Lean healthcare implementation and best practices for organizational improvement

Lean Healthcare

"Lean is a cultural transformation that changes how an organization works; no one stays on the sidelines in the quest to discover how to improve the daily work," which have been empowering companies like Toyota since its implementation (Toussaint & Berry 74). As massive changes continue to be implemented within the healthcare field, the industry has had to deal with some pretty drastic changes. The millions of people being added onto healthcare plans will ultimately up costs significantly, and with demands for lower premiums across the board, it is crucial that the new emerging healthcare industry needs to be as lean as possible. There are a number of current lean process implementations that are significantly reducing costs and increasing the industry's strength. These best practices can then be used in other fields, as they are proving enormously successful within healthcare.

There are a number of best practices seen out of a Lean perspective, but five prove most effective for applying to other industries. First, Toussaint and Berry explain that continuous improvement is a huge way to increase productivity in any field because it is constantly evaluating current methods in search of improvements (Toussaint & Berry 75). This can be done by using the principles of the scientific method to create hypotheses for how work can be improved, testing out potential new changes, and then evaluating the results. Rather than sitting idly by and just accepting work as it is, managers and employees are engaged in a constant search to improve the business operations and practices in order to strive to make the company more efficient and successful. This ultimately keeps an organization ahead of the competition. Additionally, there is the notion of value creation, which involves creating new sources of value and adding value to existing services or products. The healthcare industry is doing this through improving the quality of its care, which thus allows for the justification of premium prices. Often times, the use of a value stream map can help managers "distinguish between discrete steps in a process that do or do not contribute value," which can then help generate strategies to improve value where current levels are low (Toussaint & Berry 76). This allows for an organization to prove to customers that the value provided is worth the costs. Next is a general respect for front-line workers, which also helps strengthen Lean efforts. With management constantly visiting work sites and getting feedback from the front line workers, they are better able to make any necessary changes to keep workers satisfied with their roles. When workers are happy, they are more productive. Thus, it is crucial to keep up a high quality work environment, even for the lowest workers on the totem pole. Moreover, there is the practice of visual tracking. This helps an organization keep track of its daily activities in a way that provides for pattern recognition that can help strengthen strategies for improvement. Tracking and performance management can no longer be done on a monthly or yearly basis. It must be done immediately, so that managers can spot problems and fix them immediately before the lag down production. Finally, there is the idea of Lean as a flexible regimentation. According to the research, greater flexibility provides for a more proactive approach to handling situations as they arise. It is crucial for managers to be able to make flexible decisions and that the system is not too rigid and thus restrictive of innovative growth.

One industry that can benefit from these principles enormously is textile manufacturing here in the United States. In the last few decades, this industry has dramatically changed. The fact that it costs so much to manufacture textiles here in the United States has prompted organizations to move labor abroad, where the cost of labor is dramatically cheaper. Yet, this has destroyed a domestic textile industry. The industry can use these five principles to regain strength and increase their ability to compete with textiles being produced at lower quality and higher volume in developing nations. The textile industry can vastly improve its profit margins and manufacturing capabilities through implementing these five principles of Lean manufacturing (Rink 1). For example, flexible regimentation allows managers to have greater decision making capabilities, that allow for flexible and on the spot remedies of production problems. This will increase the organization's capabilities to stay above any potential problems. Continuous improvement will engage both management and employees to participate more within a plan to find continuous improvement. This will ultimately help keep textile manufacturers innovative and improving, thus finding solutions for competing with textiles made overseas. In regards to value creation, textile manufacturers can focus on adding value through representing a brand where production is centered here in the United States. Domestic production can add increased value to the textiles, as they are typically of higher quality and are a corner stone of eco fashion. As more and more consumers find themselves willing to pay a higher premium for fabrics created ethically, manufacturers here in the United States can use the fact that they produce locally to thus add value (Hodge et al. 242). Respect for front-line workers goes along with this strategy of value creation. Showing respect for workers through providing benefits and improved working conditions only allows textile manufacturers to be able to charge higher premiums for their products. This ultimately improves profit margins. Moreover, in regards to visual tracking, it is important to maintain control over inventory. This can be done through incorporating "lean principles into their inventory decision analysis by using SKU-level analysis (stock keeping unit), which has put increased pressure on suppliers to deliver goods quickly to the marketplace" (Hodge et al. 237). Flexible regimentation allows local management to make decisions, thus reducing any lag time needed to clear decisions through corporate offices, which may be across country.