Leading continuous improvement at CNH

Continuous improvement is more than just a set of tools or initiatives, it’s a deeply ingrained part of a company’s culture and strategic direction. As a global leader in agricultural and construction equipment, CNH embeds continuous improvement into every level of the organization through its CNH Business System (CBS), which emphasizes culture, process, and results.

Leading these efforts at CNH is Girish Gopalakrishnan, senior manager, continuous improvement – North America. PEX Network sat down with Gopalakrishnan to explore how CNH integrates continuous improvement into its daily operations, measures sustainability, aligns efforts with long-term goals, engages employees across all levels, and leverages digital innovation to drive lasting impact.

CNH has over 35,000 employees, 40 manufacturing plants, and 49 R&D centers.

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PEX Network: How does CNH embed continuous improvement into its culture?

Girish Gopalakrishnan: We place a lot of importance on culture – creating an environment and generating employee engagement at all levels of the organization.

As a matter of fact, this is one of the three sub-systems of our CBS). 

PEX Network: What metrics or indicators does CNH use to measure the long-term sustainability of continuous improvement efforts?

GG: Sustainability is key for our continuous improvement program. For every Kaizen event, we track using a sustainment bowler to ensure the improvements, KPIs, and actions are monitored and sustained. Plan-Do-Check-Act is ingrained in our problem-solving approach. In particular, the Check and Act phases are critical for our project teams, where we monitor the metrics to sustain benefit and ensure we put in place standardization actions such as standard operating procedures (SOPs) and one-point lessons (OPLs).

PEX Network: How do you ensure continuous improvement initiatives stay aligned with CNH’s broader strategic goals?

GG: The overall goal of CBS is to transform CNH into the best AG equipment manufacturer in the World by 2030. This is not a vision; it is becoming a reality by working together with relentless focus and execution.

Girish Gopalakrishnan discusses the importance of continuous improvement

PEX Network: What strategies have proven most effective for engaging frontline employees and middle management in continuous improvement?

GG: A core part of how we operate is the daily management system where the frontline staff perform huddles to communicate and solve problems with management and their support staff on critical issues – SMESS: safety, material, equipment, supplies, and staff. We firmly believe in flipping the pyramid – the traditional organizational pyramid where leadership provides direction to the frontline staff, more of a top-down approach. A flipped pyramid is where our operators drive the business with support from the other levels to make processes better. This is certainly a journey, but we are getting there!

PEX Network: How is CNH leveraging digital tools, data analytics, or emerging technologies to enhance and sustain continuous improvement efforts?

GG: We constantly challenge ourselves for opportunities in digitalization, thereby transforming our business processes. We’re using data and analytics to make our processes smarter and more transparent, from shop floor dashboards that track performance in real time to global KPI systems that help us spot trends and make quicker decisions. We are also leveraging technology to transform our mindset around quality. These measures are impacting not only our reactive and preventative initiatives but also the proactive ones.

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