Lean Tools, Training, and Systems

Lean Healthcare

Lean healthcare tools and teachings for a lean hospital or medical facility

Lean Healthcare Tools

Some of the most popular six sigma and lean tools used most frequently for lean healthcare include:

Value Stream Map	A3 Problem Solving	A3 Stick Figure Illustrator
Process Analysis	Waste Observation	Takt Time Calculator
Root Cause Analysis	Layout Diagram	Process Flow Diagram
Histogram	Scatter Plot	SQDC Boards
Milestone Chart	Change Management	Decision Matrix
Pareto Chart	FMEA	One Good Idea
Control Chart	Check Sheet	Pitch Chart
Lean Management System	Lean Assessment	5S Work Place Organization
Standard Work	Work Instructions	TWI Job Breakdown
Swim Lane Functional Flowchart	Flowchart	Tool Selection Matrix

Commonalities between

Lean Healthcare and Lean Manufacturing

Lean Healthcare Tools are the same

Most Lean Healthcare Tools are the same

Just use the 'Service' column in the Tool Selection Matrix to filter for the Excel templates that are most commonly used in a Lean Service environment.

Lean Management is the same

Lean management systems are the same

The system for visual management is the same

(even though the specific visual controls vary greatly even within any given organization)

Definitions and teachings are the same

95% of Lean healthcare definitions and teachings can be applied to both a Lean Manufacturing and a Lean Office environment without any modification

IF (and this is the big stumbling block)...
IF Lean authors, teachers, and practitioners use terminology that does not assume that the thing being transformed is a physical inventory item

A lean healthcare value stream is just as likely as a manufacturer to employ lean concepts such as kanbans, heijunka, jidoka, kaizen, and the other new words for process improvement that happen to be Japanese words because Henry Ford didn't think of them first.

Many or most Lean teachings come from the Toyota Production System, which is why it is common for Lean practitioners to assume that the thing being transformed is a physical inventory item (like a car). But it doesn't have to be.

Literally 99% of Lean concepts apply to ANY industry.

Value Stream Mapping is the same

The purposes of value stream management are the same:

Depict processes in ways that make the deadly types of waste easy to see

Monitor and continuously improve key success metrics

Value stream mapping symbols and concepts are the same for a bakery or a bank

(and you can easily add custom shapes to your Systems2win value stream map template)

The process for value stream mapping is the same for home-builder, a hotel, or a hospital

See step-by-step instructions in the Help page on our free trial value stream mapping template

Unlike Lean Office...

Lean Healthcare and Lean Manufacturing both focus on the central middle segment of the value stream.

Differences between

Lean Healthcare and Lean Manufacturing

If the process you are optimizing does not deal with inventory, then wherever you see the word 'inventory', substitute either the word 'patient', 'lab report', or the phrase 'the thing being transformed'
In addition to inventory... buffer and safety resources are more likely to also include:

Overtime
Cross-training and departmental borrowing
Temporaries
Outsourcing
Pre-trained workers available as needed (seasonal, retirees...)
Pre-negotiated availability of extra rooms/beds
Contingency plans
Automation

Value stream mapping symbols and concepts are the same, except for a few unique shapes, such as an ambulance instead of a truck, or a gurney instead of a push cart.

lean healthcare value stream mapping symbols

Lean Healthcare providers are more likely to use Stick Figure drawings for A3 problem solving.

Stick figure drawing tool for lean healthcare

Change Management tools are not just nice, but essential, in any workplace where there are strong hierarchical barriers to the free flow of communication (such as often exists between doctors and staff)

Lean in Healthcare 'gotcha's'

Don't invent your own vocabulary

Just because you sometimes need to substitute the words 'patient' or 'the thing being transformed' when you see the word 'inventory' doesn't mean that it is a good idea to start inventing your own (non-Japanese) words for everything else you learn about Lean.

You will make it a LOT easier on your people if you teach them the same Lean definitions that are used in almost every Lean book that has ever been printed, instead of trying to "translate" for them by inventing your own vocabulary.

Standard lean tools can still incorporate Evidence Based Outcomes.
Standard Process Analysis templates can be used to monitor any results, including Hospital Core Measures.

or we could use a shared
Lean Glossary...

Don't over-customize your templates too soon

Just because these Excel templates are so easy to personalize doesn't mean you should. The more that your people learn about how to apply the right lean six sigma tools and methods, the less different you will find that you really are. If you find yourself wanting to personalize a template, first consider that maybe you might be trying to use the wrong tool for the problem you're trying to solve.

Use the Tool Matrix to find the right tool. Or call us for help.

Your personalizations
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Watch out for Common Pitfalls

The same Common Pitfalls that everyone else needs to watch for too.

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in ANY industry

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