As the discussion below makes clear, both lean and six sigma work best when they are implemented using the structured decision-making tools featured in the Systems Approach for Process Improvement.TM The Systems Approach enhances both lean and six sigma -and can even help integrate the two methodologies. For an explanation of how the Systems Approach is implemented, see Exhibit 1. For brief des...

This article presents a process improvement study applied at a local paper manufacturing company based on customized Lean Six Sigma methodologies. More specifically, the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) project management methodology and various lean tools are utilized to streamline processes and enhance productivity. Two performance measures namely production rate and Ove...

PURPOSE The purpose of this paper is to show how over the last 18 months Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust have been exploring whether or not lean methodologies, often known as the Toyota Production System, can indeed be applied to healthcare. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH This paper is a viewpoint. FINDINGS One's early experience is that lean really can save lives. The Toyota Production System is a...

This work focuses on the analogies and the differences between Lean Management and Extreme Programming. Lean Management (LM) is a management strategy that continuously tries to improve business processes focusing only on activities that provide value to the customer. The word lean means that only activities that increase the provided value for the customer are performed. Any additional activiti...

Lean methodologies are increasingly deployed by healthcare providers to improve billing and collection process in revenue cycle management. Measurement on key performance metrics generates large amount of data. Traditional tabular and spreadsheet form analytics are not efficient to support enterprise scale lean improvement sustainability. This paper introduces a new breed of visual dashboard te...

As the Software Engineering landscape continues to evolve and new paradigms are introduced, there can be a tendency for both industry and academia to enthusiastically embrace new approaches and march forward under whatever banner conventional wisdom has decided to adopt. One such banner is Lean Software Development, a paradigm that continues to see a growth in interest driven by the need for co...

BACKGROUND Operating rooms (ORs) are resource-intense and costly hospital units. Maximizing OR efficiency is essential to maintaining an economically viable institution. OR efficiency projects often focus on a limited number of ORs or cases. Efforts across an entire OR suite have not been reported. Lean and Six Sigma methodologies were developed in the manufacturing industry to increase efficie...