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I have covered the basics of lean design in previous posts—especially how design-build best embodies lean priciples. However, I was inspired by a Becker’s and Advisory Board posting and applied lean to a description of lean to best communicate the fundamentals of lean design with the least amount of verbiage. It is not quite tweet-worthy, but enjoy: […]
March 16, 2012
AirTran happens to fly where I need to go lately, so I have flown with them quite a bit. On a recent trip, I was watching the ground crew prep us for take-off and saw a very appropriate use of Lean design in action. I looked on the ground and saw several areas striped off on […]
February 15, 2012
In December’s Architect, an article on Crisis Response Centers caught my eye. The renderings and photos were bright, the designs cool and, of course, it was about healthcare. The general theme was cost containment in light of buildings that need to last in a healthcare environment. A couple paragraphs into the story was the first quote […]
December 30, 2011
I had an interesting talk with a healthcare consultant who specializes in Lean and Six Sigma initiatives [click for background and previous posts on Lean and Six Sigma.] In the course of our talk I asked him for the top places any hospital could save major money if Lean methods were implemented. He provided me with […]
August 17, 2011
Humans innately seek consistency. When a woman commits to something, we expect her to follow through. And if she doesn’t we are bothered, and look on her with skepticism for her lack of consistency. Or when a man says he is a strong supporter of the environment, we find it troubling if he drives around town in a gas-guzzling […]
June 24, 2011
Question: why all this fuss about lean in healthcare? Answer: there are three current industry preoccupations providing lean with interest and momentum. Healthcare Reform. The genesis of healthcare reform law is waste. On some level, the federal government believes 1/3 of all current patient care dollars spent are excess—duplication, unnecessary procedures, inefficient processes. Lean processes can fix this. ‘Do More with […]
June 6, 2011
Not every conference session is going to be a winner. I attended a real loser a few weeks ago on what was touted as a ‘lean’ solution for rural healthcare clinics. The presenters’ main target was one design prototype that could be adaptable to various rural site requirements in a very severe climate. I was intrigued. Instead, it was […]
December 17, 2010
David Chambers, Strategic Facility Planner for Sutter Health, presented an excellent lean design seminar at the Healthcare Design Conference (HDC.10) last month. Lean has finally become an in topic; in other words, it is a mainstream discussion item as evidenced by the standing room only crowd. The popularity of this particular talk was a testiment to the quality […]
November 5, 2010
In the average building project, there are only so many ways to improve value via the design and construction process. The most obvious is to shorten the time it takes to do any one task, thus saving time, resources and money. Construction is an obvious target because it is the greatest chunk of time in the […]
August 6, 2010
A customer must occasionally venture into an industry about which they know very little and make the best purchase possible. Even with so many resources available, time is a limiting factor to knowing the past, current and future trends and best practices surrounding the purchase-du-jour. A fully-educated consumer makes an informed purchase for maximum utility. As […]
Owner's Toolbox 
July 20, 2012
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