Peka Kroef: Lean Green Belt Training Leads to Tangible Improvement Projects

Peka Kroef already had an improvement team, but lacked knowledge of Lean methodologies. Symbol provided an in-company Lean Green Belt training for 10 employees from various departments.

Result: two completed improvement projects with demonstrable water reduction, higher production per man-hour, and an organisation with true ambassadors of continuous improvement.

Challenge

Improvement team without knowledge of Lean methodologies

Approach

In-company Lean Green Belt training for 10 employees

Result

Multiple improvement projects completed with measurable results

About Peka Kroef

Peka Kroef is a family business from Odiliapeel, specialising in the processing of fresh and chilled potato products since 1970. The company supplies supermarkets throughout the Netherlands and is known for its focus on quality and production efficiency. For Peka Kroef, continuous improvement is not a management concept but a daily operational necessity.

The Challenge

Peka Kroef had already established an internal improvement team to address challenges in the factory. This team achieved results but lacked the knowledge of Lean methodologies to work systematically and structured. Improvement initiatives therefore remained dependent on individual insights instead of a shared approach. Furthermore, employees worked too much from their own departments, meaning cross-departmental problems were not addressed.
The problem lay in two areas: insufficient knowledge of Lean methodologies and an organisational culture where employees were managed top-down instead of taking ownership themselves.

Our Approach

A consultant and trainer from Symbol combined theory with direct application in their own practice. The training was deliberately set up more broadly than just the improvement team, to create a wider culture of improvement.

What was specifically done:

Provided in-company Lean Green Belt training for 10 employees from various departments
Participants brought their own improvement topics to the training
Used exercises to directly translate theory to the workplace
Offered individual coaching sessions

“It was a bullseye to conduct the training with people from different departments. They got off their islands and now know how to find each other better.”

Results

Measure	Before	After	Improvement
High-pressure installation water consumption	Too high	Significantly reduced	Demonstrably lower
Machine water consumption	Unexplained increase	Significantly reduced	Demonstrably lower
Production per man-hour	Too low	Significantly increased	More kg per man-hour
Employee ownership	Top-down managed	Taking initiatives themselves	Secured

Multiple improvement projects completed with measurable results
Peka Kroef now has true ambassadors of continuous improvement: employees who link initiatives to organisational objectives themselves.

Lessons Learned

Training only works if participants can directly apply the theory to their own work. Peka Kroef demonstrates that in-company training has a great advantage: problems from their own factory become the practice material. This makes it tangible and increases the chance that knowledge will stick.

The second insight: broaden the training beyond the improvement team. By training employees from different departments together, new connections are formed, and silos disappear. Internal communication improves as a side result.

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Do you recognise this in your organisation?

An improvement team that achieves results but wants to go further. Employees who are motivated but still lack the methodologies.
Symbol provides in-company Lean training that directly connects to your own practice.
Contact us for a no-obligation consultation.

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