Challenge: Medium-sized hospital had significant delays getting patients from ED to floor. Time from ED to floor was 20-113 minutes.

Solution: Twelve-week Lean Healthcare program. Staff from ED and nursing units were trained in Lean principles by faculty from Purdue's College of Technology. Over twelve weeks, the hospital team defined the problem and current baseline processes through voice of the customer analysis and process mapping. They identified key operational barriers using process observation and time trials and implemented solutions based on a future state process map and PDCA cycles.

Result: ED admissions "time to bed" decreased to 9 minutes.

Challenge: Large hospital's clinical research revenue cycle routinely exceeded 45 days.

Solution: Eight-week Lean Office program. Staff from the clinical research billing office were trained in Lean principles by faculty and graduate assistants from the Purdue department of Organizational Leadership and Supervision/Lean Enterprise. The team used value stream mapping, process capability studies, root cause analysis and process flow mapping to identify current base line processes and operational barriers. The successful implementation of short-term solutions led to administration approval for longer-term solution implementation.

Result: Implementation of solutions reduced the revenue cycle by 33% even before project was completed.

Challenge: Medium-sized hospital had 15% on-time OR starts.

Solution: Faculty from the Purdue department of Organizational Leadership and Supervision/Lean Enterprise led an eight-week Lean Healthcare program for preop area and OR area staff - included training, identification of key issues, and solution implementation. Over the eight-week period, the hospital team used workflow analysis, spaghetti diagrams and other Lean tools to define the problem and identify current baseline processes, operational barriers and process waste. The team then implemented a control process plan.

Result: On-time OR starts are now 65%. Estimated immediate savings of $100,000.

Challenge: Newly automated lab at a large hospital was experiencing bottlenecks as lab specimens were received.

Solution: A Purdue team of faculty and graduate assistants from Organizational Leadership and Supervision and Nursing assessed lab specimen collection practices on the nursing units and the specimen receipt process in the lab using time motion studies, process mapping and other engineering principles. Recommendations included training, basic layout redesign, visual messaging on computers, and basic reprogramming of lab software.

Result: Front-end lab processing time has decreased following successful implementation of solutions.

Challenge: Large hospital had increasing patient wait times in outpatient central registration area.

Solution: A Purdue team of Organizational Leadership and Supervision faculty and graduate assistants created a detailed process flow of the entire central registration process to identify barriers. Available technologies were researched to provide additional recommendations. Recommendations included changes to workstation layout and design, software upgrades, visual controls, patient notification/reminder system, decentralized registration at peak times, standardized collection processes and standardized operations procedures.

Result: Average patient wait-time has decreased due to successful implementation of recommended solutions.

Challenge: Critical access hospital wanted to improve patient flow through the surgical process. Half of all procedures began later than scheduled times.

Solution: The Purdue team of Nursing and Industrial Engineering faculty and graduate assistants analyzed surgical volumes, surgical scheduling bottlenecks, staff availability and constraints related to the physical facility. Recommendations were made related to staffing, training, scheduling, documentation, physician and staff arrival times, anesthesia and unit/OR coordination.

Result: On-time starts dramatically improved to more than 75%. Improved patient and staff satisfaction.