Comments on: Lean in Hospitals: Running Free vs. Coordinated Efforts

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 19:24:01 +0000

There have been so many improvement fads in every industry that most management teams are cautious. The health chain I worked for dipped its toe in the waters of Lean Six Sigma before deciding to take the plunge. The small victories that were gained in diverse areas became the justification they needed to incorporate the methodologies system-wide. In this case, it was not an “either/or” situation, but a “this first, then that” approach. I do think this evolution is best, however, rather than efforts remaining splintered. The lessons learned and resources leveraged make a world of difference.

By: Narayan

Narayan — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 09:07:59 +0000

My thoughts are triggered by Mike’s comment. Is there any standard practice where sharing experience is the focus. Where a worker from some area walks through other areas and shares some thought for improvement that occurs to him, in the other person’s area?

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:48:34 +0000

Optimizing small areas, can be looked at as optimizing individual cells or even individual value streams. Key take-aways from one cell or value stream kaizen activity may be useful in other cells or value streams. Sharing experiences goes back to implementing standard work. If that sharing of wins and new ideas is stifled, standard work is lost cell to cell, department to department, or value stream to value stream. That’s when you start getting waste-shifting and uncoordination. So put me in the boat that both approaches have to be addressed.

By: Mark Welch

Mark Welch — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:52:56 +0000

Great post, Alicia, and it prompts a LOT of thought…

I tend to favor a blend of the two. I truly believe management needs to be aware of the current efforts that are going on so they can manage the value streams and avoid suboptimizing, but if the lean culture/effort is too controlled and stifling the day to day lean thinking and problem-solving will be stifled. One way to make this happen is simply to have a good electronic dashboard on a common drive where all lean efforts (reasonably large scope) are posted. I strongly believe in the idea of the Wall of Fame concept in various areas of a hospital not only to keep co-workers informed of the areas in progress/completed, but for the recognition they deserve. Use of a board like this is done in the spirit of day to day problem-solving – the idea of observing an opportunity, attacking it, and fixing it, which empowers and satisfies staff.

I hope my thoughts on this don’t seem wishy washy, but I think if the positives of each school of thought can be maximized and the negatives minimized, a very good system is possible.

Nice post. Hope to see more of your thoughts on here!

By: Sheila Andrews

Sheila Andrews — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:44:08 +0000

I tend to agree but also feel that there are situations when any improvement is better than no improvement. So if doing 6S in an area is all that we can expect for this week, this is better than no 6S.

By: Create Wealth Without Risk

Create Wealth Without Risk — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:29:41 +0000

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By: Six Sigma Blogs » Blog Archive » Six Sigma

Six Sigma Blogs » Blog Archive » Six Sigma — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 01:03:07 +0000

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By: Ron Pereira

Ron Pereira — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:12:23 +0000

I am not sure if I’ve ever commented on a post on my own blog… but since I didn’t write this I guess it’s OK!

My thoughts on this matter are that I think efforts should most definitely be coordinated no matter if you’re working in a hospital or factory floor making widgets.

But, to Alicia’s point, I have seen SO many organizations approach lean and six sigma with such blinders that they cannot see the forest for the trees.

What does everyone else think?

Oh, and thanks for the great article, Alicia! I look forward to hearing more from you soon!