3rd Edition

Lean Hospitals Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Engagement, Third Edition

By Mark Graban Copyright 2016
    360 Pages 63 B/W Illustrations
    by Productivity Press

    356 Pages
    by Productivity Press

    354 Pages 63 B/W Illustrations
    by Productivity Press

    Organizations around the world are using Lean to redesign care and improve processes in a way that achieves and sustains meaningful results for patients, staff, physicians, and health systems. Lean Hospitals, Third Edition explains how to use the Lean methodology and mindsets to improve safety, quality, access, and morale while reducing costs, increasing capacity, and strengthening the long-term bottom line.

    This updated edition of a Shingo Research Award recipient begins with an overview of Lean methods. It explains how Lean practices can help reduce various frustrations for caregivers, prevent delays and harm for patients, and improve the long-term health of your organization.

    The second edition of this book presented new material on identifying waste, A3 problem solving, engaging employees in continuous improvement, and strategy deployment. This third edition adds new sections on structured Lean problem solving methods (including Toyota Kata), Lean Design, and other topics. Additional examples, case studies, and explanations are also included throughout the book.

    Mark Graban is also the co-author, with Joe Swartz, of the book Healthcare Kaizen: Engaging Frontline Staff in Sustainable Continuous Improvements, which is also a Shingo Research Award recipient. Mark and Joe also wrote The Executive’s Guide to Healthcare Kaizen.

    The Need for Lean Hospitals
    Better Results with Lean
    Why Do Hospitals Need Lean?
    A Renewed Sense of Purpose
    Lean Methods Are Not New to Healthcare
    Toyota’s Role in Popularizing Lean
    Origins of the Term Lean
    Lean Is Proven to Work outside Automotive Factories
    Lean Is Helping Hospitals Improve
    Problems in Healthcare
    Good Quality Costs Less
    Interconnected Benefits
    A Snapshot of Department Success: Laboratory, Children’s Health Dallas
    From Departmental to Hospital- and System-Wide Success
    Conclusion
    Lean Lessons
    Points for Group Discussion
    Notes

    Overview of Lean for Hospitals and Health Systems
    What Is Lean?
    Ohno’s Definition of Lean
    Lean Thinking
    The Toyota Triangle: Tools, Culture, and Management System
    The "Toyota Way" Philosophy
    Four Organizational Capabilities for Lean
    Lean and Other Methodologies
    What Lean Is Not
    Conclusion
    Lean Lessons
    Points for Group Discussion
    Notes

    Value and Waste
    Waste: A Global Problem with Local Solutions
    Reducing Waste Is a Better Goal Than Reducing Cost
    What Is Waste?
    What Is Value? Start with the Customer
    How Do We Define Value in a Broad Sense?
    How Does Lean Define "Value?"
    Examples of Value-Added and Non-Value-Added Activities
    Learning to Identify and Describe Waste
    There’s Not Always an Easy Answer
    What Non-Value-Added Activities Are Required?
    Non-Value-Added, Pure Waste
    Conclusion
    Lean Lessons
    Points for Group Discussion
    Notes

    Observing the Process and Value Streams
    Learning to See
    How Do We Find Waste? Go and See
    What Is a Value Stream?
    Value Stream Mapping
    Creating a Current-State Value Stream Map
    The Future-State Maps
    Breaking Down Silos and Reducing Suboptimization
    Observing the Process
    Activity of the Product
    Activity of the Employee
    Conclusion
    Lean Lessons
    Points for Group Discussion
    Notes

    Standardized Work as a Foundation of Lean
    Helpful Standardization: From 171 Forms to Just Six
    The Need for Standardized Work
    The Toyota House Metaphor
    Overview of the Lean Foundations
    Lean Foundations: Standardized Work
    Definition of Standardized Work
    Standardized, Not Identical
    Written by Those Who Do the Work
    Considering How Long Tasks Take
    Staffing Based on Data
    Types of Standardized Work Documents
    Standardizing Daily Routines
    Defining Roles and Responsibilities
    Quick Changeover as Standardized Work
    Explaining Why through Standardized Work
    Standardized Work Documents and the Standardized Work System
    Measuring and Observing for Standardized Work Adherence
    "Resistance" to Standardized Work?
    Asking Why When Standardized Work Is Not Followed
    Standardized Work Can Apply to Physicians
    Lean and Checklists
    Standardized Work for Raising Concerns
    Standardized Work Can Apply to Leaders
    Training through Standardized Work
    Conclusion
    Lean Lessons
    Points for Group Discussion
    Notes

