By Sarah Nicastro, Founder and Editor in Chief, Future of Field Service

As companies like Diebold Nixdorf (DN) strive to move from product-centric models to service-driven enterprises, the keys to success often lie not as much in bold strategies as in navigating the cultural, operational, and philosophical shifts required. Brian Gallipeau, SVP Service, Americas at DN, attributes much of the company’s progress on its journey to how it has harnessed principles of lean methodology to fuel transformation, foster change acceptance, and empower frontline teams across the Americas.

With service accounting for roughly 50% of DN’s workforce and representing a major share of revenue and profit, the stakes for evolving from its legacy as a product-focused company to one that is service-centered are high. An open mindset and willingness to change are foundational elements that DN has working in its favor, which isn’t always the reality in this type of evolution. “In many companies, there’s internal resistance to try something new or that siloed approach of ‘don’t get involved in my business’... there’s really not a lot of that at DN, surprisingly, for how old the company is,” Gallipeau shares. Gallipeau, who previously spent more than 20 years at Canon, oversees 8,000 employees responsible for delivering service at DN.

This openness to change, across new and existing leadership, has laid fertile ground for lean principles to take root at DN. Instead of clinging to the refrain, “That’s the way we’ve always done it,” DN has cultivated a climate where the willingness to try, adapt, and improve prevails.

Applying Lean in Service: The Opportunity and The Challenge

While lean methodologies are often synonymous with manufacturing, Gallipeau feels they could have an even more significant impact on service environments. In manufacturing, processes are controlled within a closed system, like assembly lines and defined workflows. Service, on the other hand, is decentralized and distributed: “We have potentially 500 people solving the exact same problem in different places every single day,” Gallipeau notes. This presents a massive opportunity to standardize best practices for efficiency and consistency across a sprawling field workforce with varying levels of experience.

But the challenge lies in translating lean from the lab to the real world. Anyone familiar with the realities of field work can understand how the traditional approach of engineering “standard work” in pristine environments simply doesn’t translate. Gallipeau shares the example of how, for instance, repairing an ATM in a controlled setting doesn’t account for the complexities technicians face in the field, such as navigating double-door vaults or split-machine access points. Therefore, lean transformation in service must be co-created with frontline employees, to ensure standard processes are both effective and realistic.

Build a Foundation of Trust

While lean methodologies are often synonymous with manufacturing, Gallipeau feels they could have an even more significant impact on service environments. In manufacturing, processes are controlled within a closed system, like assembly lines and defined workflows. Service, on the other hand, is decentralized and distributed: “We have potentially 500 people solving the exact same problem in different places every single day,” Gallipeau notes. This presents a massive opportunity to standardize best practices for efficiency and consistency across a sprawling field workforce with varying levels of experience.

But the challenge lies in translating lean from the lab to the real world. Anyone familiar with the realities of field work can understand how the traditional approach of engineering “standard work” in pristine environments simply doesn’t translate. Gallipeau shares the example of how, for instance, repairing an ATM in a controlled setting doesn’t account for the complexities technicians face in the field, such as navigating double-door vaults or split-machine access points. Therefore, lean transformation in service must be co-created with frontline employees, to ensure standard processes are both effective and realistic.

“Most of the time when you’re introducing change, it’s really the people who have been here the longest who are the most resistant,” Gallipeau admits. The best way to work through this resistance is to focus on building trust – and this includes understanding that trust must be earned.

DN has worked to build trust by showing the employees the goal isn’t to dictate what they do, but to build best practices around their lived experiences. DN has involved technicians and service leadership in the development of lean processes, empowering them to shape procedures and claim ownership. “If you can give them the small wins... I helped develop this procedure, and this is really the right way to do it... that really permeates throughout the organization,” Galliepau explains.

When respected technicians champion new practices, their influence ripples far beyond what top-down directives could achieve. This was reinforced by communications expert Jason Anthoine, who shared in a recent podcast how internal influencers, though fewer in number, wield disproportionate impact on organizational culture.

Beyond involvement, Gallipeau points to two simple-to-say but harder-to-practice principles that are instrumental in building trust: genuine listening and taking real action on feedback. At DN’s North Canton center, groups of select technicians are regularly invited for lunch with leadership to candidly share field challenges. Leadership listens attentively and, even more importantly, takes action to address the shared challenges. Whether the issue is as simple as providing better screwdrivers or far more complex process fixes, demonstrating follow-through builds trust and signals a new era of responsive leadership.

For this to be effective, however, it must be sincere. Leaders who listen just to give the impression of caring, then fail to deliver, risk doing more harm than good. Moreover, transparency is vital – that means that even when a fix isn’t feasible, setting clear expectations and communicating reasons honestly helps manage morale and maintain credibility.

Lean in Action at DN: Ride-Alongs, Kaizen Events and Real-Time Insights

Gallipeau describes how lean transformation is embodied at DN through tangible practices, such as:

• Ride-alongs to illustrate the importance of service. Gallipeau says that while many service organizations only require ride-alongs as a KPI for frontline managers, DN extends this practice to all functions – including HR, procurement, and the C-suite. Experiencing technicians’ day-to-day realities fosters empathy and informs intelligent decision-making. “Even the CEO participates, receiving unfiltered technician feedback,” says Galliepau. “This holistic exposure unites the business around common goals and highlights the importance of service at every level.”
• Kaizen events for cross-functional problem solving. Kaizen events create a get-things-done energy at DN. They are not small-scale brainstorming sessions – rather, they convene up to 100 people from different departments for intensive, week-long sprints. These sprints are focused on solving identified field problems and, crucially, both decisions and implementations happen in real time, with all relevant stakeholders present and empowered to act. “The goal is not to leave with a to-do list, but to leave with solutions in place,” notes Gallipeau.
• Incorporation of video training & data-driven support. With technicians managing a vast array of products and scenarios, traditional training alone is insufficient. DN has augmented traditional training with video resources and data-driven platforms to provide just-in-time information, diagnostics, and repair instructions. This approach not only minimizes time out of the field but also enhances accuracy and further reinforces lean’s principle of “value where and when it’s needed.”
• Leveraging scorecards and continuous Feedback. Transparency is central to DN’s approach to performance management. Weekly-reviewed scorecards and “bowlers” (visual management tools) give technicians real-time insight into their performance relative to peers and expectations, eliminating surprises and creating a culture of accountability and self-improvement.

Lean transformation is not a one-off program or a flavor-of-the-month initiative at DN. “Consistency really is the important piece,” says Gallipeau. “This is a continuous journey.” The willingness to invest and iterate, even after initial failures or skepticism, signals to employees that change is both real and lasting.

As service organizations worldwide aim to keep pace with change, DN’s experience offers a powerful blueprint. By embedding lean principles like inclusion, transparency, real-time action, and persistent communication into its DNA, DN has created a compelling environment where change is embraced, not feared. This breeds confidence that builds momentum. In Gallipeau’s words, “There’s really nothing stopping us from becoming the best in service... not just in ATM or retail, but across industries.”

To hear more from Gallipeau about DN’s journey, listen to the full podcast interview.