How Stedin tackles grid congestion with Obeya

“We need to get extra cables into the ground at a rapid pace, which is extremely complex because of laws and regulations, contractors and landowners,” explains Aran Haeken. “It often takes more than five years before the grid has been sufficiently reinforced, which means that congested areas are ‘locked’ and new connections are impossible. The Blue Sky program was set up to manage this challenge, offer customers perspective and automate processes. Although the number of congestion areas has decreased, the scale remains so large that a multidisciplinary approach is needed to effectively involve all value chains within the organization.”

“Then the question arose: how are we going to manage such an enormous program? We wanted to work visually, so that we would have a shared picture of our progress. We also wanted to take the rest of the organization along in a clear and consistent way, instead of communicating through newsletters and reports. We thought the Leading with Obeya method might be just the thing. I had never heard of Obeya, but someone on the team already had positive experiences with it.”

“We started with the Obeya Team Kickstart program by Obeya Coaching & Training, in which we built the Obeya and set up a meeting structure in three days. Eight months later, we see that this structured and agile approach works excellently. The team is always up to date, works in a fixed rhythm and adjusts course in time. The transparency towards the organization is extremely valuable; everyone, from the Executive Board to field technicians, now knows what we are doing and how they can contribute.”

“What works well is the logical structure of the Obeya board. The Leading with Obeya method feels natural and coherent: from Strategic Direction, to Performance, to the Plan to Value board. We still work according to the routines and rhythm we learned during the training. We hold an Act & Respond session twice a week, and the Performance and Plan to Value sessions every other week. We do these sessions physically at the Obeya board. We also hold content sessions when needed and, of course, quarterly sessions to evaluate the past quarter and plan the next one. Members of the management team often join the Performance sessions to see where we stand. Because we have everything on the board, we are all looking at the same thing and can monitor progress and dependencies well.”

Insights

“The program team consists of a mix of the management team, Epic owners and product managers, with support from IT. As a team, we have now reached a certain level of maturity, which is of course fed by the system. Because we meet in a fixed rhythm and talk about the things that matter, I really feel that we are a team. We weren’t when we started.”

“This way of working also gives us much more connection with other value chains. We see the impact of our work on other chains. If something doesn’t work out, we immediately see the impact it has on other chains or milestones. This system really gives us the tools to discuss the right things with each other. I believe this method makes us better able to achieve our program goals.”