Lean Principles to Service Processes: Lean Principles

¶ … Lean Principles to Service Processes: Lean principles have been in existence for hundred years though global interest was fueled by the success of Toyota Company that developed Toyota Production System. The focus of operations based on lean principles is removing waste and lessening lead times that exist between customer demand and fulfillment. These principles are necessary in improving the speed, accuracy, and quality of customer service through continuous identification and elimination of activities, resources, and purchases that are not necessary to service delivery ("Achieving a Lean Service," 2010).

While lean principles are applicable to service processes and generate positive results, their adoption in the service sector is relatively low. Actually, lean service shows that the practical imagination used so efficiently in manufacturing can be applicable to service industries with similar positive outcomes (Bowen & Youngdahl, 1998). As lean principles have been effectively used in manufacturing firms for decades, these principles are currently, effectively applied in the delivery of health care services.

Their application in the health sector originates from the similarities between health care and manufacturing processes though these sectors have numerous and extensive differences. Similar to the process of building a car, the delivery of health care services to a patient requires workers to use multiple complex processes to achieve their goals and provide value to customers or patients (Womack et. al., 2005). Generally, lean thinking in the health care field has demonstrated that the principles have a positive impact on cost, productivity, quality, and timely service delivery to patients.

Lean principles have proven to be critical in many health care facilities because of the constant, immense challenges in this industry. These facilities and other health care providers have continued to experience shortages of staff, growing demand, and huge pressure to lessen the costs of care services while enhancing patient outcomes and satisfaction. In order to improve performance, many health care facilities and providers have turned to the principles of lean thinking.

Through an infrastructure based on clinical service lines with an increased emphasis on lean thinking and other improvement initiatives, greater levels of performance can be achieved (Raltson, n.d.). However, the use of lean principles to enhance the delivery of care services can be understood through an understanding of the basic concepts and practice of lean. First, understanding value as defined by customers is critical lean improvement initiative in health care.

Both external and internal customers in this field define value on the basis of appropriate, efficient, safe, and high quality care. Secondly, the impact of these principles in service delivery is demonstrated by an analysis of the operations of current processes in the health care field. The third step is the commitment by the service providers to accomplish flow state in every stage of delivery process without stopping. This step is followed by the development of processes that enable customers to receive what they need through lean design.

Following the implementation of this stage, an organization's pursuit of perfection requires a constant loop of all care service providers to enhance their activities on a daily basis (Kim et. al., 2006). Park Nicollet Health Services is an example of a health care facility that demonstrates how lean principles can be applied in service processes. The application of lean concepts in this organization included facilitating a team approach to care, new design themes, and offering a supportive, non-threatening outpatient experience in a non-organizational healing.