Good news for healthcare is that significant and proven innovations are available to eliminate waste and improve institutional function through the use of Lean and Six Sigma. It is the application of Lean – Six Sigma practices such as 5S, value stream mapping, pitch, standard work, mistake proofing, Voice of the Customer, etc. applied to non-patient and patient processes that will reduce waste and variation, improve the quality of care, and help improve the bottom-line.

  • The chart summarizes where specific emerging technologies might be applicable and identifies the chapters from Today's Lean Leader where these technologies are specifically referenced. This is not completely comprehensive as emerging technologies change nearly daily. Leaders must be cognizant of emerging technologies and use them appropriately where they can improve their overall effectiveness, or the effectiveness of the team.
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    Today’s Lean! Using 5S to Organize Areas and Files – eBook

    Original price was: $7.95.Current price is: $2.95.
    By: Rob Ptacek and Jaideep Motwani (Ph.D.)
    Note:  Currently out of stock for hard copy.   We Print-On-Demand for this title of quantities of 50 or more.  Please call 734-475-4301 to place your order.

    Your eBook will be provided as a downloadable file.

    The downloadable PDF book provided is to be distributed to the quantity purchased. Unauthorized copying or sharing is not permitted. Please email info@theleanstore.com or call 734-475-4301 if you have any questions on the ebook(s) purchase.  EG.,  purchasing 5 copies of a book will allow you to distribute the PDF to 5 users.
    Today’s Lean! Using 5S to Organize and Standardize Areas and Files is another book from the Today’s Lean! series published by MCS Media, Inc.  It has been suggested by you, our readers, that you would like Lean and Six Sigma information to be more succinct and at your fingertips, thus allowing for a single tool or concept to be easily accessible (i.e., as a pocket guide and not a manual).  Therefore, the Today’s Lean! series of books provide:
    1. Concise content on a one main Lean or Six Sigma tool or concept
    2. Numerous case studies, worksheets, and examples from all types of industries
    3. Availability as a pocket guide or ebook
    4. A standard format
    5. An avenue to update content immediately via your feedback and input (via ebook updates)
    6. An inspiration for you to implement something similar
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    Lean Communication Forms

    Original price was: $5.00.Current price is: $3.00.
    This set of forms has proven successful in many Fortune 500 companies. The key to any project or continuous improvement is effective communications and alignment to the strategic goals of the organization. Delivered as customizable Word documents.
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    The 5S Desktop (PC) Pocket Handbook

    Original price was: $8.95.Current price is: $5.95.
    By: Vlado Baban
    The 5S Desktop (PC) Pocket Handbook is a step-by-step guide for the implementation of 5S to all your electronic files. The XP version of Windows Explorer and the Office 2003 software suite were the versions used in creating this handbook. This handbook is designed to be:
    1. An implementation guide. This handbook steps you through each phase of the 5S process. Examples are shown to assist you in this process. No two file systems (Desktops) are the same; therefore, use the examples as a guide when you apply that phase or step to your Desktop.
    2. A Lean beginning. 5S is a fundamental Lean tool and is considered the foundation for additional Lean tool application. Once 5S has been implemented and results have been obtained, there will be a need to integrate more Lean tools into your Desktop environment.
    3. A spark for the department. Once everyone understands the basic premise of Lean and 5S, then that understanding can serve as a catalyst for a more comprehensive application of Lean tools. (iLean and Lean Office Demystified II are available books on how additional Lean tools can be applied to your Desktop environment.)
    4. A bridge for improved performance. It is often stated that the average person at work today has nearly 80 emails to deal with on a daily basis. This, along with the other application files, can at times be overwhelming for the individual. Using 5S for organizing your emails, as well as the other application files, will greatly assist in managing this barrage of information. Implementing 5S to your files and folders will allow for a more stress-free workplace.
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    Activity Doesn’t Mean Achievement: Identifying Waste in Healthcare

