Lean operations @

Virginia Mason
Medical Center

Presented By Group F :
Pratik Ranjan
Shrikant Niraj
Vinay Pai
Prabira Acharya
Kushal Ramani
Vinay Kumar

Introduction
-Lean thinking begins with driving out waste so that all work
adds value and serves the customer's needs
-Identifying value-added and non-value-added steps in
every process is the beginning
Requirement

An organizational culture that is receptive to lean thinking

All staff should be involved in helping to redesign

processes to improve flow and reduce waste

Similarities between
Health care and
Manufacturing

Workers must rely on multiple, complex

processes to accomplish their tasks

Provide value to the customer or patient

Wasteof money, time, supplies, or goodwill

decreases value

When applied rigorously it demonstrates a

positive impact on productivity, cost, quality,
and timely delivery of services.

Lean Health care

Most cost efficient care

Eliminating waste

Work sampling

Reducing excessive inventories

Applications of Lean in
Healthcare

Laboratories

Emergency Departments

Reducing changeover times, increasing utilization

Pharmacies

Reducing patient delays, increasing capacity

Operating Rooms

Reducing diversions, improving flow

Outpatient Cancer Treatment

Reducing Turn Around Times and Errors

Reducing errors, improving response

Food Service

Reducing wasted food, improving quality

What is Waste in
Healthcare?

Transportation

Moving same patient, specimens, or supplies, workers.

Motion

Searching for patients, needed meds, right charts, supplies.

Waiting for bed assignments or discharge, or testing results

Processing

Inventory

Retesting ,More paperwork ,Duplicate procedures.

Linen (laundry) ,Pharmacy stock ,Supplies Specimens waiting for analysis

Defects

Label on the wrong tube, Wrong procedure ,Wrong patient ,Missing

information.

MUDA Approach

This process eliminate the waste in the process.

These

tools

helped

decrease

movement

of

patients and supplies that did not add value

It eliminated idle time created when materials,

information, people or equipment were not ready.

It allowed staff to eliminate the redundancy of

supplies, materials, and instruments.

Spaghetti Diagram
Use of

Computer Edit checks,

Pictorial Instructions,

Signals,

Sensors,

Counters

Checklists to re-design the service,

administrative processes maps

to develop systems that provides:

What the Patent wants,
Using the Method the Patient wants/needs,
When a Patient wants/needs it.

Typical Example of Seattle

Childrens Hospital.

Applying Kanban system like tubing.

Using C.P.I., the hospital has reduced the waiting

time.

Using C.P.I., the hospital has eradicated the

problem of lack of space in recovery rooms.

Results:

The cost per patient actually fell by 3.7 percent

after its implementation.

more patients are taken care off, thus reducing the

Lab Benefits from Lean

Productivity improvement >30%

Space savings of >450 sq ft
Standardized work practices
Reduction in Errors and Error Potential
Test Turnaround Time (CT) reduced by 50%

5S in Healthcare
5S is a workplace organizational tool that creates an environment
that allows work to flow, in safe, organized, intuitive and
sustainable way.
Sort : Separate what is
unnecessary
Shine : Clean it up
Set In Order : Organize
Standardize : Establish
standard operating
procedures
Sustain : Develop longlasting habits

Proven 5S Lean Solutions

From a single
Supply Drawer
Organization
Project..

Tube Rack

Tourniquets on
Dispenser Rolls

Drawer
Organizer Bin
s

LabWall
Panel
Organizer Bi
ns

To a Standard
Benchtop
Workspace

Workstation Rise
rs

Tilt Bins

Side-Loading
Glove Dispenser

Specimen
Bag
Dispense
r

Group Technology
One Worker, Multiple Machines

Machine
1

Machine
2

Machine
3

Materials in

Finished
goods out

Machine
5

Machine
4

Virginia Mason Medical Centre

(application of lean
management)

Using lean management principles since 2002

To eliminate waste, Virginia Mason created more capacity in

existing programs and practices so that planned expansions
were scrapped, saving significant capital expenses.

Participated in Rapid Process Improvement Weeks(RPIW) in

which teams analyze processes and propose, test, and
implement improvements.

By making use of RPIW Virginia Mason imporved their

productivity.

Results of Virginia Mason after implementation RPIW

CATEGORY

CHANGE
FROM 2002

INVENTORY
PRODUCTIVITY

2004
METRIC
RESULTS
AFTER LEAN
Dollars
$1,350,000
158
FTEs

FLOOR SPACE

22,324

Sq. Ft.

Down 41%

LEAD TIME

23,082

Hours

Down 65%

PEOPLE
DISTANCE

Travelled
267,793

Feet

Down 44%

PRODUCT
DISTANCE

Travelled
272,262

Feet

Down 72%

SET UP TIME

7,744

Hours

Down 82%

Down 53%

36%
redeployed

The Virginia Mason Medical Centre

Strategic Plan

Imlemented IT

Reduced patients waiting time, reduced

turnaround times.

room

employees

are

now

more

empowered to take initiative and make

changes that could positively impact their
work process a hallmark of the lean
system.

THANK YOU