Lean Process

LEAN Process Improvement

Training teams to reduce waste in care planning and workflow processes

All improvement facilitators in homes participating in Residents First will be offered LEAN process improvement training, so they can help teams in their home examine workflow processes, search for ways to reduce duplication, standardize inconsistent steps, and eliminate work that does not add value to the resident. Homes will have access to process improvement resources through the Residents First website. Additionally, there are opportunities for some homes to receive on-site LEAN coaching.

What is LEAN?

LEAN is a quality improvement methodology that uses many of the same tools and methods used in general quality improvement systems. LEAN techniques are used by front-line teams, who are the experts on their processes, to redesign those processes. Value Stream Mapping is an example of a LEAN methodology. It involves the use of quality improvement tools by front-line teams working on a "value stream" or process that impacts residents. A LEAN team should include all staff involved in the process being redesigned. The recommended number of people for a LEAN team is 10.

What Are the Benefits?

LEAN optimizes the performance of healthcare delivery systems by improving processes and minimizing any associated waste of resources. LEAN improves safety, quality, costs, efficiencies, and service delivery. LEAN is not about making people work harder, but about removing non-value-added activities or waste, so that people work more efficiently with fewer errors.

The LEAN Team

LEAN is an opportunity for quality improvement teams to focus exclusively on analyzing and redesigning a specific key process that is critical to quality. Teams examine workflow processes in their home, search for ways to reduce duplication, standardize inconsistent steps, and eliminate any work that does not add value to the resident. They apply LEAN principles to systematically eliminate waste that occurs as a result of a poorly designed "system." LEAN teams in participating homes can be supported by an improvement facilitator trained through the initiative. There are also opportunities for some homes to receive on-site LEAN coaching.

Define

The Define stage is when the team starts their Lean project together. During this stage the team learns more about the project, Lean and quality improvement methodology, and how Lean principles will be applied. To get the project started they further define the area they are going to focus on improving, state the current situation and map out the process, and create a measurement plan to start collecting baseline measures.

Analyze

Data is analyzed using tools, such as Pareto and run charts, and provides a clearer picture of where there may be opportunities for improvement. This gives a picture of the story being told.

Improve

Improvement ideas are developed by the team based on the "picture" that has unfolded during the Analyze phase. The team works through a period of testing their improvement ideas on a small scale, with the objective being to remove waste and eliminate defects to create a more efficient system with a higher level of quality.

Measure

The measurement phase is about verifying the problem and collecting baseline data so that when improvements are made, they can be quantified.

Lean Process Improvement Diagram

Control

Putting a solution in place can fix a problem for the moment, but the activities in the Control phase are designed to insure that the improvements made in the Improve phase sustain and spread within the organization.

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