scholarly journals Operation Note Transformation: The Application of Lean Six Sigma to Improve the Process of Documenting the Operation Note in a Private Hospital Setting

Author(s):  
Nicola Wolfe ◽  
Seán Paul Teeling ◽  
Marie Ward ◽  
Martin McNamara ◽  
Liby Koshy

Clinical documentation is a key safety and quality risk, particularly at transitions of care where there is a higher risk of information being miscommunicated or lost. A surgical operation note (ON) is an essential medicolegal document to ensure continuity of patient care between the surgical operating team and other colleagues, which should be completed immediately following surgery. Incomplete operating surgeon documentation of the ON, in a legible and timely manner, impacts the quality of information available to nurses to deliver post-operative care. In the project site, a private hospital in Dublin, Ireland, the accuracy of completion of the ON across all surgical specialties was 20%. This project sought to improve the accuracy, legibility, and completeness of the ON in the Operating Room. A multidisciplinary team of staff utilised the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology, specifically the Define/Measure/Analyse/Design/Verify (DMADV) framework, to design a new digital process application for documenting the ON. Post-introduction of the new design, 100% of the ONs were completed digitally with a corresponding cost saving of EUR 10,000 annually. The time to complete the ON was reduced by 30% due to the designed digital platform and mandatory fields, ensuring 100% of the document is legible. As a result, this project significantly improved the quality and timely production of the ON within a digital solution. The success of the newly designed ON process demonstrates the effectiveness of the DMADV in establishing a co-designed, value-adding process for post-operative surgical notes.

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (9) ◽  
pp. 1976-1988 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Bancroft ◽  
Krish Saha ◽  
Di Li ◽  
Gabor Lukacs ◽  
Xavier Pierron

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine England’s Accident and Emergency (A&E) arm of the National Health Service (NHS). It considers the positive impact that Lean has had and Six-Sigma can have in A&E departments to improve the quality and reliability of the service offered, in an area that is facing performance challenges. Design/methodology/approach Independent variables average monthly temperature data (degrees Celsius) obtained from the Met Office and weekly A&E data, patient volume is analysed alongside the dependent variable, the percentage of patients seen in 4 h or less. Findings The model produced a robust positive impact when Lean Six-Sigma is adopted, increasing the likelihood of A&E dependents meeting their performance objective to see and treat patients in 4 h or less. Research limitations/implications Further variables such as staffing levels, A&E admission type should be considered in future studies. Additionally, it would add further clarity to analyse hospitals and trusts individually, to gauge which are struggling. Practical implications Should the NHS further its understanding and adoption of Lean Six-Sigma, it is believed this could have significant improvements in productivity, patient care and cost reduction. Social implications Productivity improvements will allow the NHS to do more with an equal amount of funding, therefore improving capacity and patient care. Originality/value Through observing A&E and its ability to treat patients in a timely fashion it is clear the NHS is struggling to meet its performance objectives, the recommendation of Six-Sigma in A&E should improve the reliability and quality of care offered to patients.


Author(s):  
Jing Lu ◽  
Chad Laux ◽  
Jiju Antony

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate whether a Lean Six Sigma (LSS) leadership model could be effectively utilized to resolve efficiency and effective issues like rising costs, quality of education, graduation and retention rates encountered in higher education institutions (HEIs) in the modern era. Design/methodology/approach The authors systematically reviewed the literature on key concepts of LSS and leadership in HEIs in to develop a theoretical model using an inductive theory-building approach in accordance with the exploratory nature of the study. Findings The results of the study proposed a conceptual LSS leadership framework, which provides a basis for testing of LSS leadership representations in HEIs. The results suggest that LSS leadership has advantages for HEI to overcome currents issues and challenges. Research limitations/implications This research is a theoretical study based on the existing literature that identified characteristics that may be adopted in higher education. The proposed LSS leadership framework is based upon leadership, statistical thinking, continuous change and improvement. This model is based upon service and the concepts of adaptive, rather than technical work, of leaders in higher education. Practical implications The proposed LSS leadership framework brings new aspects and perspectives of leadership in HEIs. LSS leadership model has its practical meaning in providing a fundamental base for HEIs to overcome challenges, fulfill missions, and sustain improvements. Social implications HEIs are a foundation for principles of democracy, equality and diversity. HEIs have been a path for citizens but HEIs are facing challenges that are reducing the ability of individuals to improve themselves. Leadership of HEI needs to incorporate new principles to adapt to a changing society. Originality/value LSS project leaders have achieved improved bottom line results and customer satisfaction in a wide range of industries, but LSS application in the HEIs remains to be explored. This paper proposes an effective LSS leadership model, which can help improve the quality of education, reduce non-value added costs and enhance operational efficiency of HEIs.


