NC State of Business

Paper or plastic? Recycle or Discard? SUV or hybrid? The personal choices that we make these days can not only benefit the environment, but can benefit our wallet. Reducing the length of our showers, washing only full loads of laundry or dishes, or printing only necessary documents are now conscious decisions and responsible habits to make. Protecting our natural resources is our responsibility, and we benefit financially from these choices.

I am enlightened to see the responsible choices organizations are now making. Reducing the environmental impact is not only the right thing to do, it is financially responsible. At a Lean and Green Summit that I attended in July, I learned of Nike Corporation’s journey toward sustainability over the last 11 years. They strive to own all consequences of their business, and to conserve and reuse resources. Their “North Star” goal for 2020 is to generate no waste, to use a healthy chemistry and no toxins in their manufacturing process, and to pursue sustainable growth and consumption. They admitted that the word “sustainability” is a concept that they are still trying to understand. This environmental commitment makes me want to purchase a pair of Nike’s and go for a run …

There are many resources available to assist you in your environmental journey toward sustainability. In fact, if you are engaged in lean activities, you are most likely finding opportunities to reduce your environmental impact. For example, if you reduce equipment downtime, you are eliminating wasted energy from heating, cooling, and lighting during production downtime. The EPA has embraced lean concepts and has helpful documents on their lean website.

In the meantime, check out the "wombat".

Lean Office, Lean Healthcare, Lean Accounting, Lean 6 Sigma,Lean Food Processing, Lean Manufacturing; what does all this mean and what is really different if anything between these "Lean Concepts". Actually when you get down to the basics the answer is nothing. The primary focus of "Lean Efforts" is the elimination of waste, which occurs in all processes and falls into one or more of eight categories. We can apply the elimination of waste and the application of basic lean tools to really any process or area. Sometimes it helps in the understanding of the basics if we utilize examples and simulations that focus in a certain areas such as the office, health clinc, or in an accounting function for example.
The successful application of lean is not complicated, but that does not mean it is not hard work. People and enterprises that are successful in applications of sustained lean progress recognize some very basic truths. First, it is a total systems effort and "culture" that supports true change is an absolute need. Top management support is essential,and the realization that lean becomes a way of life not a program. Lean Everything, it can happen!

As I have gotten started in training and implementing Lean Manufacturing techniques and concepts in medical applications two things continue to rise to the surface. The first is the perception that Lean is a grouping of tools meant primarily for discrete manufacturing in plants and not so much for processes for which the output isn’t so easily identifiable. The second, thankfully, is that as people open their minds to the concepts of Lean beyond what they have traditionally thought, the concepts apply very well; even in the medical profession where the primary output is typically well, happy people rather than a particular product. What I have seen is that the first and most critical hurdle which must be understood is how to define the value stream in the particular health care are (e.g. emergency room, admission, etc.). Sometimes the value is added in the form of directly interacting with a patient; other times it is added to an intermediate product which will eventually interact directly with the patient such as a prescription or an MRI. Whichever the case, once the item or person to which value is to be added is identified then it becomes straightforward how Lean concepts can be applied with significant results.