Lean Service/service quality in the healthcare industry - Research Paper Example

A lean service practice is a management strategy that is applied in organization to improve processes. In essence, lean service practices in Healthcare is a composition of a number of processes or actions or tasks with an aim of creating value for those who use or are dependent on them like the customers or the patents. Lean service practices is usually concerned with deeming value of a given process by differentiating or setting aside value added steps or tasks from the non-value added steps and focusing on waste elimination.

This ensures that each step adds value to the processes, get rid of non value adding step and make value present in the patient or customer needs so that they can maximize value and minimize waste. As Womack suggests, when the lean strategy is will assist the organization to stay relevant to the needs of its customers through delivery of perceived value to the customer and this principle become the driving force. Folinas and Faruna, highlight that the lean philosophy captures five concepts: specifying value to the customers need (customer pull), involvement and empowering of employees and continuous improvement with an aim of perfection (2).

Folinans and Faruna points out that waste is “anything which adds cost without adding any value “further the waste is categorized into muda, muri and mura which are Japanese terms. Muda is that work that consumes resources and adds no value, muri is the unreasonable work, which is imposed on employees and machines while Mura is that work that I characterized by unevenness and is usually rushed or sudden. The lean service practices are well explained by the six-sigma model using the s 5 strategy of work place organization of the healthcare environment.

The six-sigma theory was developed the TPS is known as the lean model or s 5 model. The focus of this six model is sort, straighten safety, standardize and sustain (Folinas and Faruna 4). As