LEAN and Value Analysis Work Better Together
I would estimate that 79% of our nation’s hospitals, systems and IDNs have value analysis teams in place to evaluate the appropriateness and cost effectiveness of the products, services and technologies that they buy. However, is our job done when we complete these studies?
Not Quite! We still haven’t attacked the waste and inefficiency of these same products, services and technologies in our value streams. This can represent 7% to 15% in new and better savings for your healthcare organization if you add LEAN Management techniques to your value analysis model.
The LEAN Management techniques were introduced by Toyota into their manufacturing process in 1934 to eliminate waste from their production process. LEAN’s core concept is to “eliminate anything that doesn’t add value to your products or services”. LEAN techniques have been so successful that they are now being applied in every industry (including healthcare) in every country around the world as a waste eliminator.
It’s no longer good enough to just obtain the best price for what you buy because price is just the tip of the iceberg. You must now “LEAN” the products, services, technologies and the processes that support them if you are going to wring the towel dry on your savings.
A good example of LEAN thinking is when one of our clients eliminated all of their operating room custom packs, since they couldn’t VALUE JUSTIFY how they added value (time, labor cost or savings) to their surgical suites operations. This might seem like a radical change to you but I’m sure you will agree that it illustrates that “leaning” your operations means not accepting the “conventional wisdom” about anything that you are presently doing. It means thinking and doing differently!
We have proven over the last twenty-two years with our LEAN Value Analysis System that LEAN and value analysis work better together, since we have found that value analysis searches out lower cost alternatives to what you are doing now. While LEAN eliminates the wasteful and inefficient consumption, misuse, misapplication and value mismatches in your value streams. It is the perfect marriage of complementary tools!
So if you are looking for even deeper and broader savings with your value analysis program than ever before, may I suggest that you add LEAN Management techniques to your value analysis model to get the job done end-to-end.
