In no industry is the concept of quality more essential than it is in healthcare, which is why the lean quality principles learned through the example of the Toyota Production System are so applicable. Two fundamental principles of Toyota‘s push for excellence are especially relevant to healthcare: ensuring quality at every step and keeping improve

Mapping the Total Value Stream defines and elaborates on the concepts of value stream mapping (VSM) for both production and transactional processes. This book reshapes and extends the lessons originally put forward in a number of pioneering works including the popular ,Value Stream Management for the Lean Office. It reinforces fundamental concepts and theoretical models with real-world applications and complete examples of the value stream mapping technique. To educate VSM mappers on the specific mechanics of the technique, the text provides in-depth explanations for commonly encountered situations. The authors also provide a more complete perspective on the concept of availability. While they discuss availability of equipment in transactional processes, they extend the concept by elaborating on availability as it applies to employees. The calculation of process lead time for work queues is taken to an advanced level – not only is the calculation of this lead time explained, but the text also covers the very real possibility of having more work in the queue than available time. While previous books have focused on only production process VSM or transactional process VSM, this work meets the real needs of both manufacturers and service sector organizations by dealing with both types. It goes beyond explaining each scenario, to teach readers what techniques are commonly applicable to both, and also explains areas of difference so that mappers will be able to readily adapt to whatever unique situations present themselves.

Is Lean a fit for your healthcare organization? Various methodologies can be used to help organizations achieve their objectives depending on their criteria: lowest risk of failure, fast to resolution, or lowest cost for deployment. But what every organization should consider is which methodology will have the greatest impact. Lean, a systematic approach to understanding and optimizing processes, may be the fit for your organization. Learn more in this new IBM® RedpaperTM publication, A Guide to Lean Healthcare Workflows, by Jerry Green and Amy Valentini of Phytel (An IBM Company). The paper delves into the five steps of Lean: Define value from the patient's perspective Map the value stream, and identify issues and constraints Remove waste, and make the value flow without interruption Implement the solution, and allow patients to pull value Maintain the gain, and pursue perfection It describes each step in-depth and includes techniques, example worksheets, and materials that can be used during the overall analysis and implementation process. And it provides insights that are derived from the real-world experience of the authors. This paper is intended to serve as a guide for readers during a process-improvement project and is not necessarily intended to be read end-to-end in one sitting. It is written primarily for clinical practitioners to use as a step-by-step guide to lean out clinical workflows without having to rely on complex statistical hypothesis-testing tools. This guide can also be used by clinical or nonclinical practitioners in non-patient-centered workflows. The steps are based on a universal Lean language that uses industry-standard terms and techniques and, therefore, can be applied to almost any process.

The A3 process is a way to look with "new eyes" at a specific problem identified by direct observation or experience. It offers a structure that begins by always defining the issue through the eyes of the customer. In A3 Problem Solving for Healthcare Cindy Jimmerson explains an essential tool borrowed from the Toyota Production System, which is an extension of work identified with the well-known Value Stream Map. She offers an easy-to-learn problem-solving method that can be used in every aspect of healthcare to identify, understand, and improve processes that don't support workers in doing their good work. In this compelling book you get: The expertise of a recognized industry expert in Lean principles A practical, easy-to-use workbook Concepts illustrated with numerous A3s in various stages of development Explanation of how to extend the VSM philosophy to a more focused perspective An extensive exploration of the A3 problem-solving tool in healthcare—the first book to do so Through case studies and actual A3s, this book illustrates the simplicity and completeness of the A3 tool and its applications to regulatory documentation as well as activities of daily work.

The first of its kind—a Value Stream Mapping book written for those in service and office environments who need to streamline operations Value Stream Mapping is a practical, how-to guide that helps decision-makers improve value stream efficiency in virtually any setting, including construction, energy, financial service, government, healthcare, R&D, retail, and technology. It gives you the tools to address a wider range of important VSM issues than any other such book, including the psychology of change, leadership, creating teams, building consensus, and charter development. Karen Martin is principal consultant for Karen Martin & Associates, LLC, instructor for the University of California, San Diego's Lean Enterprise program, and industry advisor to the University of San Diego's Industrial and Systems Engineering program. Mike Osterling provides support and leadership to manufacturing and non-manufacturing organizations on their Lean Transformation Journey. In a continuous improvement leadership role for six years, Mike played a key role in Square D Company's lean transformation in the 1990s.

