Lean Blog Audio

Audio courtesy of Quality Digest Live -- see www.QualityDigest.com for more info and http://www.leanblog.org/audio153 for the link to the article referenced. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lean-blog-audio/support

We'll probably also talk about this article that was published yesterday on QualityDigest.com:"Lean Is About Quality, Not Just Speed or Efficiency... in Factories or in Hospitals" It might ruffle some feathers, but oh well. I'll stand by what I say here as factual, not just opinion: http://leanblog.org/audio152 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lean-blog-audio/support

My first trip to China... http://leanblog.org/audio151 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lean-blog-audio/support

http://leanblog.org/audio150 Thanks to those of you who pre-ordered the 3rd edition of my book Lean Hospitals.Click below to read a free preview from the book, the start of the chapter on leading and engaging employees (arguably, it's all about leadership). Improving the Way We Manage [Preview of "Lean Hospitals" 3rd Ed.] And if you post a comment sharing some of your reflections on your Lean journey, you might receive a free copy of the the book. Also, you still have a chance for me to send your CEO a free copy. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lean-blog-audio/support

For decades, manufacturers have been tripped up by the simplistic idea that Lean is about "zero inventories." It probably didn't help that one of the earliest and most prominent books about what many used to call "Japanese manufacturing practices" had that exact title: Zero Inventories. It was published in 1983, well before "Lean" was a term used for this.Not even Toyota has zero inventories. They don't have zero raw materials. They have non-zero buffer inventories in between parts of their assembly lines. And it's not hard to see INVENTORY of unsold cars at Toyota dealers (realizing those are independent businesses and the inventory's not on Toyota's book, but still...) --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lean-blog-audio/support

Thanks to this post by Bruce Hamilton (aka "Toast Guy" or "Old Lean Dude"), I was reminded of the old General Motors effort, spearheaded by then-CEO Roger Smith (of "Roger&Me" fame), to fully automate car factories. Their concept was the "lights-out factory" that could run without people (other than a security guard).GM invested $90 BILLION dollars over 10 years in this quixotic (if not foolhardy) quest. The robots often famously painted each other instead of painting cars, as described in this book: http://leanblog.org/audio148 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lean-blog-audio/support

The 1994 book Why TQM Fails And What to Do About It is a book that could be very relevant today, in the context of Lean. I'll give credit to Greg Jacobson, MD from KaiNexus who had a copy of this book on his shelf. I bought a copy and have recently been reading it because I was curious to see if there parallels to be found with Lean failures. http://leanblog.org/audio147 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lean-blog-audio/support

http://leanblog.org/audio146 Earlier this year, we had rantings from two doctors about Lean in the esteemed New England Journal of Medicine... except what they described didn't really sound like Lean (as I wrote about here and here - and also see Dr. John Toussaint's rebuttal).Now, there's a story written by an emergency medicine physician, Dr. Brad Cotton, that appears in a publication called "Emergency Medicine News" -- FIRST PERSON: 'We Fired Our Hospital' What appears on the front page of their publication in the June 2016 edition isn't news -- it's a first-hand story and an opinion piece. This is the "most trusted" name in "news" for emergency medicine professionals? Good grief. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lean-blog-audio/support

Ah, whiskey. I like whiskey. I'm not afraid to say that. I've blogged about whiskey (or whisky) once before: Why Kaizen is an Important Differentiator for Japanese Whisky. I also have a personal Kaizen story that I need to write about from my day volunteering at a Texas bourbon distillery.On a recent flight, I was reminded of the need to follow standardized work, even in the context of something as simple as ordering a drink. A passenger seated across from me (yes, it was another passenger, not me), responded to the flight attendant asking him if he wanted a drink. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lean-blog-audio/support