    Lean Methods: Visual Management, 5S, and Kanban
    Lean Is More Than Tools, but Tools Can Help
    Reducing Waste through Visual Management
    Examples of Visual Management for Patient Flow
    Examples of Visual Management to Prevent Process Problems
    5S: Sort, Store, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain
    Safety as a Sixth S?
    Kanban: A Lean Approach to Managing Materials
    Problems with Traditional Materials Systems
    Trade-Offs with Inventory
    Using Kanban to Replenish Supplies
    Conclusion
    Lean Lessons
    Points for Group Discussion
    Notes

    Proactive Root Cause Problem Solving
    The Tragic and Preventable Mary McClinton Story
    Improving Quality and Patient Safety
    Cultural Obstacles to Quality Improvement
    Why Do Errors Occur?
    Examples of Quality Improvement
    Finding Root Causes and Preventing Errors
    Workarounds and the Need for Fixing Root Causes
    Asking Why Instead of Who
    Start at the Gemba
    Find Root Causes Using Simple Methods
    A3 Problem Solving
    Toyota’s Practical Problem Solving
    Be Proactive and Use Failure Modes and Effects Analysis
    Proactive Resolution of Near-Miss Problems
    The Heinrich Safety Pyramid
    Conclusion
    Lean Lessons
    Points for Group Discussion
    Notes

    Preventing Errors and Harm
    A Serious Problem with Large, Unknowable Numbers
    Moving beyond Blaming Individuals
    The Darrie Eason Case
    Creating Quality at the Source through Error Proofing
    Being Careful Is Not Enough
    Why 100% Inspection Is Not 100% Effective
    Types of Error Proofing
    Error Proofing, Not Dummy Proofing
    Examples of Error Proofing in Hospitals
    Stopping the Line (Andon)
    Error Proofing the Error Proofing
    Conclusion
    Lean Lessons
    Points for Group Discussion
    Notes

    Improving Flow
    Lean Is Both Quality and Flow
    Waiting: A Worldwide Problem
    Targets without a Means for Improvement Might Lead to Improvement or Dysfunction
    Focusing on Flow
    Value Streams Should Flow Like a River
    Uneven Workloads as a Barrier to Flow
    Addressing Mura by Matching Staffing to Workloads
    Improving Patient Flow
    Improving Flow for Ancillary Support Departments
    Conclusion
    Lean Lessons
    Points for Group Discussion
    Notes

    Lean Design
    Better, Faster, and Cheaper
    Understanding the Current State before Designing the Future
    Lean Design at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital
    Integrated Lean Project Delivery at Akron Children’s Hospital
    Conclusion
    Lean Lessons
    Points for Group Discussion
    Notes

    Engaging and Leading Employees
    Improving the Way We Manage
    What Is a Manager’s Role?
    Strategy Deployment
    Common Management Problems
    Lean as a Management System and Philosophy
    A Daily Lean Management System
    Performance Measures
    Conclusion
    Lean Lessons
    Points for Group Discussion
    Notes

    Getting Started with Lean
    How Do We Start?
    The LEI Lean Transformation Model
    Where Do We Start?
    What Do We Call It?
    Getting Started with Kaizen
    Kaizen Events
    Lean Transformation Projects
    The Lean Project Team
    Executive Sponsorship and Leadership
    Starting from the Middle
    Establishing a Model Line and a Road Map
    Dedicating People to Lean Beyond Projects
    The Lean Department
    The Importance of Change Management
    A Snapshot of Hospital Success: Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center
    Conclusion
    Lean Lessons
    Points for Group Discussion
    Notes

