Boston Scientific Site Receives International Recognition for Operational Excellence

The Shingo Institute, a program in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University, has awarded the Boston Scientific site in Arden Hills, Minnesota, the Shingo Silver Medallion for operational excellence. The site is at the forefront of innovation in the medical device industry.

“Receipt of the Shingo Silver Medallion signifies not only an organization’s mastery of tools and techniques, but also that it has developed mature systems for improving an organization's operations,” said Ken Snyder, executive director at the Shingo Institute.

The Boston Scientific site in Arden Hills develops and manufactures a diversified portfolio of medical devices to help patients around the globe live longer, healthier lives.

The site provides customers an innovative and cost-effective portfolio of products and solutions on the market, including groundbreaking technologies that address irregular heart rhythms, heart failure and sudden cardiac arrest.

The site also supplies parts and assemblies to the majority of the company’s manufacturing and technology centers around the world to support the development of products across the Boston Scientific portfolio. Since 2014, the company’s Arden Hills site has played an integral role in the launch of 74 new products to further advance patient care. Arden Hills is the fifth Boston Scientific Global Supply Chain site to receive Shingo award recognition.

“Our core values and principles place patient care first and have helped create an intentional culture that improves the lives of people around the world,” said Paudie O’Connor, senior vice president, Global Supply Chain, Boston Scientific. “We are honored to receive the Shingo Silver Medallion, which recognizes our results and continuous improvement approach to everything we do.”

“The Shingo Model has supported our commitment to delivering excellence and has guided us on our continuous journey to innovate more and to be better for our customers and their patients,” said Dale Hentges, vice president, Operations, Arden Hills, Boston Scientific. “With the Shingo Model as a guide, we have built a sustainable framework through a continuous improvement culture that we will leverage and expand upon in the years to come.”

By “challenging” or applying for Shingo recognition, organizations invite a group of accomplished professionals and trained examiners to thoroughly review the organization’s culture and operations. The examiners evaluate the challengers based on a rigorous set of standards, and the Shingo Institute awards the organizations according to their assessment results.

The Boston Scientific Arden Hills site will be recognized during the Awards Gala at the 35th Annual Shingo Conference on May 23, 2023, in Provo, Utah, USA. The conference is a five-day event featuring a selection of workshops, site tours, keynote speakers, and breakout sessions designed to provide ongoing knowledge, insights, and experience for organizations in their pursuit of operational excellence.

About the Shingo Institute

The Shingo Institute is home of the Shingo Prize, an award that recognizes organizations that demonstrate an exceptional culture that fosters continuous improvement. A program in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University, the Shingo Institute is named after Japanese industrial engineer and Toyota adviser Shigeo Shingo. Dr. Shingo distinguished himself as one of the world’s thought leaders in concepts, management systems, and improvement techniques that have become known as the Toyota Production System.

Drawing from Dr. Shingo’s teachings and years of experience working with organizations worldwide, the Shingo Institute developed the Shingo Model, which is the basis for its several educational offerings, including workshops, webinars, podcasts, study tours and conferences. Workshops are available in multiple languages through the Institute’s licensed affiliates. For more information on workshops and affiliates, or to register to attend the Annual Shingo Conference, please visit www.shingo.org.