    Original price was: $7.95.Current price is: $5.95.
    By: Todd Sperl Activity Doesn’t Mean Achievement: Identifying Waste in Healthcare provides a practical approach to educate and communicate to healthcare staff on the various types of wastes that may exist in their processes as well as provide guidance in possible ways to eliminate those wastes.  Subsequently, individuals and teams can work to eliminate those specific wastes through Kaizen or Rapid Improvement Events.  The purpose of this book is to provide:
    1. A standard communication platform for defining the 12 wastes for an individual as well as a team
    2. EXAMPLES of healthcare waste that may “trigger” ideas of wasteful processes in your facility
    3. Questions to help DETECT wastes in current processes
    4. Suggestions of Lean and Six Sigma methods to ELIMINATE wastes
    5.  Innovative ways to conduct a Waste Walk
    6.  An example of a Waste Audit and Waste Walk
    7. Space in the book to document current wasteful processes as well as ideas for eliminating those wastes
    8. Definitions for the basic Lean and Six Sigma tools
    9. A case study on how one facility used the simple concept of waste to engage staff in their Lean journey
  • Sale!

    The New Lean Healthcare Pocket Guide

    Original price was: $7.95.Current price is: $6.95.
    By: Debra Hadfield (RN MSN), Shelagh Holmes (RN), Sue Kozlowski, Todd Sperl, and Don Tapping
    The New Healthcare Pocket Guide is a collection of input from healthcare professionals and Lean Sensei.  It provides easy-to-use and easy-to-understand tools, methods, and concepts based on the world-class Toyota Motor Company (i.e., Lean).  The New Lean Healthcare Pocket Guide is design for use as a quick and easy reference as you learn and implement Lean tools.  The tools of 5S, continuous flow, cycle time, document tagging, error proofing, goals and outcomes, Just-In-Time, takt time, standard work, pitch, plus all the other Lean tools are thoroughly explained.  This “newer” version includes additional case studies, actual photos, an index, as well as compliments the Value Stream Management for Lean Healthcare book.  This book will assist any healthcare facility in the enabling them into a Lean environment where the focus is on both driving strategic change and meeting operational goals.
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    Kaizen Workshop Worksheets for Lean Healthcare

    Original price was: $10.00.Current price is: $7.00.
    The Kaizen Worksheets include all the forms and checklists you need to conduct a Kaizen event.These are meant to support your internal kaizen event process. For more detail on how to conduct a kaizen event for your industry, please check The Lean Store.com for workbooks detailing the process. Delivered as customizable Excel worksheets.
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    Lean Office Demystified II – eBook

    Original price was: $17.95.Current price is: $7.95.
    By: Don Tapping, Anne Dunn, Doug Fertuck, and Vlado Baban

    Note:  Currently out of stock for hard copy.   We Print-On-Demand for this title of quantities of 20 or more.  Please call 734-475-4301 to place your order.

    Your ebook will be provided as a downloadable file.

