Virginia Mason Institute’s Post

Sometimes our processes can seem effective but not actually deliver on our desired results. This tends to not happen intentionally or even right away in most cases. It’s almost as though it’s a natural progression with process improvement… or at least that’s what I used to think. I’ll never forget the moment I finally learned this lesson. I’ve told the story a few times now but in case you missed it, I’ll share a version of it below. Have you ever experienced an ineffective process? #processimprovement #continuousimprovement #operationalexcellence

Don’t wait for the ‘perfect’ time to start your #processimprovement journey. Unfortunately, ‘perfect’ anything doesn’t really exist. The journey towards perfection starts with continuously trying to improve your ways of working. Remember that the journey of a 1000 miles starts with the first step. The point I’m trying to make here is that by taking that first step you get a better idea of what you need to do, when, how, including how often and by whom. Recently I’ve seen some discussions where #NHS colleagues are apparently getting hung up on the differences between process improvement, quality improvement, Lean and so on. When you’re starting out on your improvement journey, it doesn’t matter what you call it as long as you start. A more important aspect is that of effective communications with your staff and teams. They need to be active participants in your improvement journey and not passive observers or worse still absent attendees. Go ahead and be brave. You really can make a difference with your improvement efforts regardless of how seemingly small they are. When you add together all those small improvements your patients, / service users get the benefits.

Problem-solving is the cornerstone of innovation and growth in any organisation. It's not just about fixing what's broken; it's about uncovering opportunities, fostering creativity, and building a culture of continuous improvement. Embracing this, our Learning & Development team launched our first in-house Problem Solving Workshop, tailored specifically to our prepped fruit environment. This bespoke session brought together a diverse group of in-house experts from key functions including Engineering, Production, Technical, HR, and Compliance. By focusing on real Non-Conformances, we harnessed our collective expertise to identify root causes and develop effective corrective and preventative actions. This workshop marks the beginning of a company-wide initiative. By investing in our team's problem-solving capabilities, we're not just addressing current issues – we're building a stronger, more adaptable organisation committed to operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and a culture of continuous improvement, ready to exceed customer expectations and drive industry standards forward. We're curious to hear from our network: What problem-solving methodologies have you found most effective in your industry? #ContinuousImprovement #ProblemSolving #OperationalExcellence

Investing in standardized processes is only the first step - true efficiency and safety come when operators consistently follow protocols. Our programs help you: Identify and document lapses in efficiency and safety Develop tools to address these gaps Foster positive engagement between managers and associates Align on-the-floor execution with defined SOPs Don't let poor adherence hold your facility back. Learn more about how Continuum can support your team in achieving operational excellence: #continuousimprovement #businessprocesses

Are you struggling to maintain process adherence in your organization? Look no further! Our team at Continuum PMC has developed effective programs to help optimize your processes and improve overall efficiency. Find out more here: #ProcessAdherence #EfficiencyBoost  

Empower employees with the tools to identify inefficiencies and drive process improvement. Through targeted training, teams learn to streamline workflows, reduce waste, and enhance productivity. This commitment to continuous improvement not only boosts operational efficiency but also fosters a culture of excellence across the organization. #LeanSixSigma #ProcessImprovement #ContinuousImprovement #EmployeeDevelopment

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In our Process Triage workshops, it's a common revelation: what management envisions as the operational flow often diverges dramatically from the ground truth experienced by frontline employees. It's a pivotal moment exposing the critical need for alignment and understanding to drive effective process improvement. #ProcessTriage #FrontlineInsights

🌟 Processes for the People 🌟 When we look at each category of work at the frontline: Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, People – and we list out all the Work Processes that support each of these, we soon discover a large list of processes that make up ‘The Way We Do Things Here…’ 🏠   Turning what is often Tacit knowledge (in our heads) into Explicit knowledge (documented, trained, improved on) that the organization could call ‘Intellectual Property’ is a big step forward. 📝   Let’s use an example - Root Cause Analysis is a Work Process that all Lean organisations from all industries use to Continually Improve their performance. But treating it as a tool that sits in the shared (read ‘neglected’) toolbox is so clearly not good enough… 🛠   If we apply the same rigour to our Processes that we do for our Products and Services, a whole new world suddenly opens up to us. 🌏   The Lean Process Flow   1.    Define the Value from our Customer’s point of view. 2.    Map the Process 3.    Create Flow in that Process. 4.    Create Pull (Triggers) 5.    Refine, Refine, Refine (Seek perfection)   The clip below describes an example of the Root Cause Analysis (RCA) Process that the Improvement Function owns and owes to its customers: Production, Quality, Safety & Maintenance. 🤝 Through the lens of the 5-step process, above, you can see that the benefits of a fully functional RCA process within the organization cannot be understated – from our immediate customer’s point of view and of course to our end customers. 💡 Let’s keep the conversation going… Do you map your processes? Have you identified process owners and customers? Have you made them trainable and 'continuously improvable'? Share your experiences below!  #Lean #LeanManufacturing #LeanHealthcare #LeanSupplyChain #PeopleAndProcesses #ContinuousImprovement #Teamwork #Quality #Collaboration #DigitalDailyManagement

How do you introduce a new process in your facility? 💬 This is one question that comes to the Mind of a lot of managers, especially when they know there’s need for a change in a particular area of there process. One of the ways to start is to find out if the proposed change is Critical to Quality?🎖️ Critical to Performance?⚙️ Critical to Customer? 🛂 Understanding this helps provide a perspective as to whether the new process will have the desired significant impact or not. Once the above as been ascertained, then you carry out a stakeholder/Force field analysis. Find out the people, data, materials that are important in carrying out the project…🔋🪫 Through your stakeholder analysis, you will know those who are most likely to influence or be affected by the proposed change. When these are established, a stepwise introductory process can begin… where process owners are introduced to the new system, while taking feedback. Feedback makes monitoring and control more efficient as change should not be abrupt, but a gradual process. Remember, 3 things… 1. Establish criticality of new process. 2. Determine stakeholders. 3. Begin stepwise introduction while taking and working on feedback. These simple steps will help ease your process. Have encountered challenges trying to introduce your team to new processes? How’d you go about it? Kindly Share in the comment section… #managament #leanmanagement #processimprovement