The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Model for Improvement is a straightforward approach that many organizations use to structure their improvement strategies. The method focuses on setting goals and teamwork to achieve change. It promotes improvement by looking for answers to three questions:

• What are we trying to accomplish?
• How will we know that a change results in improvement?
• What changes can we make that will achieve improvement?
  
  

Six Sigma is a business methodology focused on improving the quality of goods or services an organization produces by reducing variance in the production process. Six Sigma leaders know that when a production process lacks the stability to create high-quality output consistently, it will continue producing defective products until someone intervenes and improves the process. Reducing variation requires constant monitoring and measurement as systems tend to erode if not kept in check. Over the years, Six Sigma practitioners have developed a set of tools and methods that address control, problem-solving, and improvement to eliminate defects and waste. Here are a few of the most essential.

When the COVID-19 pandemic first struck the US at scale in March of 2020, many organizations scrambled to transition to a remote work model. For most, the initial goal was to maintain operations while keeping employees safe. Very few people at the time anticipated the duration of the need for stay-at-home orders and widespread social distancing. 

Now that we are into 2021, vaccine distribution has been started, but the end is not yet in sight. The need for distancing and masks will likely continue well into the summer and possibly beyond.

The news for business is not all bad, however. While remote work certainly presents obstacles, there are benefits as well. Some employers have found that they can attract talented workers by hiring the best, not necessarily the closest. Many employees enjoy the increased flexibility of remote work and the environmental consequences of no commute. Employers who embrace the remote work model or a hybrid model can cut down the costs of office space.

5S is a Lean manufacturing technique that addresses the organization of workspaces and processes for a safer and more efficient manufacturing facility. It is called 5S because the five steps in this Lean tool, sorting, setting, shining, standardizing, and sustaining, all start with the letter S in both English and Japanese.

While this post is geared toward manufacturers' needs, the 5S technique can be of great value in other environments, such as healthcare and office settings.

In automotive manufacturing, there are several things you can take for granted; unfortunately, some are unwelcome. The Six Big Losses are an uninvited guest in automotive manufacturing plants everywhere. They are the wastes that rob your organization of productivity, opportunity, time, and money, often under the radar.

To counter the Six Big Losses, you have to understand them. Knowing what to look for is crucial when trying to eliminate waste in any form, especially concerning the Six Big Losses. Bringing them into the open early can help limit their ability to impact your process and allow you to reduce or rid yourself of them completely.

Visual management tools surround us. Although they are so ubiquitous, we might not even think about them. When your car is about to run out of gas, a light will alert you to the problem. Your fitness app may even show you how close you are to your daily goal. Your brain can quickly process these visual clues and use the information to make decisions.

The Lean business approach takes advantage of this fact and leverages several powerful tools for management and improvement. You don’t have to be all in on Lean to take advantage of them. Any organization striving for continuous improvement can benefit.

While the quality of care and the patient experience has long been a top priority for healthcare organizations, increasingly they are turning to more formal, systematic approaches to continuous improvement. The goal is to ensure the best health outcomes while constraining costs and maximizing resources.

To achieve their ambitious goals, many hospitals and healthcare networks have implemented quality improvement software that supports improvement and strategy deployment techniques. This post is a resource for any healthcare leader considering adopting technology to streamline improvement efforts.

KaiNexus customers capture more daily improvements from staff, run more efficient strategic projects and events, coach more effectively, and streamline their improvement process. They engage everyone from the frontlines to the executive leaders in a thriving improvement culture to accelerate their rate of change—and it shows. The more engaged your employees are with improvement work, the more impact you’ll see.

With KaiNexus, organizations receive anywhere from 2-10x the number of ideas from their employees, and the average idea in KaiNexus is worth $15,000. Most customers also pay back their entire investment in KaiNexus by implementing one idea—now, who wouldn’t want that?

Let’s take a detailed look at how your organization can drive ROI with KaiNexus:

Across the world, healthcare leaders are increasingly striving to embed the principles of operational excellence and continuous improvement in their organizations. Empowering clinical and operational staff to deliver safe, high-quality, reliable care can significantly change results.

Achieving continuous improvement requires a systematic, sustainable approach to enhancing the quality of care and patients' health outcomes. Establishing a culture of constant improvement is not a quick fix but a journey that never ends. It requires ongoing commitment, investment, and persistence.

Here is the prerequisite for excellence.

I don't think I'm going out on a limb when I say that I believe we are all glad to have 2020 in the rearview mirror. While life isn't going back to normal any time soon, there is hope on the horizon. The COIVD-19 vaccine rollout is on the way, and our healthcare professionals have made great strides in treatment for the disease. 

Last year at about this time, we laid out some suggested continuous improvement resolutions for 2020. If the pandemic thwarted your plans and best intentions, give yourself a pass. No one knew what unprecedented challenges would arise.

But this is an excellent time to begin again. Even knowing that COVID-related disruptions will continue, it is still a healthy exercise to think about what your team can accomplish for continuous improvement in 2021. You'll have to consider your unique priorities, but we do have some suggestions for goals that will help your organization achieve excellence in the coming year.