The Sign on the Wall Was a Confession Two staff members are repositioning a patient by hand. The lift assist that’s supposed to be used for this — the equipment the hospital bought specifically so nobody does it this way…
It was more than “mildly infuriating” to see this photo and post shared on Reddit’s “mildly infuriating” subreddit. “Mildly infuriating” is when Group 7 passengers clog the boarding gate area when Group 1 is being called. Mildly infuriating is getting…
TL;DR: Emails and warning signs rely on memory and attention. Point-of-use reminders–and better yet, mistake-proofed systems–are far more effective at preventing errors, as a simple condo trash chute failure illustrates. I often write and speak about how warning signs (or…
As I posted recently on LinkedIn, here are some photos and a story from years ago. Signs are not mistake-proofing. Signs are not adequate process controls. “Please do not park stretchers or carts in the hallway.” I’m quite certain that…
This photo is from my personal archives… If one sign doesn’t do the job, is it really helpful to add a second one? In both instances? What are some better ways to solve these problems? First off, what are the…
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?
Our good friend Matt May (see posts and podcasts about him here) has a new book coming out in October, The Laws of Subtraction: 6 Simple Rules For Winning In The Age Of Excess Everything, a follow-up to previous books,…
I was fortunate to be in England for five days last week. I saw the “gemba” at five hospitals in three days and attended the Lean Enterprise Academy Lean Healthcare Transformation Summit on Friday. One thing I was taking pictures…
I could have also titled this post “I screwed up!” or “Who Screwed Up? Me!” but we try not to point the finger of blame in the Lean mindset…. it’s especially uncomfortable when you have to point it in the…
Since I’ve been working exclusively in healthcare for almost two years, I haven’t been in too many factories lately. I was excited to get an invitation from the local Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) chapter to tour a local factory.…
I was boarding an American Airlines Super 80 at DFW yesterday, I noticed a warning sign on the controls of the jet bridge. As I’ve said before, “warning signs are not error proofing.” That certainly applies here. There was a…
I saw this at a hospital lab last year, a great example of true error proofing vs. just putting up warning signs. “Cautions” and “Warnings” are lazy engineering, in general, with product design. Signs are not good problem-solving in any…