    The downloadable PDF book provided is to be distributed to the quantity purchased. Unauthorized copying or sharing is not permitted. Please email info@theleanstore.com or call 734-475-4301 if you have any questions on the ebook(s) purchase.  EG., purchasing 5 copies of a book will allow you to distribute the PDF to 5 users.
    Lean Office Demystified II is simple to understand and provides easy-to-do steps explaining how Lean can be applied in various administrative settings. The tools of takt time, pitch, leveling, standard work, mistake proofing, value stream mapping, etc. are all explained with examples that anyone can relate to. The book provides three main steps into applying Lean in any type office environment.This new version also reveals the secrets on how Lean can be leveraged with MS Office (and other applications) to move information where it is needed, when it is needed, in error-free ways never dreamed of - at the speed of sight. Learn how MS Excel, Word, Access, Grove, and Visio, as well as ACT!, Windows Explorer, and Google Docs can be used in applying Lean tools and concepts. This is all conveyed through the Global Winds case study that is included at the end of each chapter.This easy-to-use book includes everything you need for success - readiness guides, worksheets, forms, screen shots, application examples, etc. Lean Office Demystified II goes beyond theory to explain how all this works in the actual business case study of Global Winds. Lean Office Demystified II will boost office performance, reduce costs, and increase customer satisfaction, while at the same time create stress-free work place.
  • The Lean Pocket Handbook for Kaizen Events is your personal (i.e., individual) Lean planner for the 21st century. We have found individuals that use this pocket handbook feel more part of the Kaizen team. They also continue to contribute improvement ideas well past the formal team Kaizen Event. That is what Lean is all about - making those small, incremental, improvements daily (i.e., hour-by-hour and minute-by-minute) by those closest to the process.
    This handbook is designed to be:
    1. A quick-reference guide.  Lean tools are explained in more detail in other manuals or by your facilitator during the instruction portion of the workshop.
    2. Your individual (i.e., personal) log. When working outside the formal training class, notes and ideas about the area or process that are being analyzed can be easily written down in this handbook (serving as your personal log) so as not to lose valuable process information.
    3. Your personal Kaizen planner. Kaizen Events will require that individual tasks be assigned to team members to be completed prior to the next meeting.  Many of these tasks will need to be scheduled within the individual’s current work day. This handbook will thus serve as your “planner” to assure these tasks are adequately planned and completed on time.
    4. A tool to self-initiate Idea Kaizens.  An Idea Kaizen is an individual that implements an improvement with little or no assistance or resource required.  This is similar to a Suggestion Program submission; however, the individual with the Idea Kaizen would be responsible for immediate implementation of the idea.
    5. A learning tool.  Each tool will have illustrations to graphically represent the essence of each tool. This will allow you to better understand and learn about each tool prior to using them in your Kaizen Event.
  • By: Rob Ptacek and Jaideep Motwani (Ph.D.)
    Today’s Lean! Learning About and Identifying Waste is the first book from the Today’s Lean! series published by MCS Media, Inc.  It has been suggested by you, our readers, that you would like Lean and Six Sigma information to be more succinct and at your fingertips, thus allowing for a single tool or concept to be easily accessible (i.e., as a pocket guide and not a manual).  Therefore, the Today’s Lean! series of books provide:
    1. Concise content on one main Lean or Six Sigma tool or concept
    2. Numerous case studies, worksheets, and examples from all types of industries
    3. Availability as a pocket guide or ebook
    4. A standard format
    5. An avenue to update content immediately via your feedback and input (via ebook updates)
    6. An inspiration for you to implement something similar
  • By: Todd Sperl, Rob Ptacek, Jayant Trewn (PhD)The A3 Pocket Handbook for Kaizen Events allows team members to be literally and figuratively on the same page when participating in an improvement event.  This allows more ownership, while at the same time preserving organizational knowledge.  The improvement methodology used (i.e., Six Sigma D-M-A-I-C, PDCA, etc.) will relate to the A3 Report that is conveyed in this publication.  (The A3 Report is designed to help you “tell the story” in a logical and visual way and act as a road map for continuous improvement and problem solving initiatives.) The purpose of this pocket handbook is to:
    1. Ensure all team members have a quick reference for Lean Six Sigma definitions.
    2. Compliment, as a mini-workbook, the Practical Lean Six Sigma for Healthcare and The Lean Six Sigma Pocket Guide XL books as well as any other training materials used in an improvement event.
    3. Provide a road map for continuous improvement projects if no other methodology (i.e., PDCA, D-M-A-I-C, etc.) is used.
    4. Provide Lean Thinking Statement assessments at the end of each section for employees to “think” Lean and continue their engagement.
    5. Be a repository of thoughts, ideas, and any action items that may be assigned, etc.
    6. To retain organizational knowledge by being a personal detailed log of the Kaizen Event to be shared and/or referenced later.
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    Kaizen Workshop Worksheets for the Lean Office

