Adventures in Self Publishing: Defects & Escapes
When I started my career in the auto industry, I learned that a "not defect" is a product that doesn't meet…
Browsing Tag
Quality
Friday Night at the ER: Fun Learning Through a Tabletop Simulation
Actually being a patient in the emergency department is a learning experience, to say the least. I've done that…
Podcast #310 – Steve Shortell, The Impact of #Lean on Healthcare Quality
Joining me again for Episode 310 is Stephen M. Shortell Ph.D., MPH, MBA. He is Blue Cross of California…
Lean Healthcare Featured in “The Economist” And some encouraging…
It's great to see Lean healthcare featured in one of the world's leading news and business publications. The…
Quality Improvement Through Obfuscation?
Healthcare is full of terms that obfuscate things. Ironically, use of the word "obfuscate" can be an example of…
Part 2: 20 Years Ago at GM, the Quality Death Spiral Continues… With More…
Recently, I blogged about a quality catastrophe that I lived through at GM just over 20 years ago, at the…
20+ Years Ago at GM: The Quality Death Spiral of Bad Management & Blaming…
My first job out of college was as an Industrial Engineer at the General Motors Livonia Engine Plant. Blogging…
Clearing the Lean Blog Backlog: Lemmings, Change, Lean, & Leadership Closing…
Cleaning out the backlog of stuff I wanted to blog about...
Not Being Lean Lemmings; Why Best Practices Don't…
Did Toyota’s #Lean Mindsets & Practices Really Leave the (Now) Tesla…
Tesla builds cars in what used to be the NUMMI factory, a joint venture between Toyota and GM (which meant it was…
How Are “Quality Posters” Like This Still a Thing? Buyer Beware...
Back in 2007, I wrote a blog post that highlighted (if not mocked) so-called "quality posters" that are, I suppose,…
Texas Hospital Saves Money Occasionally With Lean Six Sigma… But Can Do…
I saw this headline the other day about University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas:
"UMC finds savings through…
Podcast #284 – Dr. Margaret Balfour on Improving Crisis Psychiatric Care…
My guest today for episode #284 of the podcast is Dr. Margaret (Margie) Balfour, the lead author of an article,…
7 Barriers to Patient Safety According to Dr. Donald J. Berwick
Last month, I saw this article from the publication Hospitals & Health Networks (H&HN), where they…
Flashback Friday: Demolition Errors, Mistake Proofing, and Healthcare
In recent years, I've written two blog posts about the sad scenarios where the wrong building was demolished by a…
A Lesson From Toyota: Thanking Employees for Pointing Out Problems Great story…
Thanks to Lean Frontiers for sharing a story from Mike Hoseus on LinkedIn. Mike is, of course, co-author of the…
Thoughts on “Good” vs. “Better” from My College Marching…
What are the parallels between the mindsets and approach of a world-class university band director and our mindsets…
My LinkedIn Article: Supply Chain Matters – at the Oscars® and in…
The mistakes at The Oscars were trivial and unimportant in the grand scheme of things. What are some lessons…
James Hereford – A #Lean COO from Stanford Becomes a Lean CEO at Fairview…
In today's post, I write about James Hereford, a Lean thinker and leader who is now CEO of Fairview Health Services…