Simple Mixups & How Blaming Workers Doesn’t Explain or Prevent Them
When we see a simple error, even in something as silly as sports memorabilia, we would ask "why?" or "how?" instead of "who?" Blaming individuals doesn't help...
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These are the 10 Most Read LeanBlog.org Posts of 2015… and my “Serial” Parody
Thanks everybody for reading my blog throughout 2015! It's been a great year and I appreciate you taking time out of your busy lives to read and participate in the discussion. I hope this site will continue to be a part of your life in 2016. Here are the ten most-read posts of the year...
The First Ever Instance of “Lean or TPS Doesn’t Apply to Us?” Was at Toyota?
Lean is, of course, not about a better way to build cars. It's a transferrable philosophy, management system, and methodology that is being applied in many different settings and industries, including healthcare. I'm often told (sometimes by somebody who is being sort of huffy): "Patients are not cars." [...]
Updating a Vision, Again, for Lean Hospitals (or Lean Health Systems)
Back in 2011, I asked for and received some great input from readers about updating a chapter for the second edition of my book Lean Hospitals on “A Vision for Lean Hospitals.” A lot has changed in the healthcare environment over four…
Another Conversation About L.A.M.E. and Lean in Manufacturing and Healthcare
It’s far too common to see somebody with just a little bit of understanding about Lean do things that really shouldn’t be described as Lean at all… in terms of the decisions they are making or the approaches they are…
When Warnings Aren’t Given or Heeded, People Die: Planes, Ice Cream & Hospitals
In healthcare, it’s a well-known problem that people often don’t speak up to point out risks or to report near misses. It’s an organizational culture problem… people are afraid of being blamed, punished, or retaliated against for speaking up. A…
Moving from “Visuals” to “Visual Management” and to Broader Lean Thinking
I’ve been studying and working with Lean for 20 years now and I love Lean because I’m still learning and getting better at this craft. I love seeing other people get excited about Lean when it’s new to them, when…
See How a British Psychiatrist is Using LEGO Videos to Explain Lean Healthcare
A collection of creative videos was recently brought to my attention and I’d like to share them here. They are created by Dr. Mark Harrison (@leanpsychiatry), a psychiatrist for an NHS Trust. He created the videos by taking photos of…
How Has Dr. Jack Billi Achieved 100% Hand Hygiene Compliance Since 2008?
Thanks to my friends in the Michigan Quality System group, the internal Lean group at the University of Michigan Health System. They shared a video that was put together by Dr. Jack Billi, a long-time student of Lean and advocate…
Lean: Hit or Myth? Layoffs, Patient-Centered Care, and More
TL;DR: Lean is often misunderstood. It’s not about rushing patients, cutting staff, or blindly installing tools. When practiced properly, Lean is fundamentally patient-centered, focused on safety, quality, and respect for people. When organizations have bad experiences, that usually reflects poor…
An Invention to Prevent Empty Gel or Foam Sanitizer Dispensers in a Hospital
Every time I am in a hospital or clinic setting, one of the first things I do is get a pump or squirt of gel or foam from a wall-mounted dispenser to clean my hands. Or, I should say *try*…
Throwback Thursday: What Lean Manufacturing Training Looked Like in 2002
TL;DR: A look back at Lean manufacturing training from 2002 reveals a familiar lesson: Lean succeeds when customers treat suppliers fairly, production schedules are stable, and improvement goes beyond tools to include respect, trust, and Kaizen thinking. Toyota’s approach–then and…