    A Vision for a Lean Hospital and Health System
    Introduction
    When Is a Health System Lean?
    What Would a Lean Health System Look Like?
    What Would a Patient Experience in a Lean Health System?
    What Would It Be Like to Work in a Lean Health System?
    How Would We Describe a Lean Health System?
    In Conclusion
    Points for Group Discussion
    Notes

    Glossary

    Index

    Biography

    Mark Graban is an internationally recognized expert in the field of Lean healthcare, as a consultant, author, keynote speaker, and blogger. Mark is also co-author, with Joe Swartz, of the book Healthcare Kaizen: Engaging Front-Line Staff in Sustainable Continuous Improvements . He has been recognized twice (for this book and?Healthcare Kaizen ) as the recipient of the prestigious Shingo Research & Professional Publication Award.?

    Mark is an experienced change agent, with a background in industrial and mechanical engineering and an MBA from the MIT Sloan Leaders for Global Operations Program. Prior to healthcare, Mark worked in multiple industries, including automotive (General Motors), electronics (Dell), and industrial products (Honeywell). At Honeywell, Mark was certified as a Lean expert (Lean Black Belt).Since August 2005, Mark has worked exclusively in healthcare, where he has coached Lean teams at client sites in North America and the United Kingdom, including medical laboratories, hospitals, and primary care clinics.? Mark’s motivation is to apply Lean and Toyota Production System principles to improve quality of care and patient safety, to improve the customer/patient experience, to help the development of medical professionals and employees, to make healthcare more affordable, and to help build strong organizations for the long term.From June 2009 to June 2011, Mark was a senior fellow with the Lean Enterprise Institute, a not-for-profit education organization that is a leading voice in the Lean world. In this role, Mark also served as the director of communications & technology for the Healthcare Value Network, a collaboration of healthcare organizations from across North America, a partnership between the Lean Enterprise Institute and the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value. Mark continues as a faculty member for the Lean Enterprise Institute and the ThedaCare Center.In June 2011, Mark also joined the software company KaiNexus to help further their mission of spreading continuous improvement, while continuing his other work and activities. He also serves on the board of the Louise H. Batz Patient Safety Foundation.Mark was raised in Livonia, Michigan, and currently resides in Texas with his wife, Amy.? To Interact with Mark, please visit www.LeanHospitalsBooks.com or www.MarkGraban.com.

    "Leaders of today’s healthcare organizations are on a continuous journey to improve results, requiring a relentless focus on improving the underlying process of care delivery and leadership practices. Mark has written a book that provides compelling ideas to help create better places to work, practice medicine, and receive safe, high-quality care."
    —Quint Studer, Founder of Studer Group, 2010 recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, Author of Hardwiring Excellence: Purpose, Worthwhile Work, Making a Difference and Results That Last: Hardwiring Behaviors That Will Take Your Company to the Top

    "Mark Graban’s book has documented what is now happening in hospitals all across America as we learn to apply the Toyota Production System methodology to healthcare. This book lays out the nuts and bolts of the Lean methodology and also describes the more difficult challenges, which have to do with managing change. Graban’s book is full of wins — these are the same type of wins that are happening at ThedaCare every day. I wish I could have read this six years ago, as it might have prevented some of the mistakes we made in our Lean transformation journey."
    —John S. Toussaint, MD, President/CEO, ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value

    "Mark Graban is the consummate translator of the vernacular of the Toyota Production System into the everyday parlance of health care. With each concept and its application, the reader is challenged to consider what is truly possible in the delivery of health care, if only standardized systems borrowed from reliable industries were implemented. Graban provides those trade secrets in an understandable and transparent fashion."
    —Richard P. Shannon, MD, Executive Vice President for Health Affairs, University of Virginia

    "There is an enormous shortfall between the healthcare we receive and what we actually get. Mark Graban explains how those in the system can make care delivery better for everyone –patients, providers, and payors."
    —Steven J. Spear, Sr. Lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management and Sr. Fellow at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Author of The High Velocity Edge

