RedNova News – Health – Q & A With Matthew Furlan
The subject of this article apparently received some top-notch lean training from Shingijitsu and HON Industries before moving into healthcare. Many of the things he says can also be applied to those of us in manufacturing.
“My job is to drive improvement in the dayto-day running of the hospital, in terms of quality and cost. It's very introspective, you look at what you do well, what you don't do well, and you work at what you don't do well and try to expose those problems on a continuous basis, and solve them. You do it so relentlessly that it becomes part of everybody's mindset and culture.”
Notice he didn't say that his job is “to implement 5S” or “to put in kanban.”
In the article, he also talks about value stream mapping, waste reduction, and his insistence on a “no-layoff” policy, as most lean people willl advocate.
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Mark Graban
Mark Graban is an internationally-recognized consultant, author, and professional speaker who has worked in healthcare, manufacturing, and startups. He is author of the Shingo Award-winning books Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, as well as The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen. His most recent book is the anthology Practicing Lean that benefits the Louise H. Batz Patient Safety Foundation, where Mark is a board member. Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus. His latest book has been released as an "in-progress" book, titled Measures of Success.