Imagine you are driving down Highway 59, maybe even on your way to your shift at the hospital, your car begins to sputter and lurch and your engine suddenly dies as you coast to the shoulder of the road. Then you look down at the fuel gauge and become instantly aware of the issue at hand…you have run out of gas!
Watch the video below as Wes and Eliud will explain more about how the above car scenario relates to the strategy execution component of Performance Excellence.
As Wes mentioned, vehicles have visual management tools that offer us reminders and warning indicators when it is time to fill up the gas tank, change the oil, or even when there is low tire pressure.
All of these are part of a daily management system for operating a vehicle. These items not only prevent immediate, unplanned problems from occurring but also form the foundation for extending the life of the vehicle and making everyday activities much more enjoyable.
As we manage our department and units there are always key performance indicators (KPIs) that we should examine every day, just like the fuel gauge, to make sure that there are no unexpected breakdowns. We monitor items such as quality, staffing levels, hospital volumes, and more through our daily management process.
For example, what if instead of just looking at the gas gauge, we actually graphed our gas usage and could see over time how we are getting fewer miles to the gallon. It is up to us to utilize the information to both improve the quality of our driving experience and the overall cost.
The same is true of our business processes. The data that we need is right there to enable us to both resolve emergent issues and to investigate long-term corrective action.
Daily management is simply choreographed, data-driven, process improvement methods and reviews to help managers and staff prepare for our day-to-day operations together.
Everybody, every day making our hospital the best that it can be.
Chris Siebenaler
Regional Senior Vice President and CEO
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