Minerva ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-28
Author(s):  
Daniel Freire ◽  
Omar Flor ◽  
Gabriela Alvarez

This work presents results of improvement in the productivity of Arthrospira platensis (spirulina) in a company dedicated to its production. The six sigma methodology was applied in production processes that require the use of bioreactors. Starting from the analysis of the current state, aspects, physical and chemical variables that directly influence the productivity achieved were identified. Various culture media were tested and subsequently scaled for industrial production. In addition, the incorporation of carbon into the culture medium was controlled, optimizing the range of potential hydrogen pH. The identified parameters were measured and six sigma methodology strategies were assigned. An improvement in productivity corresponding to 66% was verified with the same quality of final product. Keywords: Six sigma, Bioreactors, Productivity, Arthrospira platensis. References [1]E. Ariawan and A. Makalew, “Smart Micro Farm: Sustainable Algae Spirulina Growth Monitoring System” in 10th International Conference on Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (ICITEE), Bali, 2018, pp.1-4. [2]L. Socconini and C. Reato, Lean six sigma: sistema de gestión para liderar empresas. Primera edición. Barcelona: Marge Books, 2019. [3]H. Gutiérrez, Calidad and productividad. Cuarta edición. México D.F.: McGraw-Hill Interamericana, 2014. [4]G. Usharani, P. Saranraj and D. Kanchana, “Spirulina Cultivation: A Review” in International Journal of Pharmaceutical & Biological Archives, vol. 3, no. 6, pp. 1327-1336, December 2012. [5]J. Udin, O. Gani, A. Mahato, I. Sakib and M. Rakiuzzaman, SPIRULINA (Spirulina platensis) PRODUCTION IN DIFFERENT PHOTOBIOREACTORS ON ROOFTOP, International Journal of Business, Social and Scientific Research, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 15-19, January 2020. [6]M. Arredondo, Contabilidad y análisis de costos. Primera edición. México D.F.: Grupo Editorial Patria, 2015. [7]J. García, Contabilidad de costos. Cuarta edición. México D.F.: McGraw-Hill Interamericana, 2014. [8]L. Socconini, Certificación Lean Six Sigma Green Belt para la excelencia en los negocios. Primera edición. Barcelona: Marge Books, 2015. [9]A. Vian, Introducción a la Química Industrial. Segunda edición. Buenos Aires: Reverté, 2012. [10]S. Milton, Estadística para Biología y Ciencias de la Salud. Tercera edición. Madrid: McGraw-Hill Interamericana, 2014.


2019 ◽  
Vol 889 ◽  
pp. 557-566
Author(s):  
Ly Duc Minh ◽  
Vo Thi Hoang Ni ◽  
Do Ngoc Hien

Continuous improvement of productivity and quality is a potential requirement of any competitive organization. Lean six-sigma is known as the useful and popular method to do it. In this paper, a case study in the mechanical manufacturing process would be presented as a successful implementation. The seven quality control tools would be integrated in specific systematic steps of the PDCA cycle and DMAIC process, and lean technology. The case study shows the promising results on improvement of productivity and quality of a mechanical production line. It could be considered to implement for other production or assembly line in other fields such as electronic assembly line, garment line, and furnitune assembly line.


