Lean Laboratory

Course details

The concept of Lean was developed in the early 1990s from studies of the Toyota Production System. It focuses on eliminating waste in processes, waste being anything that impedes the flow of work as it is being transformed in the value chain. Lean to coin a phrase means ‘getting the work to where it is needed, when it is needed, in the quantity needed’. Errors, bottlenecks, inefficient process flow, lack of information, duplication of effort and non-value added process steps, all impede flow in the “value chain” of an organisation. Lean uses a variety of tools focusing on the elimination or reduction of these process issues. These tools target improvements in quality, process reliability, workplace organisation, process set-up time and streamlining work flows.

course serves as an introduction to Lean Pathology. The workshop presents the concepts, tools, and techniques involved in the practical application of Lean from a pathology laboratory perspective.

This course has been specifically designed to give medical scientists the practical knowledge necessary to implement lean thinking into their laboratories. To achieve this, the course uses a number of practical examples of the successful application of lean thinking across a number of different pathology laboratories.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this training course, delegates should be able to:

• Understand the concept and origins of Lean Thinking.
• Understand the 5 Principles of Lean and the practical know-how to identify opportunities for waste elimination in a clinical laboratory.
• Understand the importance of change management in successful project delivery.
• Deploy Lean tools as part of cross functional project teams within a clinical laboratory environment to improve effectiveness and efficiency.

Who Should Attend

This course has been specifically designed for medical scientists working within pathology laboratories. The course is aimed at laboratory managers/chiefs or medical scientists who are focused upon continuous improvement activities.

Course Programme

Day 1 provides the practitioner with a good understanding of the concepts of Lean and some of the basic tools for identifying improvement opportunities and stabilising the work environment. Day 1 also initiates a simulation game which is concluded on Day 2.

Day 1 – Introduction

• The 5 Principles of Lean
• The 10 Wastes
• Laboratory Organisation and Visual Management
• Voice of the Customer
• Laboratory Process Families and Standard work
• Process Mapping (Process Flow Analysis, Cross Functional Maps, Others)

Day 2 gives the practitioner hands-on application of the improvement techniques, through implementation within simulated game, review of successful case studies and other team based exercises.

Day 2 – Application

• Lean Tools (5’s, Kaizan)
• Takt Time, turn-around-times (TAT) and Resource allocation
• Root Cause Analysis
• Pull in the laboratory environment
• Implementing Change
• Action Plan and Close out