Effects of organizational context on Lean implementation in five hospital systems

Abstract

This study should alert researchers, managers, and teachers of management to ways that contexts shape Lean implementation and may affect other types of process redesign and quality improvement.

How much of Toyota's philosophy is embedded in health care at the organisational level? A review

“…The authors also suggest studying if there could be reasons (system/organisational‐related), why certain principles may not be implementable in some settings and how the context shapes lean implementation (Harrison et al., ). The reasons can differ between centres and even within divisions of big organisations.…”

Wanted in health care: Lean experts with a broad perspective

“…As Harrison et al () state that the ability to call in a LE is one of the critical success factors for any Lean transformation, our small‐scale study suggests that it could be important to further explore LEs' backgrounds and other factors that may influence their perspectives in health care. More studies should be undertaken to determine whether LEs with a different health care degree have a similar perspective to that of nurses working as LEs in health care, for instance.…”

“…Since some health care departments are not familiar with the dimensions and challenges of Lean, some authors suggest to use Lean consultants and experts (Andersen & Røvik, ; Isfahani, Tourani s., & Seyedin H., ). According to Harrison et al (), the ability to involve LEs is one of the critical factors to ensure a successful Lean transformation.…”

“…It is defined by Liker () as “an organization‐wide management system with focus on total customer satisfaction in an evolutionary environment of teamwork and improvement.” According to Berwick and Hackbarth (), Lean is a management system that increases productivity, lowers costs and improves quality. Harrison et al () believe that its key success factors are the commitment of management, the organizational capacity for quality improvement, the compatibility of Lean with the mission of the organization, the provision of required resources, the training of staff and the ability to call on or involve Lean experts (LEs). Although the effects of Lean in health care have not yet been clearly demonstrated (Andersen, Røvik, & Ingebrigtsen, ; Moraros, Lemstra, & Nwankwo, ; Noori, ), it can be assumed that Lean could also be successful in health care organizations if all critical success factors are sufficiently explored and recognized.…”

Lean Thinking: An Overview

“…Originating from the automobile industry, the captivity of lean approach has considerably extended from the heavy manufacturing industry to numerous industries such as banking, mining, public service, hotel, and health care [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. According to Gershenfeld [17], competitive leaders from various sectors of the economy considering the lean approach as one of the central success factors such as Toyota for establishing high quality product and continuous production flow, and Dell for providing customized personal computers in high volume.…”