    "Mark Graban has been tirelessly studying the application of LEAN to health care, with an emphasis on respect for the people served by the system as well as the people who provide excellent care. He has an accurate sense of how things work in health systems, which makes his work more meaningful for people who want to make them better."
    —Ted Eytan, MD

    "The medical community has a tremendous opportunity to learn methods and techniques to improve the quality and efficiency of care and reduce costs, while at the same time engaging the staff in these efforts. Mark Graban has deep experience applying lean in the healthcare field, and in his book provides an outline of how to transfer concepts originally developed in manufacturing into the unique environment of medical care. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn and apply some great ideas in your organization."
    —David Meier, Co-Author of the bestselling books, The Toyota Way Fieldbook and Toyota Talent

    "The concepts outlined in this book are the most powerful tools that I have ever encountered to foster innovation, ownership, and accountability at the front line staff level. This is a must-read for any leader in today’s increasingly complex healthcare industry."
    —Brett Lee, PhD, FACHE, Market Chief Executive Officer, Tenet Healthcare

    "The Institute of Medicine (IOM) calls for systems in healthcare that support continuous learning and process improvement, and highlights waste as a fundamental obstacle to attaining highly reliable and value-based healthcare systems. Lean is a proven way to eliminate waste, while hardwiring systems to ensure sustainability. Eliminating waste and engaging employees are the key to value-based medicine, where waste is identified and eliminated, and value emanates seamlessly from continuous process improvement in the rich environment of a continuously learning organization. Lean Hospitals is a foundational text for understanding the concepts and application of continuous process improvement in a healthcare environment, and provides practical guidance and concrete examples to eliminate waste and increase value to the customer."
    —Beverly B. Rogers, MD, Chief of Pathology, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta; Clinical Professor of Pathology, Emory University School of Medicine

    "Mark Graban's book will leave you with an appreciation for what Lean is and what it can do for your healthcare organization. Since the original edition in 2008, I have conducted Lean Hospitals book studies for all my staff. Everyone gets a personal copy of Lean Hospitals for the study and to keep as a reference. I look forward to the third edition. It's my Lean bible."
    —Jim Adams, Admin Director of Laboratories, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

    "It’s obvious that Mark Graban has spent time in the trenches of healthcare and understands the complexities of applying the Lean philosophy and tools to that environment. If you want to improve your chances of surviving in today’s healthcare system (both literally and figuratively), read this book."
    —Dean Bliss, Former Improvement Advisor, Iowa Healthcare Collaborative

    "Graban provides a helpful translation of the terms, practices, and tools of Lean thinking into hospitals’ everyday situations and challenges. His book illustrates Lean’s elements with many actual examples of Lean applications in typical hospital practices and procedures. Graban’s book should definitely be on the reading list for those who want to bring the benefits of Lean thinking to healthcare."
    —David Mann, Principal, David Mann Lean Consulting

    "Lean health care is becoming a global movement. The reasons given are overrun costs, errors that compromise patient safety, time of patients wasted, and general bureaucratic inefficiency. Health care is different than car making. This is true but many, many hospitals are learning from Toyota and making remarkable improvements. The two pillars of the Toyota Way certainly fit the health care environment—Respect for People and Continuous Improvement.

    Unfortunately, the remarkable improvements are in specific areas and seem difficult to sustain because of a mysterious ingredient, which the folks at Toyota seem to understand quite well—humans. Health care exists to serve humans and humans provide the services. Humans are far from perfect. Toyota's system is actually designed to support the development of people, not to provide a quick fix set of technical solutions, and this takes time and patience.

    Many health care consultants have rebadged themselves as lean consultants and do not understand the real thinking behind the Toyota Way. Mark Graban is an exception. He has worked hard to study the philosophy and stay true to the thinking of Toyota. His book is a welcome translation of the Toyota Way into language any health care professional can understand."
    —Jeffrey K. Liker, Professor, University of Michigan, Author of The Toyota Way