Previously on LinkedIn, I’ve written about Kaizen in a wine bar and the need for restaurants to not blame employees for problems. Yesterday, I published my 50th post for their Influencers program: This Restaurant Server Sadly Explains a Widespread Management Problem… I hope it’s thought provoking about your own workplace. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lean-blog-audio/support

http://leanblog.org/audio143 I've written before about the subject of hospitals "flexing" nurses and employees. I've criticized flexing (or the practice of sending employees home early because patient census is low) and I've pointed out that it's not keeping with "Lean" principles to "save money" by sending people home early.See these posts: Is This The One Question That Determines If You're Truly a Lean-Thinking Hospital? "The Emperor's Sacred Cow's New Clothes - "Flexing" Hospital Staff" Where Do Hospitals Get the Idea that Lean is Only About Cost Reduction? --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lean-blog-audio/support

http://leanblog.org/audio142 You might remember the hubbub (and my earlier blog post) about this article that somehow appeared in the NEJM: "Medical Taylorism."It's sad and frustrating that people so often talk past each other in these different "debates" about Lean. Drs. Groopman and Hartzband seem unwilling to learn about Lean and TPS. They have just now doubled down on their assertion that Lean equals Taylorism and that it's not appropriate for healthcare. Sigh. The NEJM just published two letters to the editor. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lean-blog-audio/support

As is often the case, I have too many open browser tabs full of articles that I was going to potentially blog about. This slows down my Mac (thanks, Chrome!).So, it's time for me to clear out my backlog and a little mental overhead... to share some articles I've been reading with some quick notes, instead of doing full blog posts. Well, I'll get my backlog down a little. Why Giant Hospital Systems Might Be Getting it Wrong Resiliency Training - Important but Not Nearly Enough 'Lean Six Sigma' comes to the VA; Collins cheers Rotarians tour hospital to see improvement model --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lean-blog-audio/support

I'm always happy to see success stories where healthcare organizations solve problems that matter through Lean concepts, practices, and principles. Today, I'm blogging about two articles I saw about this recently.One of the problems that needs to be solved in healthcare is long waiting times, whether that means waiting for care in the emergency department, waiting for an appointment, or waiting for test results. http://leanblog.org/audio140 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lean-blog-audio/support

http://leanblog.org/audio139 In the previous editions of my book Lean Hospitals, I've included case examples from Avera McKennan Hospital and Avera Health. Fred Slunecka is the former president of Avera McKennan and he is now chief operating officer for the Avera system.I talked with Fred again for the updated and revised third edition (available for pre-order now, shipping in June), with my highlights added for this post: Reflecting further in 2015, Slunecka says: --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lean-blog-audio/support

After the previous CEO of JC Penney, Ron Johnson, was fired (see my post "Lack of PDSA made JCP CEO SOL?"), it seems that new CEO Marvin Ellison might be taking a different approach.See this article from FORTUNE: "The CEO Who's Reinventing J.C. Penney." --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lean-blog-audio/support

The revised, updated, and expanded third edition of my book Lean Hospitals has been sent to the printer and copies should start shipping by mid June.I'm happy to now be offering a free PDF of the revised first chapter. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lean-blog-audio/support

recently saw some updates and new details related to some topics I've covered here on the blog, so I'm combining them into this batch update.In this post, we cover everything from a hospital NICU, to baseball, to healthcare waiting times and a scandal there that won't die. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lean-blog-audio/support

As I guy who started his career in manufacturing before moving to healthcare in 2005, I don't get many opportunities to visit the "gemba" at a factory very often anymore. I get to occasionally visit a Toyota plant (in the U.S. or Japan). As I'm getting settled back into the Dallas / Fort Worth (DFW) area, I'm reconnecting with some of the people I know through our local "Lean DFW" network.foremanOne of those Lean DFW people is Rick Foreman, the VP of Lean Development at Federal Heath Sign Co. Federal Heath makes big signs for gas stations, restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and the like. There's metal being cut and bent, stuff being painted, structures being built, and lights being installed and assembled. Rick, pictured at left, is more of a khakis-and-polo-shirt guy (as he was dressed on Friday). Suits and ties exist daily in hospitals, but exist mostly in LinkedIn profile photos in manufacturing :-) We had the chance to meet for a few hours on Friday morning to catch up andtalk about their Lean approach at F

I love stories of humility and customer focus in healthcare. Let me share two such stories with you today. Oh, and, I ended up sharing a story of mine that's related and might just recount a few screw ups on my part... but I think I eventually did the right thing. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lean-blog-audio/support