Improvement Insights Blog

A QI Macros customer recently asked: ” What is a reasonable and productive ratio of Lean or Six Sigma expert (LSSBB, for example) to staff for a healthcare organization that is starting the journey?”

The general consensus I can find online about Six Sigma belts/employees is:
1 BB/100 employees
3 GB/100 employees

I think these numbers are designed to keep Six Sigma training companies in business.

Depending on the size of a Medical center, you could use one BB and some GBs to get started. You can’t fix everything all at once, so one BB ramrodding a handful of GBs to solve key problems would be a good start.

Lean, on the other hand, can be done by anyone who can handle a pen and Post-it notes.

I put up a Free Yellow Belt training at www.lssyb.com that will teach anyone the Magnificent Seven Tools of Lean Six Sigma. The healthcare case studies for Lean and Six Sigma should give anyone a good starting point for understanding and applying these tools.

Watch the videos. Anyone can start doing Lean projects right now, because most of the delays in healthcare are between steps in the process.

 A typical ED visit is still 4 hours according to Press Ganey while Robert Wood Johnson Hospital had it down to 38 minutes (discharge) and 90 minutes (admitted) in 2004.

The Medical Centers I’ve been to have waiting areas for everything from prescriptions to labs to surgery. Waiting areas presume that the patient waits. When you optimize care around the patient’s time, not the clinician’s time, you’ll serve both more effectively.

I think every business needs more “Money Belts” people who can use the essential tools of Lean Six Sigma to solve problems, save time, save money, be more profitable. Employees can start learning now, for free, at www.lssyb.com.

Yes at some point you will need some BBs and GBs, but how will you know who has the “chops” to be a BB or GB?
It takes more than technical skill; you have to be good at coordinating, facilitating and influencing people.

Turn people loose on www.lssyb.com and see who steps up to the plate and starts hitting bunts, singles, doubles, triples and home runs. Some folks are born improvers. Others can learn how to improve. Others don’t want to change, ever.

How many BBs and GBs do you need?
My answer: it depends on far too many things to use a simple formula. How many employees do you have? How many improvement projects can you tolerate at one time? If you focus on the high leverage areas (the 4-50 rule), you don’t need a lot of problem solvers to maximize return.

Toyota doesn’t have BBs and GBs. They just have a workforce that knows how to solve problems using 5 Whys.

Some companies measure success with Six Sigma by how many belts they’ve trained. That’s just wrong.
It’s not how many belts you have, it’s how much you improve measured in dollars, time and Patient/Clinician satisfaction.

How do you create a culture the values the patient’s time and outcomes over all?
How do you get everyone involved in speed and quality of care?
How many people do you need to guide the improvements?
How can everyone use the Magnificent Seven Tools of Lean Six Sigma to make and sustain improvements?

Tailor your BB and GB needs to the facility.