The Danaher Business System (DBS)
Danaher Business System is Who We Are and How We Do What We Do
Success at Danaher doesn't happen by accident. We have a proven system for achieving it. We call it the Danaher Business System (DBS), and it drives every aspect of our culture and performance. DBS is the engine at the heart of our success. DBS keeps us ahead of the competition, makes us better operators and creates world-class leaders. It's a set of tools that enables continuous improvement around lean, growth and leadership. It powers transformational thinking, allowing us to examine a problem down to its root cause while discovering better ways to do business.We use DBS to guide what we do, measure how well we execute, and create options for doing even better—including improving DBS itself.
In the mid-1980s, a Danaher operating company faced with intensifying competition launched an improvement effort based on the then-new principles of lean manufacturing. The initiative succeeded beyond anyone's expectations—reinforcing the operating company's industry leadership and bringing forth the Danaher Business System.
Fueled by Danaher's core values, the DBS engine drives the company through a never-ending cycle of change and improvement: exceptional PEOPLE develop outstanding PLANS and execute them using world-class tools to construct sustainable PROCESSES, resulting in superior PERFORMANCE. Superior performance and high expectations attract exceptional people, who continue the cycle. Guiding all efforts is a simple philosophy rooted in four customer-facing priorities: Quality, Delivery, Cost and Innovation.
With DBS, our associates just get better and better
The purposeful nature of DBS at Danaher means continuous improvement for our work, but it also means that each and every team member becomes more knowledgeable and expert at solving complex business challenges.
DBS Key Principles:
- Work smarter, not harder
- Remove stress and make it easy—continuous improvement happens at a pace we can sustain
- Drive better performance
- Without standard work, improvement is purely luck
- Good problem solving is the road to improvement
- Leadership must start with a common definition of what great work means
Danaher Business System Fundamentals
The DBS Structure is Designed Around Four Distinct Pillars