Organizations around the world are using Lean to redesign care and improve processes in a way that achieves and sustains meaningful results for patients, staff, physicians, and health systems. Lean Hospitals, Third Edition explains how to use the Lean methodology and mindsets to improve safety, quality, access, and morale while reducing costs, increasing capacity, and strengthening the long-term bottom line. This updated edition of a Shingo Research Award recipient begins with an overview of Lean methods. It explains how Lean practices can help reduce various frustrations for caregivers, prevent delays and harm for patients, and improve the long-term health of your organization. The second edition of this book presented new material on identifying waste, A3 problem solving, engaging employees in continuous improvement, and strategy deployment. This third edition adds new sections on structured Lean problem solving methods (including Toyota Kata), Lean Design, and other topics. Additional examples, case studies, and explanations are also included throughout the book. Mark Graban is also the co-author, with Joe Swartz, of the book Healthcare Kaizen: Engaging Frontline Staff in Sustainable Continuous Improvements, which is also a Shingo Research Award recipient. Mark and Joe also wrote The Executive’s Guide to Healthcare Kaizen.

Lean production is the gold standard in production systems, but has proven famously difficult to implement in North America. Mass production relies on large inventories, uses "push" processes and struggles with long lead times. Moving towards a system that eliminates muda ("waste") caused by overproduction, while challenging, proves necessary for improved efficiency. Often overlooked, value stream mapping is the essential planning stage for any Lean transformation. In Mike Rother and John Shook's essential guide, you follow the value stream mapping undertaken for Acme Stamping, for its current and future state. Fully illustrated and well-organized, Learning to See is a must-see for the value stream manager.

When Mike Rother and John Shook first realized the power of value stream mapping in the mid-1990s they began to offer workshops on this invaluable technique.

According to the health data released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United States spends more per capita on healthcare than any other OECD country. Currently, U.S. healthcare spending constitutes $2.5 trillion, or 17.3 percent of GDP, with healthcare costs increasing 9 percent annually. To reverse this alarming trend, the Obama administration recently led the effort to dramatically reform healthcare policy, laws, and regulations. This book provides you (whether a healthcare policy maker, hospital administrator, pharmaceutical company manager, or other healthcare professional) with practical guidance for leveraging supply chain principles to better manage healthcare resources and control healthcare costs. It introduces basic supply chain management concepts, terminologies, and tenets. Other included topics are strategicalliances among healthcare partners, value analysis of healthcare services and products, the impact of healthcare reforms on healthcare supply chains, and the development of performance metrics for the healthcare supply chain and benchmarking.

Healthcare Quality Management: A Case Study Approach is the first comprehensive case-based text combining essential quality management knowledge with real-world scenarios. With in-depth healthcare quality management case studies, tools, activities, and discussion questions, the text helps build the competencies needed to succeed in quality management. Written in an easy-to-read style, Part One of the textbook introduces students to the fundamentals of quality management, including history, culture, and different quality management philosophies, such as Lean and Six Sigma. Part One additionally explains the A3 problem-solving template used to follow the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) or Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control (DMAIC) cycles, that guides your completion of the problem-solving exercises found in Part Two. The bulk of the textbook includes realistic and engaging case studies featuring common quality management problems encountered in a variety of healthcare settings. The case studies feature engaging scenarios, descriptions, opinions, charts, and data, covering such contemporary topics as provider burnout, artificial intelligence, the opioid overdose epidemic, among many more. Serving as a powerful replacement to more theory-based quality management textbooks, Healthcare Quality Management provides context to challenging situations encountered by any healthcare manager, including the health administrator, nurse, physician, social worker, or allied health professional. KEY FEATURES: 25 Realistic Case Studies–Explore challenging Process Improvement, Patient Experience, Patient Safety, and Performance Improvement quality management scenarios set in various healthcare settings Diverse Author Team–Combines the expertise and knowledge of a health management educator, a Chief Nursing Officer at a large regional hospital, and a health system-based Certified Lean Expert Podcasts–Listen to quality management experts share stories and secrets on how to succeed, work in teams, and apply tools to solve problems Quality Management Tools–Grow your quality management skill set with 25 separate quality management tools and approaches tied to the real-world case studies Competency-Based Education Support–Match case studies to professional competencies, such as analytical skills, community collaboration, and interpersonal relations, using case-to-competency crosswalks for health administration, nursing, medicine, and the interprofessional team Comprehensive Instructor’s Packet–Includes PPTs, extensive Excel data files, an Instructor’s Manual with completed A3 problem-solving solutions for each Case Application Exercise, and more! Student ancillaries–Includes data files and A3 template