When solving problems, management consultants rely on facts; and their most trusted source for facts is numbers. Numbers hold great power because they cannot be disputed. In a consulting engagement, numbers are used at every step. From reviewing a client’s baseline in order to identify business opportunities at the outset, to calculating savings from… read more →
With a core objective of maximizing customer value while minimizing waste, Lean management principles are widely used in most industries, and healthcare is no exception. FOCUS PDCA is a Lean tool developed by the Hospital Corporation of America to specifically address the complex challenges the healthcare industry faces from increasing quality demands and continued pricing pressures. The… read more →
The 5S organization system is a fundamental part of Lean consulting. A tool designed to improve efficiency, it uses a systematic approach to organization and cleanliness in the visual workplace. Like Lean, 5S was created in Japan and because the original “S” terms were in Japanese, the English translations for each of the five steps… read more →
By Allison Newman Most hospitals define turnaround time as previous patient ‘wheels out’ to the next patient ‘wheels in’ – where ‘wheels out’ and ‘wheels in’ are the exact times that a patient bed rolls out of or into an operating room (OR). This is a key metric in determining OR efficiency, as long turnarounds… read more →