Lean: Healthcare Achieving Flow

Do patients want to wait hours in an emergency room, or months for a scheduled medical procedure? No, of course not, ideally, they want to go from one process to the next - never having to wait. They need service to flow. When clients have to wait, the flow of the value stream has stopped. Basic to Lean is creating processes where no interruptions occur. By removing waste and adding value for the client, we can reach our ultimate goal of flow. This course describes key concepts of ‘flow’ and ‘pull’, including: the relationship of flow to client value, analyzing flow within the value stream, removing blockages to flow, improving layout for flow, and methods for balancing work and facilitating flow. Audience Lean: Achieving Flow is an interactive, multimedia, eLearning training program. It is intended for managers, technologists, patient care workers, support staff, and trainers in the healthcare industry who work in, or are transitioning to, a lean workplace. Lean: Achieving Flow Training Course Content - Flow and the principles of Lean - Benefits of improving flow for internal and external clients - Takt time as the measure of client demand, variable demand - Flow, pull, push, and challenges that impede flow - Analyzing flow within the value stream - Process and how batch size affects flow - Signs of poor flow, value stream map, kaizen events - 5-S and flow, impact of motion & transport, turnover, errors, extra processing - Steps to improve layout for flow - Inventory reduction, workspace design - Balancing work and facilitating flow - Appropriate use of pull systems, Kanban, Supermarket - Heijunka and dealing with fluctuating demand Using the Course - This course is designed to allow participants to learn at a convenient time, and at their own pace. You are free to pursue the course when and where you wish. You will require a broadband Internet connection, and a standard Internet browser with flash plugin. - The course modules are listed in the most logical order for you to follow. However you can take the course modules in any order you wish. - You are licensed to use this course for one year. This means that even after you have completed the course it is still available for review purposes. In review mode you can arrow forward and back through the course material to quickly locate specific content for reference, review, or further study. - Course qualification testing is available. In addition, you can re-take any test if you are not satisfied with your initial result. We recommend: - Take the course and complete all modules. - Take the course test. - Make notes while taking the test to highlight content that proves difficult. - Review the course with additional study of this difficult content. - Retake the test to demonstrate your mastery of the content. Following this process helps you to achieve greater learning and a more accurate test assessment. Course Times The time to complete the course will vary depending on prior knowledge, learning style, and individual differences. The more study and review, the greater the knowledge and understanding, and the higher your mastery test scores. Plan your time accordingly.