The Lean EnterpriseOur ApproachTangible Results
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Tangible Results

Tangible Lean and Kaizen ResultsRegardless of your current market position, today's competitive environment and global economy requires that you deliver products and services faster than ever before, with higher quality and at lower cost. Delivery – speed – time. These are the new differentiators that help gain or maintain your competitive edge.

We help teams achieve consistently impressive results when they apply Lean principles and tools to any value stream, whether service or product-based. Actual results are listed below. "After" results are initially projected and then validated through ongoing process audits.

Financial results have ranged from creating the capacity to earn an additional $2.5 million dollars in revenue without adding staff or equipment to eliminating an unnecessary expense of $1.4 million dollars per year. Both improvements were achieved during a single five-day Kaizen Event. Indirect benefits include creating a more motivated workforce with higher morale, freed capacity, reduced turnover, improved safety, reduced risk of regulatory violations and litigation, and numerous instances of cost avoidance.

The following list is a representative sample of the results our clients have experienced. The thee key metrics are defined as follows:

  • Lead Time refers to overall throughput or turnaround time, including waiting and delays.
  • Process Time refers to the actual "touch time” it takes workers to complete the task.
  • Activity Ratio = PT/LT x 100 and reflects the percentage of time the data, material or person passing through the process is being worked on versus waiting.

Hospital Discharge Process

Metric Before After % Improvement
Lead Time 11 hours 4 hours 64%
Process Time 141 minutes 126 minutes 11%
Activity Ratio 21% 53% 152%
Rolled First Pass Yield (Quality) 20% 41% 105%
Freed Labor Capacity --- 715 hours / year ---

Hiring & Onboarding Process

Metric Before After % Improvement
Lead Time 108 days 43 days 60%

Sales Orders Process

Metric Before After % Improvement
Lead Time 17 days 6 days 65%
Process Time 5.8 hours 4.4 hours 24%
Activity Ratio 4.2% 9.2% 119%

Cost Estimating Process

Metric Before After % Improvement
Lead Time 40 days 15 days 63%
Estimate Accuracy +25% ±10% 60%
# Process Steps 14 11 21%

Emergency Department Patient Flow

Metric Before After % Improvement
Lead Time 7.7 hours 4.0 hours 48%
Process Time 2.7 hours 2.4 hours 11%
Activity Ratio 35% 60% 71%

Software Modification Process

Metric Before After % Improvement
Lead Time 83 days 24 days 67%
Process Time 114 hours 48 hours 58%
# Process Steps 23 13 43%

Contract Processing

Metric Before After % Improvement
Lead Time 7.6 days 1.6 days 79%
Process Time 6.8 hours 5.0 hours 26%
# Process Steps 51 33 33%
Distance traveled 2,421 feet 1.244 feet 49%

Purchase Order Requisition Approval

Metric Before After % Improvement
Lead Time 10 days 2.5 days 78%
Process Time 60 minutes 40 minutes 33%
Rolled First Pass Yield (Quality) 0% 60% 8500%

Engineering Analysis

Metric Before After % Improvement
Lead Time 36.4 days 4.7 days 87%
Process Time 15.1 hours 7.7 hours 49%
# Process Steps 27 18 33%

Order Entry Process

Metric Before After % Improvement
Orders input within one day 45% 90% 100%
Process Steps 21 13 38%

Additional results include:

  • Reduced outpatient imaging report turnaround time from 31 to 14 hours (55% improvement).
  • Increased production of "road mix" from 160 to 305 yards per day (90% improvement), while reducing the cost from $19 to $15 per yard produced (21% cost reduction)..
  • Reduced acquisition process from 50 to 22 days (78% improvement).
  • Reduced revenue cycle from 10 to 3 days for charges to be posted (67% improvement); also reduced claims denials from 13.5% to 7% (48% improvement).
  • Created $310,000 in annual savings in data set development process.
  • Reduced contracts processing lead time from 1.5 weeks to 1.5 days (78% improvement).
  • Reduced distance staff travels to process contracts at peak periods from 8.2 miles to 4.2 miles (51% improvement).
  • Reduced complex purchase order processing lead time from 21 days to 8 days, freeing 3.6 FTEs/year (62% improvement).
  • Reduced sales order amendment processing lead time from 33 days to 18 days (45% improvement).
  • Reduced contract processing lead time from 9 months to 9 weeks (75% improvement).
  • Reduced work-in-process from 270 units to 179 units.
  • Reduced departmental square footage requirements from 2000 sq. ft to 750 sq. ft. (63% improvement)
  • Reduced backlog from $7 million to less than $1 million (86% improvement).
  • Reduced manufacturing time from 900 people-hours per unit to 400 hours per unit (56% improvement).
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