lean in the Netherlands

All articles about lean in the Netherlands

The pursuit of eggscellence
September 18, 2024
The pursuit of eggscellence

FEATURE – Our editor learns about the lean work taking place in two successful omelette-based restaurants in the Netherlands.

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How Tuinderij Vers is learning to see
May 23, 2024
How Tuinderij Vers is learning to see

FEATURE – Faced with increased production volumes, this Dutch company realized the need to improve its processes by developing people skills.

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20 years of Lean in the Netherlands
March 26, 2024
20 years of Lean in the Netherlands

FEATURE – In February, our affiliate in the Netherlands turned 20. The President of Lean Management Instituut reflects on this achievement and looks back at these two decades.

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Every square meter counts
September 11, 2023
Every square meter counts

CASE STUDY – When it had to develop a production process for a new product from scratch, this Dutch company leveraged lean tools and practices. And the results were impressive.

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Making the Netherlands leaner and leaner
August 30, 2018
Making the Netherlands leaner and leaner

GETTING TO KNOW US – We continue our series of interviews with key Lean Global Network people with a chat with the President of Holland-based Lean Management Instituut.

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Leading the change
June 24, 2022
Leading the change

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.

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Revolutionizing warehousing in a hospital with lean thinking
September 8, 2016
Revolutionizing warehousing in a hospital with lean thinking

FEATURE – The warehousing department of a Dutch hospital has been implementing lean for a few years. Its Head of Logistics believes in an approach to change based on respect for people and on making small but steady steps.

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Lean government: a Dutch city adopts lean thinking
June 15, 2015
Lean government: a Dutch city adopts lean thinking

INTERVIEW - The historical city of Amersfoort in the Netherlands has introduced lean thinking and practice in local government to provide better and faster services to its citizens.

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Change management at an airline catering business using lean thinking
June 12, 2014
Change management at an airline catering business using lean thinking

INTERVIEW - Having to adapt to changing customer needs, KLM Catering Services decided to turn to lean thinking, reducing its changeover times and recycling more.

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Applying lean thinking to the maintenance of train bogies
October 10, 2016
Applying lean thinking to the maintenance of train bogies

FEATURE – A Dutch company that maintains and overhauls train bogies has realized that in order for lean to work, a focus on continuous learning must be established. Here is how they are trying to get there.

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Job instructions: how lean management can help people with Asperger's
September 6, 2014
Job instructions: how lean management can help people with Asperger's

ARTICLE - There is more to TWI than applications in our jobs. In this article, a creative mother shares the moving story of how she used Job Instructions to help her 5-year-old son with Asperger Syndrome.

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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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Lean, our “breda” and butter
February 7, 2023
Lean, our “breda” and butter

BOOK EXCERPT – The city of Breda in the Netherlands has been on a lean journey for the past six years. Today we share an excerpt from the book The Lean Government, which sets the scene for the transformation.

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TWI and the reorganization of our work
July 12, 2022
TWI and the reorganization of our work

FEATURE – To facilitate the transition to a new organization of the work in their department, a group of nurses at Erasmus Medical Center have been using Training Within Industry.

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Whittle by whittle
June 3, 2022
Whittle by whittle

CASE STUDY – This Dutch SME is transforming its picking operation – partly with the introduction of a U-shaped design – to increase the number of orders it can fulfil every day.

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The power of lean planning
March 12, 2020
The power of lean planning

FEATURE – A Dutch transmission system operator is using Lean Planning – built around the Last Planner System – to better manage its complex infrastructure projects.

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Re-start with a clean slate
October 17, 2019
Re-start with a clean slate

CASE STUDY – From client and supplier to partners-in-lean: how solving a problem together transformed the relationship between a Dutch hospital and the laundry supplying clean garments to it.

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Determination pays
July 2, 2019
Determination pays

CASE STUDY – This Dutch company awards social benefits to the unemployed. Thanks to lean thinking, they were able to radically transform the service they offer them.

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Lean thinking, better teaching
May 9, 2019
Lean thinking, better teaching

FEATURE – A school board in Holland is discovering the potential of lean thinking and improving its processes to tackle the overburdening of teachers.

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Collaborating more closely with our suppliers
September 25, 2018
Collaborating more closely with our suppliers

FEATURE – This Dutch company decided to start its lean journey by involving its suppliers in the improvement work. We hear from both customer and supplier.

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How the Dutch Special Forces apply lean without realizing it
May 23, 2018
How the Dutch Special Forces apply lean without realizing it

FEATURE – Teamwork, value stream mapping, 5S, kaizen – a former officer in the Dutch Special Forces reflects on how lean thinking is unconsciously embedded in Special Operations practices.

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How this hospital made nurses its key lean change agents
May 4, 2018
How this hospital made nurses its key lean change agents

INTERVIEW – Bringing nurses together and giving them a space to discuss problems on a regular basis has allowed this hospital in Holland to successfully embrace lean thinking and reap its benefits.

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When the boss joins people on the production line
August 1, 2017
When the boss joins people on the production line

FEATURE – At Nijhuis Mitech, management is so involved that the owner can often be seen at the gemba running experiments with people. The transformation that ensued is helping the firm become more efficient and stay competitive.

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Lean thinking in the HR department of Dutch railways
April 7, 2016
Lean thinking in the HR department of Dutch railways

FEATURE – Faced with long lead-times to hire new people and with tens of millions paid in sick leave every year, the HR department of Dutch railway operator NS has turned to lean thinking to set them on the right track for the future.

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Making RFS possible - the lean implementation at UCC Coffee
February 11, 2016
Making RFS possible - the lean implementation at UCC Coffee

FEATURE – Repetitive flexible supply is a very effective method to level production scheduling, but as a FMCG company in the Netherlands found out, sometimes a number of conditions must be met before the approach becomes viable.

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Workshop inspires a financial administrator to embrace lean
January 21, 2015
Workshop inspires a financial administrator to embrace lean

COLUMN – Finance is a critical function within a firm. Yet, lean thinking seems to struggle to make progress in this field. Following a workshop with Nick Katko, the author of this article sees an opportunity.

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Watch Dan Jones speak at the 2014 Lean Summit in the Netherlands
August 7, 2014
Watch Dan Jones speak at the 2014 Lean Summit in the Netherlands

VIDEO - Dan Jones was one of the keynote speakers at this year's Lean Summit in The Netherlands. Here's a 15-minute excerpt of his talk, with some great insights into the state of lean thinking.

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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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Putting “loving care” at the heart of a lean transformation
August 13, 2015
Putting “loving care” at the heart of a lean transformation

INTERVIEW – PL sits down with a consultant and a manager from the St Elisabeth hospital in the Netherlands to talk about the organization’s “loving care” approach to treating patients.

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