t;dr: A visit to Toyota’s North American headquarters offered more than a virtual plant tour. It revealed how Toyota blends the Toyota Production System, Lean leadership, and learning from crisis to build trust, improve communication, and continuously improve–inside and outside…
Recently, I blogged about how a Lean hospital would focus on reducing overwork on nurses and other staff: Another term that could be used is “overburden.” The Japanese word for this is “muri,” for what it’s worth. Many Lean practitioners…
If a practice aims for "ideal care," how can there be so much waste and waiting one day, followed by a perfect waste-free visit the next? What are your experiences with care and delays in clinic settings?
I saw this headline the other day about University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas: “UMC finds savings through waste“ The headline really should say “through waste reduction.” Reducing waste is, of course, a good thing. Reducing waste usually saves money…
Here is an international reader question from somebody working in healthcare in the Middle East. The reader writes: I would like to thank you for your guidance. I have current and future state Value Stream Maps for a process, but I…
Last week, I received a few questions from somebody at a hospital system and I thought I'd address one of them here: "Can you suggest any "quick wins" to get staff engaged in a Lean culture?"
Mark’s Note: Today’s post is by a new guest contributor, Tom Gormley. I first met Tom in 2009 or 2010 when my wife and I were in Boston for the year. He was in the process of switching into healthcare…
The famed actor and comedian Gene Wilder passed away this week at age 83. I think of him primarily as an actor from the classic movies from Mel Brooks, “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein,” although he’s also known for many other…
The BBC radio program “The Science Hour” recently aired a program with a segment where an unexpected person (Dr. Kevin Fong) to an unexpected place (UCLA Harbor Medical Center) to look into “Lean.” You might remember UCLA Harbor from my…
I’m a car guy. Above all other mechanical devices that we engineers get to be involved with, I am fascinated most with these incredible machines. When you consider how automobile soperate nearly flawlessly even when enduring a spectrum of environmental…
The past two weeks have been very busy, to say the least. Thanks to the guest bloggers who contributed posts to help reduce my personal overburden (this particular overburden, of course, being a “First World Problem,” as they say). My…
Each Saturday, I get an email newsletter from the UK-based site "Nursing Times." Last week, this article, caught my eye: "Workplace principles revealed for NHS staff in Wales." A free registration might be required to read it or other articles, but it's worth it.
