Monday, November 23, 2009

The NICU goes Lean

Our Lean process improvement efforts proceed. The most dramatic evidence comes in the form of 5S process improvement events, but please recall that this is all part of a "tortoise-like" engagement throughout the whole hospital.

But check out the BEFORE and AFTER of the NICU supply room. This improvement took 6 weeks of prework and 2 days of physical transformation. $15,600 overstock was removed from the carts. More importantly, as this improvement is sustained, it will make life easier for all of the nurses and doctors working on this floor taking care of really little babies.
at

3 comments:

  1. KeithNovember 23, 2009 1:54 PM

    Paul,

    I clean out my closet too every so often to get rid of the clothes and shoes I no longer wear, but somehow it tends to reaccumulate over time.
    As your last sentence states, it is the sustainability of this housecleaning that will be real trick if no one is empowered to make sure that things do not revert back to the prior state.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousNovember 24, 2009 11:28 AM

    Keith,
    In your last sentence, remove the word "empowered" and replace it with "accountable" and you will begin to see the essence of reform.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Metro TimNovember 25, 2009 2:54 PM

    Make sure there's an inlay on the bottom shelf to prevent any dust from kicking up and on to any of the supplies during cleaning. It looks as if this is my company's wire shelving and I always make sure with any units I sell to hospitals, the bottom shelf is either solid or open wire with an inlay.

    ReplyDelete