Lean began in the automotive industry. The term was first used to describe the systems and the thinking that drives Toyota's success in 1990 when Womack, Jones, and Roos published the findings of the International Motor Vehicle Program (IMVP) research in a book entitled "The Machine that Changed the World: The story of lean production."

In those early days, most people thought that lean principles applied only to high volume, relatively low variety manufacturing operations. Those with open and inquisitive minds, however, quickly saw how adaptable these lean ideas were and began applying the principles, practices, tools, and techniques in a variety of other manufacturing industries, then to non-manufacturing areas that support operations, and then to services industries. Today, there are examples of lean thinking in nearly every activity people engage in.

Several years ago, ILS was asked to help improve operations at a major university's medical department. Working very closely with the medical staff, from the administrators, through the physicians and nurses, all the way to the support staff, we learned that applying lean in healthcare was a little different from applying lean in manufacturing. In particular, these organizations require a people-oriented approach where cross-functional teams collaboratively integrate their services to deliver care centered on the needs of their patients.. We discovered that our diversity of backgrounds and experience made ILS perfectly suited for this work, and helped considerably in gaining the buy-in and trust needed to accelerate a healthcare transformation.

Today, we offer total system lean transformation services for hospitals, clinics, HMOs, and Insurers. We have developed a tailored lean educational curriculum that delivers the right skill set to the right set of people to rapidly and permanently make the improvements needed to control rising costs, improve working conditions, improve patient care, improve administration, and build more satisfying and rewarding work for people in medical fields. Visit the links above, or give us a call. We'll be happy to discuss how we may be able to either start or accelerate your lean journey.