2023: The Year of Continuous Improvement

Published in January 2023, this article penned by David Rubenstein for SD Times looks at the opportunities which the COVID pandemic has presented business – yes, nearly 3 years later but opportunities, nevertheless. Evolution that businesses needed to embrace, and which was inevitably forced upon them especially in respect to remote working are just now starting to be realized.

He goes on to describe how Agile programming can rid companies of process bottlenecks and negate repetitive tasks. Removing non-value-added tasks using Lean Methodology can also increase efficiency within an organization.

David closes this discussion looking at Automation, in fields such as:

·       Restrictions on Data Access
·       Creating test scripts
·       Prioritizing of mundane, everyday tasks
·       Identification of reliable processes

It is an interesting read and goes into the subject in much more detail that we have covered here. Go check it out.

Thank you, David for your insight.



How to implement a successful intelligent maintenance programme

In the linked article, Stephen Davis, Marketing Director, PEMAC looks at 10 steps for implementing a successful intelligent maintenance program.

Stephen highlights the benefits of looking at all elements of your maintenance strategy and to focus specifically on addressing unplanned maintenance which will generally have a higher financial burden on your business. He looks at and discusses 10 Steps which are key, as follows:

1.      Gather and Assess your data.

2.      Determine the bottom-line value of maintenance to your organization.

3.      Don’t stop there – analyze your other variables

4.      Invest in the right software solution

5.      Preventative maintenance

6.      You have a scheduler, now use it

7.      Introduce condition-based maintenance

8.      Total Productive maintenance

9.      Reliability centered maintenance

10.     Bring in third-party or unbiased experts

It’s an interesting read and although a lot of the points bear a common thread in most mindful maintenance teams and stakeholder organizations, it is still beneficial to periodically revisit the fundamentals and review where you may be losing your focus.

Thank you, Stephen, for the insight.

Credit: Stephen Davis

Link: PEMAC

Lean Methodology Can Accelerate Patient Recovery By Spotlighting Inefficiencies

Here at Provalas we have previously explored the beneficial relationship between Lean Six Sigma and Health Services, and how the adoption of systems such as LSS can help create efficiencies in the way we work and expedite tasks.

In this article featured in PR Newswire, and in associated with a leading national healthcare provider – they analyzed the data of 263 injured workers with eight or more physical therapy visits who were treated at clinics in Pennsylvania and Florida over 31 days.
They were addressing the pre-authorization requirements for treatment and found that the removal of pre-authorization requirements could significantly reduce the lead time for treatment of injured workers.

"Patterns emerged that showed inefficiencies in the information flow between insurance companies, referring care providers, and treatment care providers," said Professor Thomas Mazzuchi, from the Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering at The George Washington University. "This negatively impacts the delivery of care for injured workers."

It’s an interesting read and demonstrates once again the strength and versatility of LSS in industry.

Credits and further information:
Professor Thomas Mazzuchi
Professor Shahram Sarkani
Professor Jiju Antony
Jessica Taft

How to choose the right document management system

In this article penned by George Lawton, writing in TechTarget, he describes in detail the need to understand and identify your requirements before embarking on a process of improvement. Specifically referencing the search for a viable Document Management System, he firstly explains the purpose of a robust DMS. He goes on to help readers understand how an organization can benefit from some of the tools available.

Following up with some guiding principles to consider before embarking on such a program of improvement, as follows:

1. Cloud access and permissions
2. Multi-source document input
3. Document control via version, author and time
4. Security
5. Intelligent organization
6. Advanced indexing
7. Pull printing
8. Hyper-automation capabilities

It offers great awareness into what can be a minefield of decision making, and how you can be less than effective if at first you don’t consider all the options and available resources.

Thank you, George for your insight. 

Lean Six Sigma Is Ideal for Improving Supply Chains

An interesting article published via Quality Digest and written by David Cahn of Blue Ridge Global, looks at the benefits of utilizing Lean Six Sigma methodology in the challenging environment which is Supply Chain.

Touching on several areas within this business, David explains that adopting Six Sigma to eliminate defects by reducing process variation creates a powerful tool for continuous process improvement and a more resilient organization.

He explains in further detail the possible improvement opportunities as follows:

·      Supply Chain Optimization

·      Quest for the Perfect Order

·      Reducing Errors to Zero

·      Reducing Waste

·      Reducing Defects

It is a extremely insightful article which supports and justifies the implementation of Lean Six Sigma to create value and improvement in your business.

Thank you, David.

What it means to obtain excellence in business

In this article written by Australian Business Excellence Awards evaluator Rob Walley – he offers guiding principles to organizations looking to create value through Operational Excellence initiatives, together with some misconceptions and barriers we may come across for less initiated and informed leaders.

