HIGHDEL

About HIGHDEL

Lasting improvement starts with people who can solve problems themselves.

I am Mirko Heidel, founder of HIGHDEL. My focus is employee enablement: I help managers and teams solve problems themselves and embed improvement in everyday work for the long term.

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Portrait of Mirko Heidel

My path

Why I founded HIGHDEL.

My path to lean management began almost by chance – as a working student in energy technology. I was immediately fascinated by the simplicity: complex processes became visible, understandable and therefore solvable. Via the automotive industry and intralogistics, this led to HIGHDEL – to enable teams and managers to solve problems themselves, for good.

  1. 2011Bachelor Mechanical EngineeringB.Eng. degree · technical foundation
  2. 2013Master Logistics EngineeringM.Sc. degree · processes and logistics
  3. 2014Automotive industryLean manager, later supplier development
  4. 2020IntralogisticsLean and problem solving in service
  5. 2025InternationalFull focus on lean and leadership routines at international sites
  6. 2026HIGHDELFounded · passing on experience so teams solve problems themselves
300+ participantsTrained and coached in problem solving
100+ workshopsDesigned and facilitated
Strategy & rolloutCompany-level improvement strategies
Daily managementWays of working embedded in plants and sites

HIGHDEL is my own independent offering – separate from my past and current employers.

Implementation from within

Not a classic external consultant.

I have introduced and developed lean management, problem solving and continuous improvement in different companies and at different levels myself – as part of the organisation. I also worked with external consultancies and saw what really works in daily operations – and what has no effect despite good concepts.

Understanding a method is one thing. Embedding it for good is another.

Lesson from practice

Lasting change starts with leadership.

Methods, training and motivated employees are not enough. It takes clear commitment from leadership: role-modelling change, taking responsibility and giving teams the room to work on problems themselves. Leadership also means not always prescribing the solution, but enabling people to develop their own.

Hands-on experience

Not just concepts. Change I implemented myself.

I did not just learn lean, production systems and continuous improvement – I introduced them inside companies myself, on three levels.

Operational implementation

Production system in a plant with around 2,000 employees

Developed the existing system in production further and raised its maturity – and introduced it for the first time in indirect areas such as purchasing, quality and maintenance.

  • Shop floor management
  • KPIs
  • 5S & standards
  • SMED

People & teams

Improvement beyond production

Started improvement initiatives in service and customer-facing advisory teams – with employees who question and improve their own processes.

  • Involvement
  • Problem solving
  • Capability building

Strategy & international

Standards for international teams

Co-developed standards and leadership routines for service and maintenance teams and supported their introduction at international sites.

  • Strategy
  • Standardisation
  • International rollout
Lean & Six SigmaTrained in both, convinced by simplicity: the best method is the one that fits the problem, is understood by the people and works in daily practice.

What connects all three: a working system does not come from single methods – but from clear direction, shared standards, leadership that leads by example, and people who help shape it.

How we make progress traceable

  1. Capture the starting pointTogether we define the specific problems and suitable baseline KPIs.
  2. Work on the causesThe pilot team learns to analyse problems in a structured way and to implement suitable actions.
  3. Check the effectWe look at what has changed, what is still open and which improvements last in daily work.
  4. Document the resultsAt the end, progress, insights and next steps are summarised transparently.

No blanket savings promises. But a traceable process with clear responsibilities and verifiable results.

The figures refer to the founder’s professional background and are not to be understood as results of independent HIGHDEL client projects.

International

Shaped in Germany. Open to the world.

I enjoy working with people from different cultures – and at the same time I have been shaped by the systematic process improvement of German industry. My strength: bringing different perspectives together into simple, effective solutions.

Professional assignments in 11 countries – across Europe, North America and Australia.

The name

HIGH + DEL = Heidel.

My surname is in the name – and so is what HIGHDEL stands for.

HIGH

High standards: improvement you can measure.

DEL

  • DevelopDevelop people
  • ExecuteExecute consistently
  • LeadLead by example

Make Improvement Stick.

Let's talk about what you want to improve.

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Initial call: 30 minutes · online · free · no obligation