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Lean is a continuous improvement initiative that helps streamline processes and improve overall performance. Developed in the 1960s for manufacturing applications and predicated on the Toyota Production System, the popularity and application of Lean has spread beyond manufacturing. Several non-manufacturing industries such as banking and financial services and healthcare have embraced Lean resulting in breakthrough improvements. This course provides a high-level view of Lean, its core values and benefits of the organization, and its brief history. The course also introduces the need and application of Lean in the healthcare sector in addressing outstanding issues. Some course materials may reference Leading Edge Group or display legacy branding, reflecting the history of the program. All North American delivery and learner support are provided by the same team that developed the program and are now operating as Leading Edge Associates.   Read more

6S deals with workplace organization. By establishing order in the workplace, 6S helps improve conditions for employees by making things tidier, cleaner, brighter, and safer. This, in turn, helps develop a more pleasant work environment for employees. This improves morale and, as a consequence, productivity and quality. This course will examine the 6S approach. Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain, and Safety. Planning a 6S initiative will be reviewed as well as examples of how 6S was implemented in an operating room as well as a radiology department. The topic of ergonomics as it relates to Lean methodology will be discussed. The last topic will be a case study of a 6S implementation, and the outcomes from the initiative. Some course materials may reference Leading Edge Group or display legacy branding, reflecting the history of the program. All North American delivery and learner support are provided by the same team that developed the program and are now operating as Leading Edge Associates. Read more

Kaizen builds the foundation for implementing Lean principles in the organization. Kaizen events are organized as continuous improvement initiatives. They use a variety of Lean tools and practices – including VSM, 5S, poka-yoke, leveling, and kanban – to achieve these goals. This course focuses on kaizen and expands on the basic kaizen concepts covered earlier. The course outlines how to plan, prepare, and implement kaizen events. More specifically, it focuses on the application of kaizen in healthcare and how Lean professionals lead kaizen events in a variety of healthcare settings. Some course materials may reference Leading Edge Group or display legacy branding, reflecting the history of the program. All North American delivery and learner support are provided by the same team that developed the program and are now operating as Leading Edge Associates. Read more

Lean and Six Sigma are two powerful methodologies with different origins, toolkits, and approaches. When deployed together, they complement each other to multiply the effectiveness of improvement initiatives. Lean Six Sigma brings the combined power of these two approaches to any improvement effort in a healthcare context. Using healthcare examples and applications, this course introduces the basic mechanism of Six Sigma: reducing variation and improving quality through statistical analysis and DMAIC (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control) methodology. It explains foundational concepts and assumptions about how processes work, and how Six Sigma tools can reduce errors in those processes and their outputs. The course examines how the Six Sigma tools and method support Lean in streamlining processes, reducing waste, and increasing efficiency and patient/customer satisfaction. Some course materials may reference Leading Edge Group or display legacy branding, reflecting the history of the program. All North American delivery and learner support are provided by the same team that developed the program and are now operating as Leading Edge Associates. Read more

Lean has been defined as the knowledge driven, customer or patient-focused, continuous improvement methodology through which organizations continuously reduce waste and create value for customers or patients. Lean is now an established improvement approach for world-class healthcare organizations and other industries. There are five principles that are fundamental to Lean. These are value, value stream, flow, pull, and perfection. Lean focused organizations adopt a dynamic framework comprising value identification, value proposition and value delivery for its value creation process. This course explains the five Lean principles and discusses the value creation process with the help of examples and a case study. Some course materials may reference Leading Edge Group or display legacy branding, reflecting the history of the program. All North American delivery and learner support are provided by the same team that developed the program and are now operating as Leading Edge Associates. Read more

Change occurs before, during, and after any Lean implementation. The ability to manage change and overcome resistance to change is fundamental to implementing Lean. Change management helps create the platform for continuous and sustained improvements. It involves transitioning from the current state to a desired future state. This course explains how to understand change and how best to manage it during and after a Lean Implementation. It explains the roles of communication, team building, and leadership in managing the resistance to change that can occur in any Lean implementation project.   Some course materials may reference Leading Edge Group or display legacy branding, reflecting the history of the program. All North American delivery and learner support are provided by the same team that developed the program and are now operating as Leading Edge Associates. Read more