Alice in Wonderland – The Red Queen’s Race "Well, in our country," said Alice, still panting a little, "you'd generally get to somewhere else—if you run very fast for a long time, as we've been doing." "A slow sort of country!" said the Queen. "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!" [1] Lewis Carroll Isaac Asimov Lean Management Research Cores Jay W. Fox Professor, Dept. of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology Director of Research Infrastructure Assoc. Director, Cancer Center University of Virginia School of Medicine Paul Shin Business Manager Medical Education | SOM Research Cores [email protected] Lean Applied to Advanced Microscopy Facility Yalin Wang, Ph.D., Director; Stacey Guillot, Ph.D. Review Process • Discuss workflow and issues – What do your customers value – Where are the improvement opportunities • Guided operational observation – Visit the point where value is created • Map the value stream (Information and Materials) – Depict the flow – Identify decision points and schedule (ex. Where to cut) – Identify areas of waste • Identify, prioritize and implement plan to remove waste • Measure outcomes: delivery; quality; cost; safety Wastes Found • Inventory • Motion/Transport • Waiting • Defects • Unused Employee Creativity – ex. Glass knife inventory – resin – Distance – material or worker – Lab orientation or location – Customer wait time – Delay in deliverables – Direct (instrumentation failure or sample mishandling) – Indirect (unexpected results) – Employees not given opportunities – Misaligned job or skill placement – Capacity (instrumentation, protocols, employees) Outcomes/Changes • Improved work flow and service delivery • Direct communication across all parties in value stream • Identified specific customer value • Increased customer satisfaction • Implementing or future plans for more robust inventory/specimen management system – Improved specimen transport solutions – Limited communication failures, increasing process efficiency – Value in speed, accuracy and useful, timely data – Improved survey results and feedback – iLab, LIMS, etc. Future Directions • Perform the Lean process with remaining SOM research cores • Continue to practice the continuous improvement cycle • Provide a core-specific lean guidebook for cores with easy to follow templates for improved business workflow and enhanced customer satisfaction Take Homes • Who is your customer and what do they value? • What activities process produce value? • What activities do not add value? Are they necessary? • If you can see waste, you can reduce it or remove it • Lean has a rich set of tools to help you do this, but the key is your commitment to respect your people and engage in continuous improvement. Thank You