Six Sigma

[javvcr]

is someone using SS at their blood bank or transfusion service?

how have been your experience?

good and no good things about it!

[heathervaught]

We have implemented Lean, and I know it's not the same, but there are a lot of similarities. I'm sure that there are people out there who can tell you the good and the bad, but the list of good and bad probably depends a lot on how the project was managed, not the tools themselves.

My #1 recommendation: avoid "consultants"!!! The job of a consultant is to come into your facility, point out the things that you are doing "wrong", insist that you change, then leave you to clean up the mess. I have heard nothing but horror stories from individuals who have used consultants for this type of project.

We went through the NIST MEP (Manufacturing Extension Partnership) http://www.mep.nist.gov/ and found our local affiliate through Purdue University (Boiler Up!). They proposed a very comprehensive training schedule, and were very upfront about their goal: to make us so self-sufficient that we did not need their help any more. The training was tiered, so that each individual received exactly the amount of training that was needed -- from the executives to the techs and phlebotomists. We are still rolling it out to a few departments, but overall, the success has been great. We started off in our Production area, and we are in the process of making changes at the staff's recommendation.

From a project management standpoint, just make sure that you have someone to champion the project through all phases. The success of this type of project depends on executive support with mid-level execution. Good Luck!!!

[Franklyn]

We are a BIG Six Sigma institution with more black belts walking around than you can shake a stick at. After being part of numerous projects I can tell you that it is nothing more than an organized approach to identifying and solving a problem and establishing ways to measure success of failure. I have used LEAN, FMEA and other rapid improvement techniques as part of 6Sig projects and have had pretty good success overall.

No matter what "plan" or "method" you employ it will fail without support up and down the organization. The changes need to be driven from the top, down but will only succeed from the bottom, up. Buy in, throughout the organization, is imperative to getting it to work.

Good Luck.

[John C. Staley]

We are a BIG Six Sigma institution with more black belts walking around than you can shake a stick at. After being part of numerous projects I can tell you that it is nothing more than an organized approach to identifying and solving a problem and establishing ways to measure success of failure. I have used LEAN, FMEA and other rapid improvement techniques as part of 6Sig projects and have had pretty good success overall.

No matter what "plan" or "method" you employ it will fail without support up and down the organization. The changes need to be driven from the top, down but will only succeed from the bottom, up. Buy in, throughout the organization, is imperative to getting it to work.

Good Luck.

Franklyn I know it is probably just a "happy fingers typo" but, if not, just how do you "measure sucess of failure"?

I'm pretty sure the MBA types who are now running hospitals subscribe to the Management Fad of the Week News letter. I've been through so many of these over the years that they have all blurred together. They are all basically the same and only work as well as the people using them are willing to put in the time, effort and dare I say, money to work them right. The problem comes when management keeps hopping from one to another system and none of them ever get fully implemented and bought into by the folks in the trenches who actulally have tomake them work.

[RR1]

I like the phrase Franklyn has used:

"The changes need to be driven from the top, down but will only succeed from the bottom, up".

If the implementation of Lean / Six Sigma thinking and practices are a long way off for an organisation as a whole, due to lack of top management understanding, then there is still hope that folk at the bottom of the hierarchy can try and make a difference by taking smaller steps with improvements.

I understand that 'top management' should ideally drive these projects- but to some extent this 'hopping from one to another system' as John mentioned, also irritates staff, and these things don't get taken seriously or even attempted.

Better to start somewhere with improvements- and drive them from the bottom up if needs be, than to not try at all.

[ABBWalker]

Hi All,

I have just noticed this thread, if anyone wants any lean manufacturing advice please feel free to ask me, before I started work looking after ABB Temperature services, I was and engineering site manager with 20years experience of lean techniques, I even have some basic templates I will send out for free.

Cheer,

Dave (ABBWalker)

[L106]

Dave -

Thanks for your generous offer to share your expertise and experiences with LEAN. Would your templates be something that you could post in BloodBankTalk's "References" section (so they would be available to anyone who is interested)?

[ABBWalker]

Hi L106,

No Probs I will post it in once I find out how to, I am new on here, so I am just getting the hang of the site.

Cheers,

Dave.

[ABBWalker]

Hi L106,

Sorted should be available in 5 working days once reviwed.

cheers.

Dave.

[Nicki]

Hi Dave,

Did you post the LEAN information? I can't find it, but it may be because I'm not looking in the right places (still trying to find my way around!). I'm about to do a LEAN type excercise where I work so it would be really useful.

Thanks,

Nicki