Kaizen Sessions

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Kaizen Sessions
Duke Rohe, drohe_at_pdq.net M.D. Anderson Cancer
Center
Kaizen is a small improvement a little like me!
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Do you want your department to be one of these!
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Would you like?

• A culture with a bulldog mentality about
  improvement
• Staff interested in making a difference
• Ideas implemented from staff at alarming rates
• In the late 80s Japanese workers averaged 36
  ideas per employee per year. Americans 1 idea
  every 8 years.
• What is the idea rate in your department?

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Why dont we have more ideas?

• No expectation from leadership that improvement
  is part of everyones job.
• No mechanism to receive and implement ideas
• No assurance from the employee that they wont
  feel ridiculed after submission.
• No appreciation for the small idea.

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What is Kaizen

• Japanese term for small incremental improvement.
• Employee generated and tested
• Management supported
• Its a mindset that everything is a candidate for
  improvement.
• Okidata, (a Japanese printer manufacturer)
  averaged 1000 ideas per employee one year.

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Improvement is traditionally managements
responsibility
Management
Staff
Wouldnt it make more sense if all the staff were
patching holes in their system!
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Kaizen thinking improvement is everybodys
responsibility
First wave of idea cards in Outpatient Pharmacy
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What is a Kaizen Session?

• A series of 15-minute weekly meetings which
  enlists the entire workforce to focus and
  generate ideas around an aspect of improvement.

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Goals of the Sessions

• Induce total workforce contribution then
  compliance around improvement
• Empower staff to generate implement-able ideas
• Continually improve the work environment
• Grow trust between peers and with management

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Needed for an idea-friendly environment

• Mechanism to collect ideas (idea cards)
• Mechanism to evaluate and implement ideas
  (evaluation forms)
• Mechanism to groom ideas (test for the best
  filter)
• Mechanism to acknowledge contribution
  (before/after form)
• Mechanism to stimulate idea generation (Kaizen
  sessions)

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1. Idea Card in every pocket
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Anatomy of a Kaizen series

• Pick an improvement theme or view for everyone
  to focus on
• Week 1 Introduce theme
• Week 2 Request Action around theme
• Week 3 Share Feedback from the Action
• Week 4 Perform Evaluation or commitment to a
  collective agreement from action.

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Anatomy of a Kaizen Session(up to 4 Sessions in
a Series)

• Icebreaker or change opener (2 min)
• Kaizen lesson (2 min)
• Output sharing (3 min)
• Lay down an assignment challenge (2 min)
• Can I count on you commitment (1 min)
• Note 5 minutes is used in getting everyone
  together

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How small can a Kaizen be?

• If it saves .6 of a second, its worth considering

Kaizen formula idea implementation innovati
on
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(No Transcript)
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Visual Control Theme
Get the information as close to the point of
action as possible !
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Kaizen Themes

• Red Tagging (getting rid of clutter)
• Visual Control (instructions in the workplace)
• Better (any small improvement)
• Benchmark (adopt other industry service)
• Clarity (communication without confusion)
• Pit Stop (streamlining critical activity)
• Service Supreme (using our best experience as our
  standard)

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Receiving/Nurturing Ideas

• Idea Formation
• Idea Qualification
• Idea Evaluation
• Idea Implementation
• Idea Celebration
• Idea Collection

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More Kaizen Themes

• Do Right Things (effectiveness)
• Do Things Right (efficiency)
• Do Things Better (improve)
• Do Away With Things (cut)
• Do Things Others Do Well (copy)
• Do What No Other Is Doing (unbeatable)
• Do What Cant Be Done (incredible)

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Celebrate/Showcase Kaizens

• Keep Count
• Brag on Owner
• Before/After Shots
• Approximate Time Value
• Ideal Bonus points in annual review

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What Kind Of Mind Creates