From sites to strategy: LEAN that delivers worldwide

Ten years ago, we asked ourselves: What if we could transform the way we work?

LEAN, a proven concept in industries such as manufacturing, seemed an unlikely fit for the complex demands of our business, providing technical industrial services to new build and maintenance projects, sites ranging from small to huge in size and timescale. But we saw an opportunity – an opportunity to change not just our processes, but our mindset. What began as a bold initiative became a journey, one that has led us to remarkable achievements.

Now, as we look ahead to 2025, we’re ready to push the boundaries even further. With an increased focus on collaboration and a localised approach, we’re taking LEAN to new heights, enabling innovation and progress like never before.

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Make it local: How KAEFER builds global LEAN success locally

Over the past decade, KAEFER’s LEAN journey has been guided by a structured and standardised approach. The LEAN strategy and objectives were defined centrally, training was aligned to a global standard, and KPIs focused on overarching principles. This approach laid a solid foundation for success – increasing LEAN turnover coverage to 84% today, satisfying customers, training thousands of employees in LEAN practices, and driving a remarkable evolution in our LEAN maturity from zero to 3.2. But, as we looked to the future, we recognised the opportunity to adopt a more dynamic and collaborative approach. One that puts value creation and diversity at the heart of our efforts and leverages our collective strengths. And that’s exactly what we set out to do in 2024…

To put it in a nutshell, we’ve enhanced our global KAEFER LEAN vision, empowering each Business Unit to chart its own unique path to achieving it. This new approach embraces country-specific strategies and targets, offers tailored local training alongside standard programmes, and establishes functional KPIs to drive meaningful improvements. In this way, we not only give each business unit greater entrepreneurial freedom but also promote self-sufficiency while minimising non-value-added efforts. The Global LEAN Team, as the central custodian of LEAN expertise, continues to provide a strong framework, mentoring, coaching, and monitoring to ensure that the Group’s LEAN vision is implemented consistently across the organisation.

At the heart of this transformation are the five Guiding Elements that are at the foundation of everything we do in LEAN:

These principles are more than theoretical concepts – they are the essential building blocks of our continuous growth and improvement.

Let’s hear it from three of our colleagues: Lakshmanan from Saudi Arabia, Geir from Norway and Thatchai from Thailand.

As Sandro Barrach, COO of the KAEFER Group puts it:

Sandro Barrach, COO

For us, LEAN is far more than a framework – it’s part of who we are and how we achieve success together. To truly unlock its potential, it takes more than just words; it requires our leaders to step up as role models, showing how LEAN principles guide decisions and actions every day. When management leads with this commitment, it sets the stage for everyone in the organisation to feel inspired and empowered to play their part.
LEAN isn’t just about improving processes – it’s about transforming them, creating value that matters. This approach strengthens the trust we share with our customers and suppliers, and it fuels a work culture where people can genuinely thrive. It’s a shared responsibility, but also a shared opportunity – to make a difference for our employees, clients, and partners in ways that resonate far beyond the day-to-day. That’s what LEAN is all about: achieving something extraordinary, together.