Author(s):  
Carmel Davies ◽  
Caroline Lyons ◽  
Regina Whyte

Abstract Objective This study applies Lean Six Sigma (LSS) to improve the efficiency of a private hospital day care unit and generate a positive impact on optimizing nursing time and improving personalized patient care and staff satisfaction. Design A prospective interventional study using pre- and post-evaluation. Setting A day care unit at a private hospital. Participants Nurses and patients from the day unit. Intervention(s) Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control was used as an overarching problem-solving framework. All front line staff, clinical leaders and managers were supported as active change agents in the quality improvement (QI) initiative. Multiple interventions were adopted across the service that aimed to de-implement non-value added activities and enhance processes with activities that added value. Main outcome measures Patient turnaround times (PTTs), nursing time, nurse-patient ratio, nurse and patient survey. Results A post-implementation evaluation highlighted significant improvements in service performance and patient and staff satisfaction. Significant added value includes a reduction in PTTs, an increase in nursing care time and improvement in the nurse-patient ratio. Conclusion This project identified that utilizing LSS that relies on collaborative team effort is effective in creating a positive organizational culture for improvement and change. The Six Sigma tools and techniques provide evidence-based approaches that support QI in practice.


2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (34_suppl) ◽  
pp. 87-87
Author(s):  
David C. Fryefield ◽  
Roberta Kafora ◽  
Lori Bradshaw-Hucko ◽  
Chris Tribble ◽  
Terry Jensen ◽  
...  

87 Background: In 2010, the US Oncology Network’s Clinical Advisory Council (CAC), a practice-based clinical leadership team, reviewed the care delivery process at 5 pilot community oncology clinics to determine how licensed and unlicensed clinical resources were used. The Lean Six Sigma methodology, which employs statistical analysis within a structured approach to problem-solving, was used to understand the required clinical activities of the practices within 3 primary areas. The objective of this pilot was to ensure patients receive timely, effective treatment from qualified personal in a cost-efficient model. Methods: A team led by a certified Master Black Belt studied tasks performed by licensed vs. non-licensed staff in the areas of physician services, treatment services and triage services at each practice. Based on the findings, tasks were realigned to maintain quality of care but to deliver care more efficiently. Results: Care Delivery processes comprised 95 tasks at baseline vs. 80 tasks in the redefined model. Within physician services, changes to workflow included rooming and clinic support (vitals, cleaning, and patient comfort) to be provided by Medical Assistants (MAs) instead of RN. RN duties were changed to MA supervision and tasks that require licensure. Changes to triage services included use of RNs to coordinate care and MAs for phone call screening, centralized triage (non-patient facing), and normal lab follow-up. Increased clarity of tasks and re-assignment of responsibilities reduced RN work load by 17% or 16.6 hours/day based on 120 patient visits. Each pilot site realized an annualized labor savings in excess of $100,000. This prospective, patient volume-based Care Delivery Staffing Model was adopted by the CAC as Network standard after completion of the pilot. Conclusions: Using Lean Six Sigma methods, the care delivery process was successfully re-designed such that clinical staff were re-aligned to better utilize each resource’s core competencies. Implementation of this care delivery model resulted in improved cost effectiveness while maintaining quality of care and also enabled prospective staff planning so that costs can be kept competitive in the future.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Ramires ◽  
Paulo Sampaio