    Original price was: $10.00.Current price is: $8.00.
    The Kaizen Worksheets include all the forms and checklists you need to conduct a Kaizen event. These are meant to support your internal kaizen event process. For more detail on how to conduct a kaizen event for your industry, please check The Lean Store.com for more workbooks detailing the process. Delivered as customizable Excel worksheets.
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    The Simply Lean Kaizen Worksheets

    Original price was: $10.00.Current price is: $8.00.
    The Simply Lean Kaizen Worksheets allow you to customize the tools, concepts, and practices demonstrated in The Simply Lean Pocket Guide. These 21 electronic worksheets will allow your Kaizen Events to be more effective in communicating the entire process. Delivered as customizable Excel worksheets.
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    Waste Walk Audit Form

    Original price was: $10.00.Current price is: $8.00.
    A Waste Walk is an activity for project team members to further understand a process area that is being considered for improvement, asking questions, and then identifying the wastes on the current state value stream or process map. Using this customizable Waste Walk Audit form, the team members, along with their Lean training, can view the area with a fresh perspective as they identify process waste. Delivered as customizable Word document.
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    The Practical Lean Six Sigma Pocket Guide for Healthcare

    Original price was: $9.95.Current price is: $8.95.
    By: Todd Sperl, Rob Ptacek, Jayant Trewn (PhD) This book bridges the gap between a highly quantitative analysis of a process that requires extensive training (i.e., Six Sigma certification) and a more simplified approach that can be used and understood by the masses (i.e., Lean thinking). The goal of this book is to make the methods and tools of Lean and Six Sigma accessible to more people and provide a common sense or “practical” approach to problem solving and continuous improvement. This book is intended to be used by Sigma Belt Levels, Lean Senseis (i.e., teachers), Continuous Improvement Specialists, front-line managers, and supervisors of departments and work groups, and improvement team members in their efforts to improve the patient care experience while reducing waste and variation in all types of healthcare processes. The Lean Six Sigma tools and concepts are presented relative to the A3 Report to provide a definitive how-to guide to problem solving and continuous improvement (Kaizen) initiatives.
  • First of its kind! The Simply Lean Pocket Guide is the integration of Lean and the PDCA methodology. The interactive Tinker Town case study allows you to take problem solving with a Lean twist to your next performance level. The most basic premise of Lean is to simply and effectively problem solve.   The Simply Lean Pocket Guide is a step-by-step approach to the implementation of process improvements using the PDCA model along with a Lean twist.  If you are just beginning to adopt Lean or Six Sigma as a business improvement model, whether you are in the healthcare, financial services, construction, armed services, manufacturing, government, logistics, service, or construction industry, the first thing that should be acknowledged is that the solution to the problem (or improvement target that is to be reached) will be found in the intellect of the people who are working the process.  Therefore, as a trainer, consultant (internal or external), or departmental head, the focus to improve a situation would be to “somehow” work with that group (and their intellect) and find a solution.  However, that “somehow” is not always easy to attain and will require some guidance along the way.  Simply Lean will provide that guidance ensuring root causes and wastes are eliminated in creating a Leaner, problem-free process.
  • First of its kind! The Simply Lean Pocket Guide is the integration of Lean and the PDCA methodology. The interactive Tinker Town case study allows you to take problem solving with a Lean twist to your next performance level. The most basic premise of Lean is to simply and effectively problem solve.   The Simply Lean Pocket Guide is a step-by-step approach to the implementation of process improvements using the PDCA model along with a Lean twist.  If you are just beginning to adopt Lean or Six Sigma as a business improvement model, whether you are in the healthcare, financial services, construction, armed services, manufacturing, government, logistics, service, or construction industry, the first thing that should be acknowledged is that the solution to the problem (or improvement target that is to be reached) will be found in the intellect of the people who are working the process.  Therefore, as a trainer, consultant (internal or external), or departmental head, the focus to improve a situation would be to “somehow” work with that group (and their intellect) and find a solution.  However, that “somehow” is not always easy to attain and will require some guidance along the way.
  • Sale!

