Management & Operations

Hospitals and Labs Hire Factory Managers to Increase Efficiency and Outcomes

It comes as no surprise to readers of Dark Daily and The Dark Report that efficiency methods such as Lean and Six Sigma are proliferating across the healthcare community.  What may come as a surprise, however, is that healthcare organizations are increasingly turning to factory managers to successfully implement these processes in their facilities!  This is somewhat logical, considering factory managers have far many more years experience with efficiency methods than most healthcare managers.

Michael Roberto, an associate professor of management at Bryant University, says the trend of hiring managers from outside the healthcare industry will continue as hospitals face increasing pressure to control costs while improving patients' safety and satisfaction.  Ted Stiles, whose recruiting firm specializes in placing managers with backgrounds in Lean manufacturing techniques, says demand among healthcare providers for Lean-trained managers is up tenfold this year from last year.

The need for Lean and Six Sigma-trained managers is apparent when it is realized that errors are a lot less common in good factories than in good hospitals.  A top-performing factory produces fewer than 10 defects per million, according to the Wall Street Journal article Demand Rises for Factory Workers Who Can Teach Big Hospital Wards.  Many studies suggest medical errors are far more common.

ThedaCare, a four-hospital group in Wisconsin, began implementing lean techniques in 2002 and has hired three managers with manufacturing backgrounds since 2005.  Matt Furlan, one of the hired managers, points out that, in the factory, pointing out errors is considered a good thing.  In hospitals, though, most doctor's "don't want other people to know they made a mistake."  Furlan tries to encourage to talk about their errors.  "Once you identify them, you can find solutions," said Furlan.  "It's part of the improvement process.  ThedaCare spoke about its Lean successes at the 2007 Executive War College  in Miami, FL. 

One of the first laboratory companies to hire experienced improvement practitioners from manufacturers was Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX). In the late 1990s, under the direction of then-CEO Kenneth Freeman, Quest Diagnostics recruited veteran Six Sigma Master Black Belts from companies like General Electric, Allied-Signal, and others. These experienced improvement practitioners have pushed quality management programs throughout the Quest Diagnostics organization.

The trend of factory managers being brought in to manage hospitals, laboratories, and other healthcare organizations will be examined in-depth at the upcoming Lab Quality Confab  on September 19-20 in Atlanta, Georgia.  Lab Quality Confab is the laboratory industry's first major conference on Lean, Six Sigma, and process improvement. It features 50 sessions with speakers sharing information about the success their hospital, laboratory, or pathology group is having with Lean and Six Sigma.

Related products:

• Demand Rises for Factory Workers Who Can Teach Big Hospital Wards 
• Lab Quality Confab Registration taking place in Atlanta, Georgia
  September 19-20, 2007
• Lab Quality Confab Poster Contest