Thanks to my friend Matt May (check out his new book The Laws of Subtraction) for hosting “5 Questions” about my latest book Healthcare Kaizen. Matt asked some great questions and I hope you enjoy the discussion. Healthcare Kaizen: 5…
Here is a commentary that was written by Gary S. Kaplan, MD, the CEO of Virginia Mason Medical Center: “The Lean Approach to Health Care: Safety, Quality, and Cost.” More than a decade ago, Kaplan and the team at VMMC…
While working in different environments and different industries, I’ve seen many work requirements that were deemed “non-negotiable” by management – and rightly so. For example, wearing safety glasses in a factory or wearing gloves when handling specimens in a hospital…
TL;DR: An andon cord is not primarily a line-stopping device. At Toyota, it’s a signaling system that allows workers to call for help immediately. Most problems are resolved before production stops. Its deeper purpose is to protect quality and create…
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, with the help of Michael George, tried injecting talk of so-called “Lean Six Sigma” into the 2012 presidential race, but I think it was received as a bit of a novelty topic that illustrated the…
Here are two blog posts that my co-author, Joe Swartz, and I were very happy to see about our book Healthcare Kaizen: Engaging Front-Line Staff in Sustainable Continuous Improvements: From the Virginia Mason Medical Center Blog: “Could this new book…
Thanks to the guys at Quality Digest… I was on their weekly video show “Quality Digest Live” last week, talking about “Healthcare Kaizen.” You can view the archived video here (click on the July 6 episode if that doesn’t play…
Coming this week — blog posts and tweets (follow me or hashtag #HCsummit12) from the 2012 Lean Healthcare Transformation Summit on Wednesday and Thursday. If you are going to be there, please say hello!’ Looking back a week… the weekend…
I’m in Las Vegas, speaking today to close the Lean Healthcare PowerDay event. There are many great speakers, including Dr. Richard Shannon, Dr. David Munch, and my good friend and fellow author, Naida Grunden. Click on their names to listen…
This is all somewhat preliminary, but I’ve been talking to the folks at the Kaizen Institute about helping organize a study trip to Japan, aimed at Lean Healthcare professionals. The trip might take place in the second half of 2012…
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 a big batch!) to our publisher. I’m talking about our upcoming book, “Healthcare Kaizen: Engaging Front-Line…
Update: I edited the post title to add “Or Does He?” See the CEO’s comment below, suggesting that the TV report gave the wrong impression and that he wasn’t really “undercover” in a sneaky way like the CBS TV show.…