    The New Lean Healthcare Pocket Guide XL

    Original price was: $12.95.Current price is: $10.95.
    By: Debra Hadfield (RN, MSN), Shelagh Holmes (RN), Sue Kozlowski, Todd Sperl, and Don Tapping The New Healthcare Pocket Guide XL is a collection of input from healthcare professionals and Lean Sensei. It provides easy-to-use and easy-to-understand tools, methods, and concepts based on the world-class Toyota Motor Company (i.e., Lean). The New Lean Healthcare Pocket Guide XL in this larger format is design for use as a quick and easy reference as you learn and implement Lean tools. The tools of 5S, continuous flow, cycle time, document tagging, error proofing, goals and outcomes, Just-In-Time, takt time, standard work, pitch, plus all the other Lean tools are thoroughly explained. This "newer" version includes additional case studies, actual photos, an index, as well as compliments the Value Stream Management for Lean Healthcare book. This book will assist any healthcare facility in the enabling them into a Lean environment where the focus is on both driving strategic change and meeting operational goals.
  • A flexible template to make accurate current and future state drawings for your value stream maps.

  • Sale!

    Value Stream Management for Lean Healthcare Worksheets

    Original price was: $20.00.Current price is: $12.00.
    The Value Stream Management for Lean Healthcare Worksheets allows you to customize the tools, concepts, and practices demonstrated in the Value Stream Management for Lean Healthcare book. These 52 electronic worksheets allow you to immediately begin to use the practices in your Kaizen Event. Delivered as customizable Excel worksheets.
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    The 5S for the Office User’s Guide

    Original price was: $14.95.Current price is: $12.95.
    The 5S for the Office User's Guide provides an organization with the forms, worksheets, and checklists necessary to ensure a 5S project is well-planned from the start - as well as ensuring the program is sustained over time. This how-to guide should be used as it is titled - as a "Guide". The information contained in this workbook should supplement, support, and enhance, etc. current materials that an organization may currently be using. Throughout The 5S for the Office User’s Guide there will be various quotations, performance points, references to PC file storage (the IT case study in the appendix) etc. to further invoke the overall need to do 5S in all types of administrative settings.  As organizations automate more administrative functions (i.e., becoming more paperless) then there must exist that same type of organization and standardization for a physical file system as well as the computer file system.  It is the focus of this User’s Guide to have the 5S principles apply to both the physical desktop (paperwork, desk layout, drawer organization, etc.) and the PC desktop (folders, files, emails, shortcuts, etc.). No workbook or guide can take the place of a person’s enthusiasm and passion to improve.  However, what this guide can do is provide a good, solid foundation on what is required to effectively implement 5S in administrative settings while also spearheading efforts to bring those principles to the PC.
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    Practical Lean Six Sigma for Healthcare Worksheets

    Original price was: $20.00.Current price is: $15.00.
    The Practical Lean Six Sigma for Healthcare Worksheets allows you to customize the tools, concepts, and practices demonstrated in the Practical Lean Six Sigma for Healthcare book. These 27 electronic worksheets allow you to immediately begin to use the practices in your Kaizen Event. Delivered as customizable Excel worksheets.
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    Kaizen Demystified Worksheets

    Original price was: $20.00.Current price is: $15.00.
    The Kaizen Demystified Worksheets allow you to customize the tools, concepts, practices, and worksheets demonstrated in the Kaizen Demystified book. These 46 electronic worksheets will allow for an effective and efficient application of engaging people in a Kaizen Event. Delivered as customizable Excel worksheets.
  • By:  Rob Ptacek, Mark Coats, Col. (Retired, US Army), Todd PtacekToday's Lean Leader is designed for use as a quick and convenient reference, or as a training guide to improve your effectiveness in leading, supervising, and coaching employees. It provides valuable insight into the How To's of leadership and supervision. Today's Lean Leader can be used in a variety of ways, some of which are: (1)The guide is valuable for the new or veteran leader - supervisor (2) Remarkably, the guide in the hands of the workforce makes the task of leading and supervising all the easier when everyone is on the same page on these basic principles.

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