Cook Medical is a global medical device manufacturer employing more than 12,000 people across 135 countries. Built on a commitment to quality, ethics and patient care, the organisation continually looks for ways to improve operational performance without compromising the high standards expected within medical device manufacturing.
In 2020, Cook Medical set an ambitious objective to develop its own Cook Operating System, increasing operating income by 15% through greater operational efficiency, stronger leadership and a more engaged workforce.
To achieve this, the organisation recognised it needed more than improvement projects alone. It needed to build the internal capability to lead, deliver and sustain continuous improvement at scale.
Cook Medical partnered with S A Partners to design and develop an internal Lean Academy that would equip improvement practitioners, leaders and internal trainers with the skills, confidence and systems required to embed continuous improvement across the organisation.
Every organisation defines excellence differently. For Cook Medical, excellence meant developing an organisation capable of continuously improving itself through its own people.
Working alongside Cook Medical’s leadership team, S A Partners helped define the capability required to support the future Cook Operating System. Rather than creating a training programme in isolation, the partnership identified the leadership, improvement and coaching competencies needed to achieve the organisation’s strategic objectives while strengthening customer satisfaction and operational performance.
This work established the blueprint for an internal Lean Academy built around accredited learning, leadership development and practical application. From the outset, the objective was clear: develop an academy that Cook Medical could ultimately own, manage and continue to evolve independently.
Building the Lean Academy required more than delivering training. It meant creating a learning system that developed the competence, confidence and behaviours needed to sustain continuous improvement across the organisation.
Training programmes combined accredited learning, one-to-one coaching and practical workplace application. Rather than ending in the classroom, delegates applied new skills to real business challenges while receiving regular coaching and feedback. When face-to-face delivery became impossible during the global pandemic, the programme quickly transitioned to an engaging virtual format, ensuring capability development continued without interruption.
Green Belt development centred on strategically aligned improvement projects, with every delegate applying their learning to a real business challenge. At the same time, leadership programmes equipped managers to connect strategy with daily work, coach improvement teams and actively support continuous improvement across the business.
Alongside developing practitioners and leaders, S A Partners worked with Cook Medical’s Continuous Improvement team to develop internal trainers, coaches and Black Belts capable of delivering the academy themselves. As capability grew, White and Yellow Belt programmes transitioned entirely to Cook Medical, embedding the academy within the organisation and creating a self-sustaining capability for the future.
With the Lean Academy embedded, Cook Medical began to realise measurable business improvements while continuing to strengthen its internal improvement capability.
More than 100 Green Belt practitioners and 100 leaders completed development programmes across three continents, creating an internal network capable of leading and sustaining continuous improvement across the organisation.
That capability translated directly into business impact. Green Belt projects delivered $360,000 in savings during 2020 and $1.8 million in 2021. Individual projects reduced scheduled maintenance by 50%, creating more than $1 million in additional production capacity, while another eliminated more than 450 hours of non-value-added work within Accounts Payable.
Most importantly, Cook Medical established an internal capability that continues to grow. By developing its own trainers, coaches and leaders, the organisation created a sustainable improvement system capable of driving continuous improvement long after the initial partnership.
For Cook Medical, excellence meant developing the capability to continuously improve through its own people, creating an organisation where learning, leadership and improvement became part of everyday work.
By investing in its people and embedding a shared approach to continuous improvement, Cook Medical strengthened leadership capability, improved operational performance and established a culture where improvement is owned from within.
With accredited learning pathways, capable internal coaches and a self-sustaining Lean Academy, Cook Medical established the capability to continue finding, nurturing and sustaining excellence for years to come.
I think this flows much better than the original and removes the accidental reference to Dalkia while staying consistent with the messaging used throughout the case study.
Cook Medical demonstrated what becomes possible when organisations invest in developing their own people rather than relying on external expertise alone. By building an internal Lean Academy, the organisation created the capability to continuously improve, adapt and sustain excellence from within.