Using Lean Manufacturing Assessment Tools in the Clinical Laboratory
I have noticed that many of you are interested the --Three Lean Tools page in our consulting services section. These tools (value stream mapping, spaghetti diagramming, and 5S) are very useful when you are performing an assessment of the current state. This article talks about how I would suggest that you use two of them.
Put on your lab coat. Start with an observation assessment of the laboratory using a digital camera or a camcorder. Record what you see, area by area; open all cabinets and drawers and take pictures or video tape them. (Caution--resist the temptation to start cleaning!) Look on and under counters and/or in or on top of cabinets for storage of various types of inventory including specimens in process, tool set, old equipment, house cleaning opportunities, and old, full record retention boxes. When finished with this step, print your digital pictures and/or screen shots from your video recordings and post them in each of the areas. (I suggest posting these pictures because your staff will be curious about what you are doing and they will be amazed at the findings because, after years of working in the same environment, they no longer see the clutter--a picture is worth a thousand words!) The Lean waste you are looking for with this assessment is excessive inventory. Process improvement opportunities could include 5S (sort, shine, stabilize, standardize, and sustain), inventory management through the use of a kanban system, and development of standardized work routines.
The next step is a form of observation again--so put on your lab coat one more time. Take an eight and half by eleven note pad into each area under study during the busiest time of the day. Rough out the area with walk ways, major equipment and counter tops. Select one person working in the area and trace their movements with a pencil on your schematic drawing for 10 to 15 minutes. Repeat the same process a few of more times following different people. Keep going until all areas/sections/shifts under study have been assessed. Congratulations--you are now an expert using the spaghetti diagramming tool. The Lean wastes you are looking for with this tool is motion (bad walk patterns) or excessive transport (bad walk patterns carrying stuff around). Lean process improvement opportunities from this assessment tool may include cellular design changes and standardized work routines. See this article for more details: LeanFacilityLayout.pdf
A future blog article will reveal the secrets of value stream mapping and the lessons that Leslie and I have learned using it as an assessment tool. In the mean time refresh your memory about the Lean wastes by reading: The_Eight_Wastes.pdf
