I had an experience recently to renew my excitement to help transform hospitals with Lean. Our son’s pediatrician is helping us deal with his colic. The doctor said he wants to try one change at a time to determine what will help my boy. This is Plan-Do-Check-Act!
Some organizations want to implement a ton of stuff at once. If the problem is fixed, it is difficult to pinpoint which of the myriad of countermeasures did the trick. If the problem is not fixed, they throw a bunch more changes to the wall to see what sticks.
Our pediatrician patiently tries one thing at a time. Once the issue is resolved, he will then begin removing some of the counter-measures (medication and other soothing techniques) and continue to check that the colic is still gone. How often do organizations remove some of the counter-measures after they implement a bunch at once?
PDCA is scientific thinking and doctors use it. My excitement is renewed because I see how using PDCA with providers will help make Lean relevant for them in hospitals.
Keep on improving!
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