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.
|
