Tag: Standardized Work

Standardized Work: The Foundation for Learning and Improvement

Standardized work is often misunderstood as rigidity or control. In Lean thinking, it’s the opposite: a shared baseline that makes problems visible, supports learning, and enables continuous improvement. This archive explores standardized work as a living system—one that evolves through observation, experimentation, and respect for people.

Examples range from healthcare and service work to manufacturing and everyday systems, showing how clear standards reduce frustration, improve quality, and make meaningful improvement possible.

Yet Again – A Patient Harmed as Hospital Lab Mixes Up...

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Freeport woman sues hospital after biopsy mix-up This is really discouraging to see yet another serious specimen labeling mishap in a pathology department that's led...

What's the Point of Standard if it's Not Followed?

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I am at the Ontario Hospital Association 'HealthAchieve' meeting (giving a talk on Lean Healthcare later on). I saw Dr. Sanjay Gupta present this...

"Love" or "Lean," This Quote Rings True

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I saw this quote on Twitter from the pastor Rick Warren (happens to fit in the 140 characters): "Love isn't letting people do whatever they...

NY Times on Standardization, Deming, and Lean Principles in Healthcare

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If Health Care Is Going to Change, Dr. Brent James's Ideas Will Change It - NYTimes.com About 10 people sent me this article via the...

The “Soul” of the Toyota Production System: Why TPS Is So...

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Article: How Toyota Defies Gravity While researching an upcoming presentation, I found this FORTUNE article from 1997. I was looking for a reference to Toyota...

Hotels Give “Lean” a Bad Name??

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Housekeepers' Giant "Hope Quilt" Puts Hotel Job Injuries in Spotlight | Labor Notes Articles like this are incredibly frustrating to see. It makes me think...

Exec from Seattle Children’s on Lean Healthcare in the Washington Post

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Patrick Hagan: Waste Not, Want Not: The Key to Reducing Costs - washingtonpost.comHere is an outstanding piece from the President & Chief Operating Officer...

RN Doesn’t Follow Standardized Work, Exposes Patients to Risk of Disease

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Broward General nurse possibly exposed patients to risk - South Florida - MiamiHerald.com Story and nurse discussion here A number of you (thanks!) sent me this...

5S the Coffee Pots

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It's time for some coffee talk other than Starbucks... afternoon coffee break here. In Philadelphia last week during our LEI workshops (have you seen our...

I Guess These Couples Should Worry – We Need Lean, not...

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Embryo mix-up worries couples | detnews.com | The Detroit News I've seen a lot of news stories about couples who suffer through errors caused by...

A "Step Backward" in Patient Safety?

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Joint Commission Changes Requirement for Patient ID during Blood Draws | Dark DailyThanks to my friend Robert Michel and the Dark Daily for bringing...

Q&A #2 – Michael Balle, "The Lean Manager" – Nursing

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I recently invited questions for Michael Balle, the author of the Shingo Prize winning book The Gold Mine: A Novel of Lean Turnaround. He...
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