Launched in response to industry's need for increased competitiveness, the challenges of the future have become more numerous and complex. The development programme led by RISE is more relevant than ever.
Since 2007, Produktionslyftet has made a valuable contribution to the competitiveness and resilience of Swedish industry. Participating companies have adopted new ways of working and taken important steps towards digitalisation, circularity and sustainability. This is the picture painted by the employers' organisation Teknikföretagen.
The ability to understand and develop with the world around us
But what role can the Produktionslyftet play today and in the future? Is the need just as great, or perhaps even greater, 18 years after it was founded?
"An important part of competitiveness is understanding the world around you and evolving with it. The production boost is about innovation and improvement, and it is these elements that the programme promotes. "Most companies work with innovation, renewal and improvement in one way or another, but this kind of support - looking at the issue from the perspective of the individual, the company and the organisation - is as relevant today as it was in 2007," says Christina Jönsson, Marketing Manager at RISE.
Produktionslyftet also lives and breathes. The methodology is constantly being added to in order to continue to contribute to the needs of companies. It includes topics such as sustainable resource use and how people and advanced digital technologies should work together, while the foundation of strengthening companies' ability to improve and innovate remains firm.
"We are no longer talking 'just' about scaling up or resource efficiency in production, but also about the ability to adapt as part of contributing to value chains with reduced climate emissions and creating better conditions for resilience," says Christina Jönsson.
High leverage for small and large companies
The programme is based on the idea of helping people to help themselves. With the help of Produktionslyftet's coaches, the organisation goes on a journey and comes away with ways of working and methods to continue and develop the business. "It takes a lot of commitment," says Christina Jönsson, "but the pay-off is high.
RISE contributes everything from business intelligence and scientific analysis to expertise in business management and organisational development. Participants also have access to the wide range of technical knowledge available within RISE.
The participants are mainly small and medium-sized companies - but the industry's big players are also winners. In 2025, several Swedish industrial giants decided to invest in a five-year programme for Produktionslyftet.
"As the ecosystem of suppliers strengthens their capabilities, they also help to secure many of the large companies' future issues. Smaller companies with a good capacity for change find it easier to meet the new needs of larger companies. For example, in the green transition, both in terms of deliveries and reporting requirements," says Christina Jönsson.
Agreeing that continuous learning is important creates a good breeding ground for innovation
Better connection between managers and employees
Kalle Persson, Project Manager at RISE and Coach Coordinator for Produktionslyftet, gives real-life examples of the impact the programme can have.
"I am coaching a company where the aim is to reduce the pressure on the site managers in the organisation. It was important to ensure that there was a better connection between the different levels of management in the company. Site managers need to understand their employees' daily challenges and create the conditions for effective working. And the management team, in turn, must create the conditions for their site managers," says Kalle Persson:
"A lot of it is about getting the team to play together better, so that leaders can spend more time developing the business and less time putting out fires, which often doesn't need to happen if people are growing and have the right conditions.
Continuous learning as a driver of innovation
Kalle Persson's second example also illustrates the benefits of greater alignment between different functions in the organisation.
"When we started working with this company, the employees were very stressed and production was consistently lagging behind. They had identified poor drawings as one of the main contributing factors and we coached them to realise how big the problem actually was. Mistakes in the design and preparation phase meant that the parts that were manufactured did not fit together in reality, and then you had to start all over again", says Kalle Persson.
When the designers started to support each other by working thoroughly with checklists and raising the level of accuracy, something happened. Suddenly production felt it could stop pouring water and start rowing. The company is now heading for a new sales record with the same number of employees.
"The production lift is very much about sharpening the capabilities of a company through its people and management, and it almost always starts with the soft factors. Getting the direction of the business clearer, communicated and agreed. We see this as a necessary step in order to be able to achieve the actual change," says Kalle Persson, who is supported by Christina Jönsson:
"Agreeing that continuous learning is important creates a good breeding ground for innovation. When several people are on the same journey and learning new things, change becomes a collaborative effort rather than something that comes from the top. That makes it easier to create movement," she says.
Produktionslyftet
Produktionslyftet is a national programme launched in 2007 on the initiative of Teknikföretagen and IF Metall. The programme aims to strengthen the industry's capacity for improvement and renewal in order to create the conditions for sustainable competitiveness and sustainability.
Participating companies are helped to develop structures that support development, learning and commitment at all levels. They also learn how to put their new knowledge into practice.
Produktionslyftet's working methodology is based on lean principles and takes the company's own conditions and needs as its starting point. The methodology is applied in three steps
- Build consensus and momentum around what needs to be achieved
- Trials on a small scale to learn and understand the basics
- Spreads to other activities and stabilises new ways of working
Produktionslyftet is run by a partnership coordinated by RISE. The other partners are Chalmers University of Technology, the Royal Institute of Technology, Luleå University of Technology, Jönköping University of Technology, Mid Sweden University, Gävle University, Mälardalen University, the IUC network and several other organisations and consultants throughout the country.
More than 350 companies have participated in the longer Production Lift programme.
