In this edition of our Six Sigma newsletter, I wanted to look at a case study I found about healthcare providers. They are responsible for what may be conflicting goals;

1. Delivering exceptional healthcare.

2. Doing it fast.

The challenges here are immense.

Sometimes, it can feel that Six Sigma teams can get locked into a solution ahead of time. Because of this, I do not like Six Sigma case studies that focus on a particular technology as a solution. This case study does focus on a particular technology (RFID) and a particular software for use in analysis.

Still, it’s worth a read because of the methodology.

The Chosen Approach:

The team decided to leverage the power of Lean Six Sigma’s DMAIC methodology. They incorporated Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology into their solution strategy. The aim was to optimize supplier on-time delivery performance. Here’s how they did it.

Define the Problem and Set Goals:

The team started by defining the problem and establishing clear goals. They focused on delivery performance for supplies that are critical to patient care.

Measure Current Performance:

The measure phase involved capturing data for task duration, process duration, costs, resource use, and the number of mistakes made. They created a “current-state value stream map.” This helped identify problems (e.g., wasted time searching for equipment and supplies and surgical errors).

Analyze

Root cause analysis was used to find process variations and errors. The researchers examined potential failures in outpatient surgery. Process mapping and discrete event simulation tools helped the team analyze process variation.

They progressed to assess the impact of implementing RFID technology. They proposed a few ways to use RFID technology, such as tagging patients and equipment with RFID chips.

The researchers chose to simulate the effects of their proposals. They wanted to see if the RFID proposals could reduce patient misidentification, lost equipment, and other complications.

Improve (Hypothetically)

If there’s something that I dislike about this case study, it is that they didn’t actually make any changes.

This team ran a simulation in which RFID technology was introduced to the outpatient surgery process. In their analysis, they focused heavily on the concept of poka-yoke (mistake-proofing).

They analyzed the costs and time savings, performed a cost-benefit analysis, and conducted a sensitivity analysis to assess risks. The researchers compared two models, showing the total and average costs and time per patient with and without the RFID system.

Unsurprisingly, the RFID system won out.

Control (Hypothetically)

Had the team demonstrated improvement, the next step would have been to lock in the gains.

They would have created rules, procedures, and monitoring mechanisms to maintain the improved processes. It’s easy to assume that the new technology could provide real-time data and feedback. This would lend transparency and make it possible to take corrective actions quickly. The difficult part is actually making it real.

Conclusion

If you’re interested in seeing the full case study on RFID in Healthcare: A Six Sigma DMAIC and Simulation Case Study, click here to read the full article.

I hope you find this case study as fascinating and inspiring as I did. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me. I’m always happy to chat.

Best regards, Ted Hessing

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