Global electricity demand experienced a sharp uptick in 2023, driven by industrial expansion, data center growth, and electric vehicle adoption, surging by 4.3%—more than double the decade-long annual average, according to the International Energy Agency. As nations prioritize electrifying energy consumption to leverage cost efficiencies and emission controls, initiatives like electric transportation, building heat pumps, and experimental electric steelmaking are accelerating worldwide.

Scott Strazik, CEO of GE Vernova, describes this period as “an unprecedented era of electric growth,” necessitating a diversified energy strategy to meet rising demand, with wind power playing a pivotal role. Central to this effort is the lean methodology—a relentless focus on refining manufacturing processes through safety, quality, delivery, and cost (SQDC) priorities, with safety as the non-negotiable foundation.

GE Vernova is embedding lean principles across global manufacturing hubs, particularly those producing Wind business components. Teams pursue rigorous lean certification for production lines, demonstrating mastery of process optimization. True to lean philosophy, certification marks not an endpoint but a catalyst for perpetual enhancement, with annual upgrades required to maintain standards.

In 2024, 25 wind manufacturing lines achieved lean certification, spanning facilities in Salzbergen, Germany; Pensacola, Florida; and Baodi, China. These sites exemplify continuous improvement, whether crafting minor bushings or massive turbine heads, with lean practices embedded in every workflow.

However, certification demands sustained effort. “Certification mandates annual upgrades, ensuring ongoing evolution—a challenging but essential process,” notes Stephan Hoevenaars, GE Vernova’s global lean leader for Wind manufacturing. Ten additional lines globally aim for certification this year.

Everything in Its Place

Marco Kreimer, production head at GE Vernova’s Salzbergen plant, emphasizes lean’s decades-long integration into operations. “Our standardization protocols govern every element—materials, equipment, crane positions, tools, and even waste bins,” he states. This meticulous organization eliminates ambiguity, ensuring consistency.

The Wind plant in Salzbergen, Germany, which uses a specially developed app to stop guesswork, help facilitate lean, and set the foundation for achieving SQDC. Top: The Pensacola, Florida, manufacturing plant that will be helping produce the 674 wind turbines for the massive SunZia project in New Mexico. “One day we started building new units, and then the next week we were building three units, then the next day we’re building five units,” says Cher Maze, Pensacola HR leader. Images credit: GE Vernova

Eliminating guesswork is achieved through a digital manufacturing execution system, where a custom app guides workflows aligned with SQDC goals. Employees log into workstations displaying real-time production schedules, confirming task completion to ensure adherence to specifications and quality benchmarks.

“When standardized processes are clear, deviations become immediately visible, enabling real-time corrections by operators and supervisors alike,” Kreimer explains. This transparency enhances planning precision and drives continuous improvement, allowing workers to focus on core tasks while leaders intervene proactively when needed.

The company’s philosophy holds that prioritizing safety and quality naturally elevates productivity, reduces costs, and ensures timely delivery. Salzbergen’s scalable turbine designs, optimized for repeatable manufacturing and sustainable supply chains, exemplify this. “Improving safety and quality inherently strengthens delivery and cost efficiency,” Kreimer asserts.

A Workhorse Emerges

GE Vernova’s Pensacola plant faced rapid scaling demands for New Mexico’s SunZia project—the Western Hemisphere’s largest wind farm. Producing 674 turbines, the facility swiftly ramped up output: “From one unit to five within days,” recalls HR leader Cher Maze. The plant has since delivered components for 1.2 gigawatts of the 2.4-gigawatt project.

The 3.6-MW-154m turbine powering SunZia exemplifies lean-driven innovation. Brandy McGraw, plant leader, credits lean “kaizen” events—collaborative improvement sessions—for certification success. One initiative, proposed by a line technician, streamlined panel wiring through supplier-partnered quick-connect solutions, enhancing safety and efficiency.

“Our best ideas often originate from frontline teams,” McGraw says. Yet lean’s core tenet remains perpetual progress: Certification success immediately prompts the question, “How will you sustain and improve it?”

No Task Is Too Small

At GE Vernova’s Baodi plant near Beijing, bushing production—a critical turbine component linking blades to hubs—has been restructured using lean principles. Robotic integration reduced manual handling from 12 steps to two, while laser-guided precision and ergonomic machinery minimized risks, as demonstrated by lean leader Qin Lu.

This shop-floor innovation epitomizes lean’s focus: Elevating minor components’ quality while safeguarding worker well-being. Over two decades, GE Vernova has installed 57,000 turbines across 50+ countries. With global electricity demand soaring, its lean-driven Wind division ensures scalable, sustainable solutions for a rapidly electrifying world.

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