{"id":9365,"date":"2025-02-27T12:50:55","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T11:50:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.improven.nl\/?p=9365"},"modified":"2025-03-14T15:03:32","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T14:03:32","slug":"een-kijkje-in-de-keuken-hoe-wij-continu-verbeteren-bij-een-netbeheerder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.improven.nl\/en\/nieuws\/een-kijkje-in-de-keuken-hoe-wij-continu-verbeteren-bij-een-netbeheerder\/","title":{"rendered":"A look behind the scenes: How we continuously improve at a grid operator"},"content":{"rendered":"

Improven has grown up managing, improving and innovating processes. That is what we enjoy doing to this day, together with our customers! Out of genuine curiosity about how organisations work, we improve processes with passion and experience. In this blog, we take you through how we put our philosophy of continuous improvement into practice. Because, and we truly believe in it, there really is always room for improvement!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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The challenge at this grid operator<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A year and a half ago, we started working together at one of the largest grid operators in the Netherlands. The energy sector is facing its biggest challenge ever: energy transition. In short, this means the transition from a fossil-driven energy system to a sustainable, decentralised system with a focus on energy saving and storage.<\/p>\n

This transition is having a huge impact on the operations of this grid operator. The demand for electric cars, heat pumps and solar panels is growing explosively. As of 2023, more than 54% of energy consumption in the Netherlands will consist of generated electricity. This means that the electricity grid will be much more heavily loaded than in the past 50 years. The result? Grid congestion: overcrowded electricity grids that can lead to power cuts. In certain regions of the Netherlands, it is already the case that at peak times, electricity fails.<\/p>\n

The grid operator has a clear promise: In 2030, we want to offer customers solutions that fit an affordable and reliable energy system, contributing to a climate-neutral Netherlands in 2050.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

To realise this ambition, optimal communication within and between chains is crucial. We were tasked with improving the smart meter chain - a process that was not functioning optimally at the start of our project.<\/p>\n

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The smart meter chain: what was the problem?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The smart meter chain's incident management team is responsible for analysing failures and identifying causes. Our analysis revealed two major bottlenecks:<\/p>\n

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  1. Many unjustified fault reports<\/span> caused noise and delay.<\/li>\n
  2. Inefficient fault handling<\/strong> <\/span>led to long lead times.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    One of the core principles of Lean Six Sigma is to eliminate waste. Unjustified failure reports and long lead times create unnecessary costs and delays in processes. With Lean Six Sigma, organisations can not only identify this waste, but also tackle it structurally.<\/p>\n

    This methodology helps not only to remove bottlenecks, but also to optimise processes. By processing faults more efficiently and organising them smarter, we can reduce lead times and improve performance.<\/p>\n

    The reason this methodology lent itself perfectly to this situation. Using this methodology and the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control) model, we tackled these challenges. In this blog, we take you through the five steps we went through.<\/p>\n\t

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