Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs!
In this post, Paul Critchley writes about signs not being a good solution to most problems. Does posting a sign mean that people understand it or that it's going to be followed?
Category Blog
All Blog Posts
All posts from Mark Graban’s LeanBlog.org, including podcasts, announcements, articles, and more.
Why I’m Not a Fan of Lean Titles Like ‘Expert’ or ‘Sensei’
Six Sigma and Lean Sigma has "belts." Some people in Lean call themselves a "sensei." Is that really appropriate? The term is supposed to be situational... it's a term of respect one chooses to use for another person...
Why Incentives and Rankings Can Undermine Safety, Quality, and Learning
In this post, I look at the impact (or lack thereof) of targets, rankings, and incentives, when it comes to safe driving or PCI (angioplasty) procedures in a hospital cath lab. Are we improving? How do we know? How do we improve?
James Hereford – A #Lean COO from Stanford Becomes a Lean CEO at Fairview Health
In today's post, I write about James Hereford, a Lean thinker and leader who is now CEO of Fairview Health Services in Minnesota. I share some links to and highlights from a past podcast with him and other blog posts with his thoughts.
Planning for Workshop(s) in Orlando – Come Join Me! Take a Quick Survey
I'm looking to offer some workshops in beautiful downtown Orlando. In this post, I describe the workshops and invite you to take a survey if you're interested in doing them here.
[April Fool] Coming Soon: The 4th Revised Edition of Lean Hospitals
It's time for another new, revised edition of my book! The 4th edition is the fastest new edition yet, since the world is changing quickly and increasingly uncertain. Hospitals need to react now! Do something! Cut costs! Reduce costs! Slash costs!
Mark Graban & Joe Swartz on the “Gemba Academy Podcast”
Thanks to my friends at Gemba Academy for having my Healthcare Kaizen co-author Joe Swartz and me on their podcast, in an episode that was released yesterday.
What Reduced this E.D.’s Waiting Times? Sexy Technology or Process Change?
This article in The Wall Street Journal caught my eye the other day: "Can Tech Speed Up Emergency Room Care?" But, it seems like the real story is process redesign, which is barely mentioned in the story...
… But I Do Have Time for Fire Fighting
This recent tweet of mine struck a nerve, apparently, based on the number of times it was liked and retweeted -- "Heard often: "We don't have time for improvement." Heard never: "We don't have time for fire fighting."
Dr. Deming on Why Improvement Stalls Out, Today’s Hospital Patient Safety Parallels
Can leaders get some improvement just by asking for it? Does improvement stall out if we don't have a method for doing so? What can "process behavior" charts show us in our work today?
Sad Bloomberg BusinessWeek Article on Auto Supplier Safety, Thoughts for Healthcare
A few of you sent me this article... and you were correct to think I would be interested: "Inside Alabama's Auto Jobs Boom: Cheap Wages, Little Training, Crushed Limbs." What are the parallels and lessons for hospitals?
Free Webinar Recording: How to Coach for Creativity & Service Excellence
I'm happy to be playing the role of host for a free webinar being held next Tuesday, March 28... presented by Karyn Ross, co-author of the Shingo Award-winning book The Toyota Way to Service Excellence. Her webinar is titled: "How to Coach for Creativity & Service Excellence"