PurposeThis paper aims to depict the practical execution of the problem-solving structure provided by the define, measure, analyze, improve and control (DMAIC) framework in combination with the analytical power provided by process mining capabilities, to improve the supply chain quality of a health-care provider. Design/methodology/approachPrior to the study, a literature review was conducted to identify existing frameworks combining six sigma with process mining. The authors use a descriptive case study approach to explain how the two methodologies blend across the different phases of DMAIC in a health-care setting. FindingsThis case study describes how analyzing data extracted from core information systems has significant value to improvement initiatives when complemented by traditional quality methods. By intersecting process mining techniques with lean six sigma tools, the researchers found 65% of orders not complying with the target ordering time and 200 redundant purchases with high operational costs. Research limitations/implicationsBy depicting how the two methodologies can be intertwined, this paper complements existing research by presenting it as a viable quality improvement approach. Practical implicationsThis paper provides insights for six sigma and process mining practitioners on the benefits of combining both methodologies within the DMAIC structure. Implementing this blended approach can bring visibility to operations and accelerate process improvement initiatives. Originality/valueThe prime value of this paper lies in the integration of traditional six sigma methods with process mining as a technological approach in a health-care context, going beyond existing research, which, to the best of the knowledge, lacks descriptive case studies.


Author(s):  
Ahmad Fauzi ◽  
Moch Tutuk Safirin

XYZ is a company that produces Medical Devices. One of the products produced is 16x16 hydrophilic sterile gauze. One of the factors that affect the quality of a product is the presence of defects in the product and waste which results in a longer lead time for a product. The investigative stages used in this study are using tools: seven tools, Big Picture Mapping, Value Stream Analysis (VALSAT) and then analyzing the causes of defects using the Ishikawa diagram (fishbone chart) where the output of this study is a proposed improvement using the FMEA method ( Failure Mode Effect and Analysis) to eliminate defects and waste that occur. Based on the research results, it is known that the type of waste identified by the calculation of Value Stream Activity and obtained Value Added with a percentage of 84.4%, Non Value Added by 1.0% and Necessary Non Value Added by 14.5%. From the results of production output in December 2019 to November 2020 amounting to 2,650,200 boxes, the number of defects is 1,316 boxes with an average sigma level of 5.16, while in FMEA it is known that the largest defects are spots with an RPN value of 504 and a suggestion for improvement is to place Experienced operators who have gone through the recruitment and training stages on superior qualifications on one machine according to their skills who understand SOPs and operators are given good comfort in the production process.                                                                                                   Keywords: Lean Six Sigma, Seven Waste, DMAIC, FMEA, kasa steril hidrofil 16x16.


Author(s):  
Mehreen Sirshar ◽  
Iqra Hanif ◽  
Sidra Shahzad ◽  
Muneeza Khalid

The main purpose of this research is to use “DMAIC” and “DMADV” framework of six sigma to reduce cost of projects, increase yields, improve performance and reduce defects. This study conclude that the sigma level of cement bag production in four production lines is “4.7 DPMO” values of 710 and the possibility of defects per unit of 11 possibilities this situation was handled by using six sigma. Any business or industry run only to satisfy customer and increase their profits, this can be attained as development of quality product..For the ranking of newly established universities the certification of those institutes is very important and also a critical process. For this process we used Lean six sigma approach that can identify the wastes that affect this process.Six sigma can be applied to any work field such as education, power optimization and other types of industries Six sigma “DMAIC” approach is also used for the testing of EDA tools that occurs due to the complex coding or configurations, flows and platforms they support. To improve the process quality of SDLC it’s necessary to remove the defects of system in advance along with thorough valuation of size and it also makes project accordant with real time environment


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 72
Author(s):  
Meylani Aljeinie Tijow ◽  
Supramono Supramono

<p>The main purpose of the implementation of Lean Six Sigma in this study is to improve the graduates’ quality of PPs. MMP UKSW. Although PPs. MMP UKSW has an A accreditation, there are some graduates that graduated through a long study period that exceed the ideal standart. The method that used is DMAIC methodology (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improvement, Control) with the quality indicator based on accreditation assessment of master degree. The data is collected by FGD (Focus Group Discussion) and analyzed by fishbone diagram and 5Whys. The result showed that beside the length of study period, the main problem of graduates’ quality of PPs. MMP UKSW is the lack of alumnis’ participation. The root problem of study period is focused on how the student are wasting the time to wait writing the proposal or thesis, while the root problems for alumnis’ participation is because of their busy job. Based on those findings, there are 7 strategies for institution to improve the quality of graduates.</p>


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