ABSTRACT
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 316 Story of Lean .................................................................................................................................. 317
Concept of Lean Thinking ........................................................................................................ 317 Five Principles of Lean Thinking .............................................................................................. 318
Value ..................................................................................................................................... 318 Value Stream......................................................................................................................... 318 Flow ...................................................................................................................................... 319 Pull ....................................................................................................................................... 319 Perfection.............................................................................................................................. 319
Steps in Lean Process Improvement .............................................................................................. 319 Lean Tools and Techniques ............................................................................................................ 320
Kaizen Events ............................................................................................................................ 320 5S Technique ............................................................................................................................. 320 Standard Work ........................................................................................................................... 321 Visual Controls and Human Factors Engineering ..................................................................... 321
Eight Types of Waste in Health Care ............................................................................................. 322 Example of a Lean Project in Health Care ..................................................................................... 322
Timely Receipt of Admissions Orders in an ED ....................................................................... 322 Story of Six Sigma ......................................................................................................................... 326
Cost of Quality .......................................................................................................................... 328 Example of Process Variation in a Health Care Institution ....................................................... 328 Six Sigma Health Care Pioneers ............................................................................................... 330
Example 1 ............................................................................................................................. 330 Example 2 ............................................................................................................................. 330 Example 3 ............................................................................................................................. 330 Example 4 ............................................................................................................................. 331
Roadmap to Success ...................................................................................................................... 331 Cultural Sea-Change ...................................................................................................................... 335 How Lean Six Sigma is Employed in a Health Care Setting ......................................................... 337
Keys to Making Lean Six Sigma Work ..................................................................................... 337 Lean Six Sigma Compared to TQM .......................................................................................... 338
There is absolutely no question that the health care industry is facing signi›cant challenges in this twenty-›rst century. We are being asked to cut costs, to guarantee top quality through public reporting, and to implement ef›ciencies in operations like never before. Therefore, gaining and maintaining a competitive edge or just surviving in today’s health care environment will demand razor-sharp managerial skills and an innovative organizational culture devoted to cutting-edge thinking.
