An Australian university has been applying lean to streamline and improve its processes, discovering along the way how big a change the methodology can affect in the organization's culture.

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The lean turnaround of the San Diego Zoo Global
April 19, 2017
The lean turnaround of the San Diego Zoo Global

CASE STUDY – Lean thinking is transforming San Diego Zoo Global, helping this century-old organization provide a better experience to its visitors and a better life to its animals.

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How Auto Trader UK embraced lean to become fully digital
April 3, 2017
How Auto Trader UK embraced lean to become fully digital

CASE STUDY – Around four years ago, classified ads magazine Auto Trader printed its final issue and moved to a web-only business model. As its digital transformation progressed, the company discovered why real innovation must become business-as-usual.

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How humility transformed a car dealership in Botswana
January 5, 2017
How humility transformed a car dealership in Botswana

CASE STUDY – The story of how a humble leader, who recognizes the importance and contribution of each individual to the company’s success, is making a car dealership in Botswana a fantastic example of lean transformation.

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Lean enables agile scale-up at Finnish Broadcasting Company
November 21, 2016
Lean enables agile scale-up at Finnish Broadcasting Company

CASE STUDY – The Finnish Broadcasting Company has been leveraging lean thinking to scale up its agile work. In the process, it has developed a greater understanding of customer value.

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The fantastic lean transformation of an Italian hospital
October 4, 2016
The fantastic lean transformation of an Italian hospital

CASE STUDY – There is more to Siena than the Palio: the Tuscan city boasts of one of the most advanced examples of lean healthcare in Italy. We asked the team at the University Hospital how they are doing it.

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Lean healthcare at a large hospital district in Finland
August 9, 2016
Lean healthcare at a large hospital district in Finland

CASE STUDY – The whole of Helsinki’s hospital district is leaning out, with incredible results. It isn’t every day that we come across – let alone have the opportunity to observe – a lean transformation in such a large healthcare organization.

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Lean is creating a 900-strong CI team in a gold mine
May 9, 2016
Lean is creating a 900-strong CI team in a gold mine

CASE STUDY – The extraordinary transformation of Kinross' Round Mountain gold mine in Nevada over the past six years shows that lean thinking can – quite literally – move mountains.

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The lean journey of Antwerp University Hospital
May 3, 2016
The lean journey of Antwerp University Hospital

CASE STUDY – How an improvement program of the British national healthcare system inspired a Belgian hospital to launch an organization-wide lean transformation with the active support of the HR and nursing departments.

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Chinese restaurant chain Xibei adopts the lean methodology
October 22, 2015
Chinese restaurant chain Xibei adopts the lean methodology

CASE STUDY – An entire restaurant chain going lean is not something you see every day. Coming all the way from China, Xibei's story of cultural change will inspire you to never forget the fundamentals of lean, from standardization to quality.

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Transforming your hospital using lean thinking
October 20, 2015
Transforming your hospital using lean thinking

VIDEO CASE STUDY – In the past couple of years, the Consorci Sanitari del Garraf has been able to leverage the commitment of its people to perform a lean turnaround. Its story shows you don’t need lots of resources and money to do lean in a hospital.

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Lean management in a primary school in Norway
October 8, 2015
Lean management in a primary school in Norway

CASE STUDY - A pioneering school in Rogaland, Norway, is proving that some elements of lean thinking can successfully be adapted to the education system to create better conditions for both teaching and learning.

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The amazing growth of a chain of lean bakeries in Spain
July 16, 2015
The amazing growth of a chain of lean bakeries in Spain

CASE STUDY – A very lean system that runs like clockwork and constant attention to customer service enable Barcelona-based 365.café to achieve the impossible: supplying 55 bakeries out of a 650-sqm factory.

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Lean government: how UK courts and tribunals are changing
July 9, 2015
Lean government: how UK courts and tribunals are changing
hmcts lean government england

CASE STUDY - HM Courts & Tribunals Service has been using lean ways of working for over six years, learning many lessons along the way and achieving some fantastic wins.

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An NGO uses lean principles to rebuild New Orleans
June 4, 2015
An NGO uses lean principles to rebuild New Orleans

CASE STUDY – Following one of the deadliest hurricanes in US history, an NGO started to use lean management principles to speed up the reconstruction of homes in the Louisiana city… and the results were impressive.

