Event
Behind the Scenes
Bucher Municipal
Part 1: Advancing Development & Performance
Go Behind the Scenes at Bucher Municipal, the world’s leading supplier of municipal vehicles
Bucher Municipal, a division of a global technology group with over 13,000 employees, is a leading manufacturer of vehicles for cleaning and maintaining public spaces. With around 400 employees at its production site and an annual output of 800 to 1,000 units, the company launched a strategic transformation to embed continuous improvement as a sustainable, organization-wide mindset. Recognizing that long-term performance in a competitive industrial environment required more than isolated initiatives, Bucher Municipal set out to drive a cultural shift — one that empowers every employee to contribute to operational excellence in production, quality, and delivery.
From resistance to a culture of continuous improvement
The transformation journey was not without challenges. Cultural and operational barriers had to be addressed to ensure lasting impact. Key challenges included:
- Employee resistance to change, particularly among operators accustomed to traditional practices.
- Overproduction and poor inventory flow, with teams producing ahead of demand and generating excess stock.
- Lack of standardized work, leading to inconsistencies and variation across teams.
- Difficulty sustaining improvements, as past efforts lacked structure and follow-up routines.
A structured Lean approach to drive change
To overcome these barriers, Bucher Municipal implemented a structured improvement model based on Lean principles and team empowerment. This included:
- The creation of a Dojo area, a dedicated model line for onboarding and training new employees, where standard work, visual management, and technical routines are practiced from day one.
- Daily Kaizen routines, built into pre-shift meetings and visual PDCA boards, focusing on safety, performance feedback, and improvement ideas.
- Team engagement and leadership alignment, helping turn initial skepticism into ownership and active participation.
The Dojo model proved so effective that it was replicated across four additional assembly lines, reinforcing consistency and spreading Lean culture throughout operations.
Impact of the transformation
The Lean transformation at Bucher Municipal delivered significant improvements, both operationally and culturally:
- +42% increase in productivity
- -35% reduction in quality errors
- -30% reduction in stock scrap
42%
Productivity
Increase
35%
Quality Errors
Reduction
30%
Stock Scrap
Reduction
Beyond the numbers, the transformation also had a deep cultural impact. The organization saw clear improvements in on-time delivery and greater process discipline on the shop floor. Cross-functional collaboration and knowledge transfer were significantly strengthened, enabling teams to work more cohesively and share best practices. Employees became more engaged, showing a stronger sense of ownership over performance outcomes. Finally, the successful rollout of Lean routines across multiple assembly lines helped embed a continuous improvement mindset throughout operations.
Hear Testimonials From
Andrew Connor
Operations Director
Matt Chapman
Continuous Improvement Manager
Tim Haines
Assembly Manager
Terry Dunn
Team Leader