Tag: Quality

Quality: Leadership, Systems Thinking, and Continuous Improvement

Quality doesn’t come from inspection, pressure, or choosing between speed and accuracy. It comes from well-designed systems, capable processes, and leaders who focus on learning instead of blame. This archive brings together blog posts, podcasts, and reflections on quality through a Lean and Deming lens—covering psychological safety, metrics, variation, leadership behavior, healthcare quality, and why sustainable improvement depends on fixing systems rather than managing people harder.

James Hereford – A #Lean COO from Stanford Becomes a Lean...

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In today's post, I write about James Hereford, a Lean thinker and leader who is now CEO of Fairview Health Services in Minnesota. I share some links to and highlights from a past podcast with him and other blog posts with his thoughts.

If a Surgeon or Hospital Puts Quantity over Quality, Why Call...

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I get worked up about labeling a troubled surgical department as "a factory," but there are far more important issues of patient safety and hospital culture to be discussed related to a Seattle Times investigative piece.

#TBT: What CFO Magazine Wrote About #Lean in 2009

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I first blogged about this article back in 2009 and it's still online: "Keen to Be Lean" The sub headline talks about hospitals being "desperate to...

How Can a Story Like This Occur in Any E.D., Yet...

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This story was sent to me by somebody I know with a Lean manufacturing career. It's shocking, but it could happen anywhere, I suppose....

Patriots’ Coach Bill Belichick : Surface Tablets :: Some Doctors :...

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I saw this article the other day on Deadspin, one of my favorite non-Lean blogs/sites. Bill Belichick, head coach of the New England Patriots, got...

Following Up on the DMC Problems

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This article caught my eye recently: DMC dirty instruments escaped '15 probe, records show (via The Detroit News)

A Prof Writes About “Proof that Operational Excellence Works in Healthcare!”

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This article caught my eye recently: Skeptics - We have Proof that Operational Excellence Work in Healthcare! (via The Ohio State University)

Does the Size of a Hospital Matter for Quality of Surgery?

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This article caught my eye recently: Doctors usually think bigger hospitals offer better surgery. Turns out, we’re wrong. (via Vox)

My Lean Healthcare Trip to China: Traveling From Beijing to Shanghai

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Continuing my series of blog posts about my July trip to China, today's post is about the second city I visited: Shanghai. This post...

My Article for Quality Digest About #Lean Falsehoods; “QDL” Show on...

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We'll probably also talk about this article that was published yesterday on QualityDigest.com: "Lean Is About Quality, Not Just Speed or Efficiency... in Factories or in Hospitals" It might ruffle some feathers, but oh well.

GM Spent $90 Billion on Automation — Toyota’s Advantage Was Management

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TL;DR: In the 1980s and '90s, GM spent roughly $90 billion trying to automate its way to competitiveness. Toyota took a different path--focusing on...

Stuff I’m Reading May 2016: Bad Patient Experiences, Bad Workplaces &...

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As is often the case, I have too many open browser tabs full of articles that I was going to potentially blog about. This slows...
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