When it comes to improving efficiency in non-healthcare organizations, three approaches have been proven successful: Lean, Six Sigma, and management engineering. These and other methods have also been used in healthcare to streamline processes, set standards, remove obstacles, and define quality objectives. Total Quality Management (TQM) is a customer-focused approach that involves ongoing improvement over time. This technique is often used in supply chain management and customer satisfaction projects. This type of process improvement is known by many names, with Lean Manufacturing being the most popular.
It can also be referred to as Lean Production or Just-in-Time Production. In their book The Machine that Changed the World, Womack, Daniel Jones and Daniel Roos discuss five main principles of Lean based on their experience with Toyota. These include documenting new procedures, updating training materials and standard operating procedures, and providing refresher training as needed. However, companies can combine these methodologies in the same operation; deciding which one is most suitable for their business depends on the scope of the process and its objectives. Total Quality Management (TQM) is a process improvement approach that continuously detects and eliminates production errors by facilitating supply chain processes, improving the customer experience, and ensuring that employees are adequately trained.
This approach aims to keep the lower and upper limits acceptable at the six sigma level, so that the probability of errors in a process is 3.4 per million opportunities. On the other hand, while constraint theory provides greater manufacturing capacity by detecting and eliminating bottlenecks, the Lean approach primarily reduces costs by focusing on eliminating process defects. This list should be formed through a combination of direct observation of the process, interviews with several first-line operators and available data to determine the relative impact of each of them. Agile approaches similar to this one, including iterative changes and collaboration, are also becoming increasingly popular in other areas such as manufacturing and construction. We have not included the Lean approach in this figure since the different popular meanings of Lean affect its trendline.
Using a structured, analytical framework can provide a repeatable and scalable approach to solving these problems. While less popular due to the popularity of new emerging approaches and companies' focus on innovation, it is still a powerful method for process standardization today. It's an iterative, incremental approach that requires employees from different teams to work collaboratively. This allows for continuous improvement of the operation, allowing for efficient operation in the long term.
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