He quite rightly suggests taking the focus and responsibility of identifying opportunities away from the guys in the boardroom and looks to place it with the those who perhaps know best – namely the employees who are doing the work. He makes examples of guys in the laundry room, the kitchen and such places where the biggest impact can be achieved, if addressed in a pragmatic way.

Rob also mentions the ‘naysayers’. The people who resist change because they are either just very vocal about their unwillingness to accept progress or are stuck in a rut or culture and don’t see the value or exercising a program of improvement.

It’s worth a read and is a very good summary of the challenges many companies face as they begin their journey in to Operational Excellence.

Thank you, Rob for your insight.

Operational Excellence (OpX) Achieved by Companies That ARE Operationally Resilient

An interesting article written by Craig Resnick of ARC Advisory Group ® focuses on the effect the COVID pandemic has had across several diverse industries, and how Operational Excellence (OpX) can help in identifying failures and improvement opportunities. Additionally, how acting up on the findings can give companies an edge when addressed correctly.

He goes on to describe the fundamentals of OpX, along with examples of tools, philosophies and methodologies which drive the process. These include:

·      Definition

·      Model

·      Collaboration

·      Roadmap

·      Objectives

·      Approach

If you are relatively new to the idea of OpX, then this article will give you a great insight in to the potentials that can be achieved by adopting such a systematic approach.

Thank you, Craig – for your insight.

Making the case for Lean Six Sigma in the healthcare sector

Operational Excellence and LEAN Six Sigma has been a common and valued element of the manufacturing and engineering world for years. Practitioners have been making improvements and companies have been training their employees to deliver savings and reductions in waste, and in a lot of cases have adopted new initiatives which have enhanced their business.

In other sectors however, the benefits gained by using these practices and processes haven’t been promoted to the same level. In this article featured in The Business Times® looks at the implementation of LSS in the Healthcare business and the positive results being achieved. While the author, Vijaya Sunder M details certain challenges - in one example in 2019 at Fortis Hospital, they experienced a 20% reduction in costs by embarking on Lean deployment.

It is an interesting read and suggests opportunities in a ‘market’ which has always struggled as LEAN does not address process variation related issues and that the “healthcare sector's inherent challenges like unevenness in healthcare operations, measurement system and quantification challenges, demarking healthcare as a market, defining patient as a customer, have been vague and, in fact, majorly unaddressed”.

Thanks, Vijaya for the insight.

The value of participating in cross-functional teams.

It’s long been accepted that collaboration of leaders and functional experts within an organization can create a lot of value. In this brief article on Chief Learning Officer®, Karen McCombs talks about 5 specific advantages in adopting this concept, and comments “each member brings an area of expertise that significantly improves the team’s capability for critical thinking, problem-solving and brainstorming, which ultimately adds value in strategically achieving the desired outcome’.

1. Different Perspectives Spark Innovation

2. Increased Collaboration Drives Positive Change

3. Opportunity For Increased Business Acumen

4. Challenge Past Practices and Proactively Identify Levels of Risk

5. Opportunity for Increased Employee Engagement and Leadership

If your aim is to solve a problem, improve service or enhance product development, the suggestions highlighted by Karen would set you well on your way to success.

Thank you, Karen.

Are We Problem Solving or Just Going Through the Motions?

Do we put too much emphasis on tools like Six Sigma and others to discover what to do to address a certain problem area – or should we just get on and do what we know is required?

This is a question James Wells, Principal Consultant at Quality In Practice has explored in his recent article in Quality Digest. He suggests in some instances delaying the inevitable by deferring the action you already recognized would resolve the problem, is counterproductive and could just be wasting time – ‘Just go do it and start reaping the benefits sooner’. He recommends some guiding principles and methods for specific problems which is very helpful.

He also calls for thoughtfulness, flexibility, and creativity when trying to come up with solutions. I guess whether you are using formal tools or the direct approach – as long as you make notable gains, and these can be measured, you’ve done something right.

Thank you James.

The Future of Lean: Advanced Analytics Breathe New Life into Aging Six Sigma Initiatives

This linked article, authored by Allison Buenemann, Industry Principal at Seeq Corporation, discusses how new digital technologies are creating an ‘army of front-line DMAIC practitioners’, who solve complex problems without the need for a Six Sigma Black Belt or a PhD.

Briefly, Buenemann suggests that these technologies are enabling and empowering frontline process engineers, shift supervisors and other experienced process subject matter experts (SMEs) to successfully facilitate the DMAIC process. Converting information into insight efficiently and at speed, concluding that it is providing the benefits desired with much less time and effort as compared to traditional technologies. 

It's an interesting new perspective on an age old practice.
Thank you Allison.

Long working hours killing 745,000 people a year, study finds

You heard a lot when you were young that 'work won't kill you', or 'hard work never killed anyone'. It turns out there's some evidence out there that suggests it can be a contributory factor.

You could look at the reasons why people in your organization are working longer than perhaps they should. Introduce some efficiency initiatives and focus on smarter ways to do things.