ABSTRACT

This book takes the reader through the process to plan, deliver, and follow-up a weeklong Lean Quality Improvement event, usually termed a ‘Rapid Improvement Event’ or ‘Rapid Process Improvement Workshop (RPIW).’ Drawing on the experience of conducting over 100 of these workshops, the book gives readers the information to plan and run their own event. It describes how RPIWs fit in to wider improvement processes and how the reader can maximize these processes in their own organization.

These weeklong improvement events are popular in health and social care, but there are no textbooks available to support them. There are several books that describe the use of shorter Kaizen events in health care, but none that describe the process of delivering weeklong events. The events have a rhythm specific to the one-week format, and the book seeks to help people to make use of best practice and to avoid common problems.

Based on the experiences of the authors, this book includes an introduction to Lean concepts linked to the relevant part of the process description; examples and templates of forms that can be used in workshops; and photographs of actual events.

chapter Chapter 1|3 pages

Structure of the Book

chapter Chapter 2|15 pages

Lean in Health and Social Care Services

chapter Chapter 3|13 pages

Beginning an RPIW

chapter Chapter 4|26 pages

Preparatory Work

chapter Chapter 5|5 pages

Process Mapping with a Team

chapter Chapter 6|6 pages

Planning Meetings

chapter Chapter 7|4 pages

RPIW, Day Minus One

chapter Chapter 8|9 pages

Day One

chapter Chapter 9|11 pages

Day Two

chapter Chapter 10|5 pages

Days Three and Four

chapter Chapter 11|4 pages

Day Five

chapter Chapter 12|3 pages

After the RPIW

chapter Chapter 13|9 pages

Organisational Context

chapter Chapter 14|3 pages

Conclusions