In any environment with a constant flow of work, a smooth transition from the outbound shift to the inbound shift could be the difference between undisrupted output and a disaster waiting to happen. In hospitals where errors directly impact the healthcare outcomes of patients, it is imperative that the changing of shifts is carried out… read more →
Optimizing operating rooms is a difficult undertaking because there are so many variables involved, including doctors and staff with myriad responsibilities. It’s hard to know where to start. How do you prioritize tasks and which responsibilities take precedence? Does the process have an actively managed and well supported set of steps? Do all team… read more →
In their work, management consultants use their skills, knowledge, and expertise to enhance management and organizational performance by driving process improvements. The changes they generate and implement bring value to a company through proactive and reactive improvement efforts that can help any organization course-correct its operations and obtain higher standards of performance and efficiency. What… read more →
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 →