Idea management at Nedtrain

Taking all of your employees' ideas seriously – what’s in it for you? A large storage of impractical fantasy projects? At NedTrain they know better now.

Together with Quality Online, an idea management system was established. The outcome: creativity, pride, goodwill and ... a lot of money in the form of savings.
 
Innovation, one of Nedtrain’s spearheads
One of Nedtrain’s spearheads is innovation. The employees of NedTrain play an important role in this. They think along, participate, and turn NedTrain into a more decisive organization. Creativity and innovative abilities are encouraged. At Nedtrain, innovation also means investing in high-tech workplaces and the most modern equipment. NedTrain works therefore together with train manufacturers, suppliers and research institutes.
 
Introduction of idea management
In this context, NedTrain 2008 started in 2008 a new project for idea management. The goal of this project is twofold. First, an organization can greatly benefit from the ideas that people bring in order to make work more efficient or easier. Second, encouraging new ideas and creativity have a positive impact on the working atmosphere.

Fertile environment for innovation
From day one this has been a great success. In total 1,100 ideas were recorded within half a year, of which more than 10% was achieved at the end of 2008. Much more than the usual 2%-3% achieved within other organizations. This figure shows a fertile climate for innovation. At Nedtrain people see opportunities and they dare to submit their ideas. The success is partly explained by the friendliness of the system, but also by the people running this system. The attention for the petitioners and the thoughtful roadmap, supported by the workflow, ensure a free flow of ideas. My idea is linked to the Quality Online platform, which was  already being used by NedTrain.