Monthly Archives: September 2011
“Lack of Time” for Kaizen is a Problem Statement, Not an Excuse
As I've talked to and worked with hospitals and their leaders about Kaizen, or continuous improvement, the concepts, mindsets, and methods make sense to...
25% off on Pre-Orders of “Lean Hospitals,” 2nd Edition
The 2nd revised edition of my book Lean Hospitals can be pre-ordered from Productivity Press for a 25% discount. The book should be available...
Everyday Lean: Error Proofing Sidewalk Grates (photo by @karenmartinopex)
Thanks to my friend and fellow author Karen Martin for taking this picture while in Calgary. Even if you don't wear high heeled shoes,...
Automation is Not Always the Answer, in Retail or Healthcare
Lately, there have been many stories in the news about supermarkets ripping out self-service checkout scanner, stories like this: "Supermarkets start bagging self-serve checkouts."...
Analogy from “The Lean Startup” for any Lean Journey?
As I'm reading the new book by Eric Ries, The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses, I'm...
One-Question Poll on Healthcare Employee Idea & Suggestion Programs
I volunteered to give a presentation last Friday for the North Texas Society for Healthcare Risk Management, where I was able to debut some...
Infographic – The Hazards of Hospitals
Some people might find this graphic inflammatory, if they are feeling defensive about the state of healthcare and if they feel like they are...
Interesting Article: Obliquity, the Indirect Path to Success
I've been reading the book Obliquity: Why Our Goals Are Best Achieved Indirectly and, while it's really interesting, I tend to agree with some...
“Healthcare Kaizen” Book Update – The Manuscript is Submitted!
It's a project that my co-author, Joe Swartz, and I have been working on all year... the manuscript is finally complete and sent (as...
Radiology Patient Flow Improvement Using Lean at a German Hospital
This is the first Lean article or case study I recall seeing about a German hospital: "JACR: Lean Six Sigma increases MRI productivity." The...
The Positive Trend of “Lean Design” of the Space & Processes in Healthcare
It's been nice to see the "lean design" approach taking hold in healthcare over the past few years. I think the first book on...
A Funny Louie C.K. “Whys” Video
Thanks to Jamie Flinchbaugh for sending this funny video my way. It's the comedian Louis C.K. in his show "Louie" (or maybe it's from...