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Prosthetics manufacturer uses lean thinking to stay on top
May 21, 2015
Prosthetics manufacturer uses lean thinking to stay on top

CASE STUDY - Össur is recognized as a leader in the fields of prosthetic, osteoarthritis and injury solutions, but how did lean management and a trial-and-error approach to improvement help it to stay competitive?

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How music streaming giant Spotify stays successful
April 16, 2015
How music streaming giant Spotify stays successful

CASE STUDY - How Spotify developed an alternative management system based on servant leadership, interaction-based learning and adaptability – changing the music industry along the way.

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Implementing lean management principles across government
February 24, 2015
Implementing lean management principles across government
lean transformation saskatchewan

CASE STUDY – The Canadian province of Saskatchewan is running a bold experiment: applying lean management across all government. The driving force? A “compelling vision.”

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Towards lean service at Tokheim Italia
February 4, 2015
Towards lean service at Tokheim Italia

CASE STUDY - The Italian branch of Tokheim services about 3,000 gas stations in the central and northern parts of Italy. The general manager shares the story of how lean thinking changed everything, for the better.

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Cimtas Module & Shipyard: lean principles in construction
December 15, 2014
Cimtas Module & Shipyard: lean principles in construction

CASE STUDY - A Turkish shipyard and engineering company has found that lean principles and practice are the only way to deliver unique, large construction projects efficiently and successfully.

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How Pietro Fiorentini became Italy's lean champion
October 21, 2014
How Pietro Fiorentini became Italy's lean champion

CASE STUDY – A unique approach to lean management and the involvement of CEO Mario Nardi helped Pietro Fiorentini, provider of solutions for natural gas distribution, become a model for lean companies in Italy.

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Lean management to transform a Chinese hospital
September 17, 2014
Lean management to transform a Chinese hospital

CASE STUDY - Three successful improvement projects at a hospital in Guangzhou are proving that lean healthcare in China is an opportunity that the sector cannot afford to miss.

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Employees: the most important part of a lean transformation
September 1, 2014
Employees: the most important part of a lean transformation

CASE STUDY - Through the involvement of front line staff, Hartmann’s production plant near Barcelona is paving the way for an expansion into different markets and inspiring the adoption of lean across the multinational.

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Turning around a business using lean construction ideas
August 21, 2014
Turning around a business using lean construction ideas

CASE STUDY - Addressing failure cost and introducing a new quoting process are only two of the ways in which Dutch construction company Dura Vermeer is successfully achieving a lean transformation.

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Lean thinking to shorten patient length of stay
July 15, 2014
Lean thinking to shorten patient length of stay
lean methodology length of stay

CASE STUDY - This article reports on the efforts that Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands has made to apply Theory of Constraints to patients' length of stay.

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Melbourne - pushing the boundaries of lean government
May 13, 2014
Melbourne - pushing the boundaries of lean government

CASE STUDY - How does lean contribute to making Melbourne one of the world’s most liveable cities year after year? Denise Bennett explains the approach followed.

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The lean journey of a manufacturer of combine harvesters
April 15, 2014
The lean journey of a manufacturer of combine harvesters

CASE STUDY - An approach based on Lean Daily Management System and experiments in a model area led an Italian manufacturer of combine-harvesters to become one of the leanest organizations in the Veneto region.

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Surviving the economic crisis working with lean healthcare
March 31, 2014
Surviving the economic crisis working with lean healthcare

CASE STUDY - In the past two years, the Consorci Sanitari del Garraf near Barcelona experienced a lean turnaround. The author gives us an overview of the key building blocks of this transformation.

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How to spread lean principles without hindering results
March 4, 2014
How to spread lean principles without hindering results

CASE STUDY - What does having a new “true north” mean? Following the merger with a large group, cancer center IOV is looking to seamlessly spread its lean management system to new operations and facilities.

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How a Turkish textiles firm thrived using lean manufacturing
January 27, 2014
How a Turkish textiles firm thrived using lean manufacturing

CASE STUDY - Faced with high costs, low demand and growing competition from China, Turkish textile manufacturer Yesim managed to develop a competitive advantage by transforming its ways with lean thinking and increasing its focus on the customer

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How an English council transformed itself with lean thinking
January 27, 2014
How an English council transformed itself with lean thinking

CASE STUDY - In November last year, a town in the West Midlands made the headlines after a survey named it the best place to live in the United Kingdom. Lean may not be directly responsible for the achievement, but there is little doubt it gave its contribution.

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