Often people are doing improvement work, but they are not entirely sure whether those improvements are having an impact. One way to see the impact is with a scorecard. This element of the lean management system allows us to understand our performance at a unit level, prioritize improvement, and respond to underperformance. All elements of […]
At the end of 2018 we began posting weekly blogs to inspire healthcare leaders and accelerate change throughout the healthcare industry. We strive to share knowledge that will help transform organizations to a culture of improvement, delivering continually higher value outcomes for patients, staff, and communities. As 2019 comes to an end, we thought it […]
The overall objective of a lean management system is to develop people to solve problems and improve performance. A lean management system can help an organization learn and understand their business, create alignment within the organization, enable problem-solving in the gemba, and sustain improvements. The lean management system is made up of ten interdependent components […]
As 2019 comes to a close, it is a good time to pause and reflect on events from the year. Reflection is integral to the learning and personal development process. This important part of the PDSA cycle helps us take stock of what went well and what we can improve on in the future. The […]
We have all heard the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” That is the best way to sum up visual management. The purpose is to make it easy to access and understand performance. In Creating a Lean Culture, David Mann compares visual management to the transmission of an automobile. The transmission is vital […]
In Management on the Mend, John Toussaint, MD explains that “principles are how a person, or a team organizes and externalizes values. In the way that values drive the culture, principles drive behaviors.” Toussaint goes on to say that principles can also help find points or common ground with others. Consequently, the Shingo Principles are […]
Leader standard work is one of the elements in a lean management system. In his book Creating a Lean Culture, David Mann compares leader standard work to the engine of a car. While many of us might not know a whole lot about cars, we do know that the engine is a vital part. Likewise, […]
The principle “embrace scientific thinking” falls within the continuous improvement dimension of the Shingo Model. Each principle within this dimension is essential to improvement, innovation, and continuous learning. If an organization is truly embracing scientific thinking everyone in the organization works to generate repeated cycles of experimentation and improvement when faced with a problem. Here […]
Kamishibai, or process observation, is not only fun to say, but it is also an essential component of a lean management system. Process observation helps to ensure that you are maintaining standards and the standards you have in place are delivering on the expected outcome. If you walk away from processes that you improve, they […]
A daily huddle can go by many names; improvement huddle, performance huddle, just a huddle, whatever you want to call it. No matter the name, there are many reasons to implement a daily huddle; for example, to facilitate continuous daily improvement, engage your team in problem solving, and help your team understand the importance of […]
