Monthly Archives: February 2017

Without Kaizen, There Can Be No Accountability

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During the class, there was a case study discussion about a hospital that was trying to solve the problem of nurses not always scanning patient bar codes and medications 100% of the time. In the discussion, I was disappointed that an attendee fell back on saying...

The Oscars, An Embarrassing Preventable Error, #Lean, and Process Improvement

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Alternative headline: “Poorly Designed Card Trips Up Beatty and Dunaway at The Oscars.” Or “A Bad Process Beats Warren Beatty Every Time.” What are the Lean lessons from this mistake?

I Was Asked to Share “Pet Peeves” About Lean (and Lean Sigma)

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Thanks to GoLeanSixSigma.com for asking me some questions for a discussion that they've posted on their website. On the pet peeves issue, I tried to address, in particular, some of the "Lean Sigma" stuff that I have blogged about here on this site...

If a Surgeon or Hospital Puts Quantity over Quality, Why Call it a “Factory?”

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I get worked up about labeling a troubled surgical department as "a factory," but there are far more important issues of patient safety and hospital culture to be discussed related to a Seattle Times investigative piece.

#TBT: My Podcast Interview with Joe Swartz on a Kaizen Culture in Healthcare

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This post looks back at a podcast that I did a few years ago with Joe Swartz, talking about how he helped introduce Kaizen at Franciscan St. Francis Health and how they’ve built that culture.

The Need to Consider Other Perspectives in Process Design & Kaizen

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In this post, I describe an idea (or a suggestion?) that led to a Kaizen improvement through Catalysis (formerly known as the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value).

Win a Free Copy of “Practicing Lean”

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In celebration of the paperback release of our book Practicing Lean, I am running a giveaway contest, through Amazon, that runs until February 27. To enter,...

The Advice about Lean That Your Hospital CEO Should Be Getting

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Art Byrne's latest book, The Lean Turnaround Action Guide, has a lot of great tips that he's trying to share, CEO to CEO. How many CEOs are reading this book and heeding his advice, in manufacturing or in healthcare?

A Webinar on Thursday, #PracticingLean Summary & #Kaizen Thoughts

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This post will point you to a few things you might be interested in: a free webinar this Thursday, some thoughts on Kaizen and "low-hanging fruit," and a summary of the book Practicing Lean.

“The Rock” Says Getting Lean is Something Anybody Can Do… If You Work At...

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Why did "The Rock" and his movie make me think about Lean? Are many individuals (or organization's) willing to put time into continuous improvement every day for 20 years? If so, the results and "after" picture seem astonishing, right?

From Kaizen Live! 2016: Gemba Walk Tips for Leaders — Do This, Not That

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Mischelle McMillin, from Franciscan St. Francis Health, shares “dos and don’ts” for leaders going out to the “gemba” (the workplace). What is “the riddler” and why should you avoid being one in your efforts to create a culture of continuous improvement?

Visuals vs. Visual Management, Revisited with More Examples

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Are "visuals" and "visual management" the same thing? Are "visuals" always Lean, necessarily? In this post, I talk about the differences using an example from a hospital and my car's dashboard.