Lean Training

The methodology of Lean Training originates in the automotive industry, with Toyota Motor Company still being recognized as the leading lean organization world wide. After 40+ years of propagating Lean Training within the organization, Toyota is rightfully seen as one the most successful automotive manufacturers, consistently delivering high quality and value to customers.

Healthcare is certainly not the same as automotive manufacturing. However, there are many lessons that can be learned in our Lean Training methods, which can be applied to the healthcare environment. Our Lean Training programs in the Healthcare field have demonstrated that gains such as 60% reductions in patient wait times, 50% productivity gains or 90% cycle time reductions are achievable in the healthcare environment through the application of this excellent strategy.

The philosophy of Lean and Lean Training, put simply, is a relentless organizational focus on eliminating any non value added consumption of resources. Non value added, in the context of Lean Training, is defined as anything that the customer (or patient) would not be willing to pay for if given the choice. At first glance it might seem that most anything done in a healthcare environment is done for the benefit of the patient. A closer look, however, reveals that many activities are not done for the benefit of the patient. Rather, they are the result of constraints put upon the business by itself. One simple example might be the continual checking of information due the lack of clear interdepartmental handoffs. Another could be the consumption of labor in the business office used only to correct mistakes, leading to denials and claim rejections, that were made earlier in the process. These activities not only inhibit the patient experience with excessive wait times and errors, they also burden the cost structure of the organization. Lean Training is a powerful strategy that enhances the patient experience and boosts financial results, simultaneously.

With this brief definition of Lean Training in mind we can immediately see that:

Lean drives organization-wide patient focus.
Lean challenges any consumption of resources, whether it be labor, materials or otherwise, if there is no benefit to the patient
Lean provides a mechanism to hone organizational performance for the benefit of patients, physicians and the healthcare system itself

Our Lean programs are of a very hands-on, practical nature. Our goal is to drive results for your organization within just a few weeks of the initial contact. Once you have decided on the key target areas, our experts can be deployed to conduct not only the required Lean Training but also Lean hands-on workshops, at times driving results in as little as 5 days.

In addition to delivering rapid transformation, our Lean Training programs have been proven to deliver tangible culture change. If your organization has become stale, if you are frustrated with the lack of timely action and enthusiasm, if you sense a lack of cooperation between critical departments, our Lean programs can help.

Our Lean Training programs provide two pathways to Lean for you. The first pathway is our Lean training, teaching your associates about the principles of Lean and providing your organization with the tools to conduct lean project work.

The second pathway is an implementation via Kaizen events, 5-day workshops during which your associates working in the target areas re-design their processes under our guidance. For examples of this approach please visit our Kaizen section.

If you would like to discuss details about Lean Training, please feel free to Contact Us.