The Swedes need to be international - look at IKEA - their assembly instructions are international (at any rate those that I see in the UK) - the only text is part numbers and dimensions (in metric units).
_____ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Stanislav Jakuba Sent: 06 October 2011 00:46 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:51199] Swedish companies Jim Elwell wrote about his experience with the Swedish buyer of his company QSI. It reminded me of my experience with a buying Swedish company. It acquired a large, U.S. manufacturer of packing/filling equipment. An unusual case in my consulting practice, and you might be interested why. The Swedes took over the management and soon found out that communicating in their Swedish English-English vs. the American-English was the least of their problems. It was the measuring units and various technological and purchasing practices where the communication hindered the transition. After a few months of struggling they called me in to "switch everybody to metric." It was the easiest switch I ever pursued. Essentially just various training and seminar handouts. That was because the Swedes brought with them a complete set of their standards, and those were all based on ISO, EU, etc. documents. Supplemented by company specifics, they formed a standards manual that was used in all their plants worldwide. Best of all, the documents were up-to-date. Because of this, and the urgency of getting the change done quickly, and because there was none off the disruptive "what to do, and should we do it," (or: I'd rather quit before I mess with metric") everybody spoke the global language of standards and practices in something like three months. I still remember it, after more then 20 years, because it was the shortest time with any large, manufacturing company at that time. Looking thru my files today, my total engagement was under 6 months from the first phone call to the last training at a subsidiary. A firm management and "captive" audience make any change easy. And a pleasure to be involved. Stan Jakuba
