Integrated Lean
& Six Sigma Deployment for
Healthcare
A Phased Approach
Deploying Lean
& Six Sigma into a healthcare
organization is a complex undertaking involving all levels and
functions. With this in mind and drawing on its unsurpassed history of
corporate deployments, SBTI has a very clear, structured, but highly
customizable approach to deploying Lean Sigma in healthcare.
Five distinct but overlapped Phases of activity take the Client
organization through to having a fully self-sufficient Lean / Six Sigma
status in around 2 years.
Phase
1: Planning For
Change
Experience shows
that the Planning Phase is the most
important in order to achieve the >30x ROI that SBTI’s
services support. Unlike most providers, SBTI does not advise the
Client to jump straight to multiple training waves of Black Belts.
First, SBTI encourages the Client to build the foundation of a
successful deployment. This involves:
Executive Planning:
Deployment
should be driven from the very top. Healthcare executives are led
through the flow-down structure that ensures a proactive creation of
projects aligned with the business strategy.
Executives identify the key metrics or Business Critical Y’s
(outputs) associated with the organization's improvement areas.
Improving these key metrics invokes Project Clusters that can be broken
into many different types of project. This approach not only structures
the Lean / Six Sigma deployment, but also each and every project (all
competing for the same scarce resources) that the Client undertakes.
Executives also identify the Steering Committee at this time.
Communication
Planning:
The first task of
the Steering Committee is to ensure clear communication of intent,
progress and success. An ongoing communication plan outlines who needs
to know what, when and in what form.
Deployment
Planning:
The Steering
Committee is charged with creating and implementing the Deployment
Plan, the means by which the right people get the right skills and
undertake the right projects to yield maximum benefit for the
organization.
Financial
System Development:
Six Sigma
and Lean are about validated business results. The Finance department
is led through Workshops to ensure they are versed in measuring project
business success to ensure reported returns are robust.
Organization
Systems Planning:
Organizational change is a key part in any deployment. The Human
Resource function is led through mechanisms to ensure there is clear
succession planning, reward and recognition for all involved.
Champion
Selection & Training:
Champions form the backbone of any deployment. They are key resources
in identifying and selecting projects and Belts. Champions ensure
project success. They are indoctrinated in the motto “There
are
no failed Belts, only failed Champions”. Workshops expose
Champions to the roadmaps and tools, along with mechanisms to identify,
prioritize, select and review projects.
Project
Identification, Prioritization &
Selection:
Champions continue the flow-down structure initiated
by the Executives. By structuring Project Clusters to meet improvement
targets on Business Critical Y’s, all projects generated
immediately align with Corporate Goals and no reactive, force-fitting
of projects into strategy is required.
Belt
Selection & Training Planning:
Champions identify Black Belts who become full time
process improvement
specialists and Green Belts who undertake the role part time. Only at
this stage can the Steering Committee finalize the Training Plan.
Phase
2: Rapid
Profitability Improvement
Rapid return on
investment is crucial to the early
stages of deployment. After a significant planning period to ensure the
right Belts and projects are identified, it is now important to give
them the right tools and roadmaps to lead rapid change.
Traditional Six Sigma tools enabled Belts to resolve defect-related
problems and historically Belts struggled with projects involving the
streamlining and flow of processes (reduction of Cycle Times etc).
SBTI’s Lean Sigma combines the defect reduction capabilities
of
Six Sigma with the streamlining capabilities of Lean in a fully
integrated roadmap.
Lean
Sigma Black Belts:
Black Belts
undertake 4 weeks of training over a 4 month period. They then
undertake projects worth at least $250k over a 4-6 month period. They
use both the Lean and Six Sigma tools in an integrated DMAIC roadmap.
Each Wave of Black Belt training yields 15-25 process improvement
resources capable of tackling cross-functional and even cross-site or
cross-divisional process improvement.
Black Belts typically complete 2 projects each in year 1. So even with
just 15 Black Belts, 30 projects are completed first year at
>$250k
each, with Belts completing 3-4 projects per year in subsequent years.
Lean
Sigma Green Belts:
Green Belts
undertake 2 weeks of training over a 2 month period. They then
undertake projects worth at least $75k over a 3-5 month period. They
use the simpler tools from both Lean and Six Sigma in an integrated
DMAIC roadmap. Each Wave of Green Belt training yields 15-25 process
improvement resources capable of tackling smaller scoped projects,
commonly within a single function.
Typically, an organization will train 5-15% of its people as Green
Belts who form the horsepower of any deployment. By completing 2
projects each in year 1, even with just 15 Green Belts, 30 projects are
completed first year at >$75k each, with Belts completing 2-3
projects per year in subsequent years.
Kaizen:
Alongside the Belt projects, SBTI
encourages use of small series of Kaizen events to generate quick wins,
both to generate enthusiasm for the Program and to fund it.
Kaizen is a key Lean tool and works on the principle of bringing
process stakeholders together for 4-5 days with the right tools and
facilitation to strip down a process. Kaizen differs from CAPTM
and Work-OutTM
in that after the Kaizen event, the change has been implemented, as
opposed to just being planned. Kaizen will yield upwards of $50k
annualized from a single event and so become a key part of generating
the target >30x ROI.
Lean
LeaderTM:
Early in the
deployment, the ability to identify, plan and lead Kaizen events is
internalized using Lean Leaders. A site Lean Leader also takes over the
implementation plan for that site, ensuring core processes are visible
and measured and any gaps in performance generate potential new Lean
& Lean Sigma projects.
Phase
3: Long Term Growth
Traditional Six
Sigma focused purely on cost savings,
which enabled improvement for the early years, but did not provide for
future growth.
SBTI leads the field in its Growth-based offerings. Bolt-on training to
traditional DMAIC trained Belts is just not the right engine for
growth. SBTI’s industry-standard Design For Six Sigma (DFSS)
takes the Client’s service development resources and gives
them
all the right tools and roadmap to identify markets, capture the Voice
Of The Customer (VOC), generate concepts and then design around
existing competences and capability. Once a DFSS developed service hits
the market, it both sells, but is also easy and cost effective to
provide.
Lean
Product DevelopmentTM:
In
an integrated Lean and Six Sigma deployment, DFSS is replaced by an
enhanced version known as Lean Product DevelopmentTM.
Lean
Product DevelopmentTM
augments the standard DFSS tools and
roadmaps with tools to proactively consider the Supply Chain element of
service development. Lean Product Developmented services not only hit
the mark in the market, but are lean to provide.
Marketing
With Six Sigma (MWSS):
Whereas
SBTI’s DFSS Program incorporates required Marketing elements
for
Service Development, MWSS strengthens the Marketing
function’s
other core processes, to ensure a marketing strategy clearly aligned
with the business, a balanced portfolio and successful launches.
Phase
4:
Internalization
SBTI’s
goal is to have the Client internalize the
training and mentoring skills to become self-sufficient over a two year
time frame.
Train-The-Trainer:
Once viable Black Belts
are generated they train new Green Belts on the simple tools, thus
internalizing some of the training.
Master
Black Belt:
SBTI’s
industry-leading Program generates the individuals that become the
future trainers and technical leaders for the Lean Sigma Program. MBBs
learn the required statistical, leadership and podium skills required
to replace SBTI’s consultants.
Phase
5: Strategy
Planning
The capstone on any
deployment is targeted at the
Executive group to give them the tools and skills to identify and
structure the future strategy. The Lean Sigma deployment has
effectively given leaders a capable organization that can change and
grow itself. All that is required is for the Executive to decide the
future path for the business.
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