COYOL, Costa Rica (May 6, 2015) – For the second year in a row, Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) has received a Shingo award from the prestigious Shingo Institute, part of the Jon R. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University. The company’s facility located at Coyol, in the Alajuela province of Costa Rica, has earned the Shingo Bronze Medallion for successfully delivering on several key initiatives and for overall operational excellence.
Last year the Boston Scientific Maple Grove, Minn. facility earned Shingo recognition for efforts to drive quality, reduce cost and deliver innovative products.
“Receipt of the Shingo Bronze Medallion signifies an organization’s mastery of fundamental tools and techniques for improving operations,” said Mark Baker, executive director at the Shingo Institute. “Companies that receive the Bronze Medallion are making great progress on their journey to achieving enterprise excellence.”
The Boston Scientific Coyol facility has met or exceeded goals for quality, service and cost by focusing on strategic priorities, including a relentless adherence to lean business practices across all work teams and departments. Achievements include the following:
- a savings of $63.3 million over the last four years, driven in part by new investments in facility technologies, gains in key quality measures and other value improvement projects;
- a 90 percent reduction in manufacturing-related complaints; and
- since 2012, employees have proposed 14,315 continuous improvement ideas with animplementation rate of 58 percent.
“Embarking on the operational excellence journey using this principle-based approach has been the best decision we have made,” says Jorge Perera, vice president of operations and plant manager at Boston Scientific Coyol. “We have not only seen the sustainability of our business results, but have witnessed the transformation of our business culture, fueled by the levels of energy and engagement from all our team members.”
Boston Scientific Coyol manufactures more than 700 parts in 67 product families for the company’s Endoscopy, Interventional Cardiology, Rhythm Management, Urology and Peripheral Interventions business units. The Boston Scientific Coyol facility was formally recognized this week at the 27th Shingo International Conference in Provo, Utah.
About the Shingo Institute
Housed at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University, the Shingo Institute is named after Japanese industrial engineer Shigeo Shingo. 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 Business System. Drawing from Shingo’s teachings and years of experience working with organizations throughout the world, the Shingo Institute has developed the Shingo Model™ which is the basis for several educational offerings including workshops, study tours and conferences. It also awards and recognizes organizations that demonstrate an exceptional culture that continually strives for improvement and progress.
About Boston Scientific
Boston Scientific transforms lives through innovative medical solutions that improve the health of patients around the world. As a global medical technology leader for more than 35 years, we advance science for life by providing a broad range of high performance solutions that address unmet patient needs and reduce the cost of healthcare. For more information, visitwww.bostonscientific.com




