The "Training Within Industry" program was a U.S. government program during World War II that focused on ramping up war production. The methodology for creating job instructions, managing continuous improvement, and training employees became the foundation for Toyota's approach to Standardized Work as it was taught to them after the war.

The TWI approach was also used in healthcare during the war. The approach is being utilized today in a growing number of hospitals as that history is rediscovered.

The TWI Institute has resources and historical documents about TWI in healthcare.

This is an "open source" edit-able Google Map that illustrates healthcare sites around the world with a documented Lean effort.

View Healthcare Organizations with Lean Efforts in a larger map 

 

You can add sites to the map by clicking on the link above. You can access the map directly via the URL www.leanmaps.com.

Here is a list of healthcare organizations that have their own website about Lean:

• Virginia Mason Medical Center (WA)
• Avera McKennan (SD)
• Beth Israel Deaconness (MA)
• PRHI Perfecting Patient Care (PA)
• Seattle Children's (WA)  
• Univ. of Michigan Quality System (MI)
• ThedaCare Improvement System (WI)

State money and, more recently, federal Economic Recovery dollars might be available for you to fund lean training. A good place to start looking for what’s available locally is the U.S. Department of Labor’s “One-Stop Career Center System.”

Employees, managers, and the CEO of VIBCO, Inc., talk about the lean transition in ths candid video. Shot in the shop and office of this Rhode Island maker of vibration equipment, the video gives you a feeling for the transition's technical and cultural changes. Managers and associates talk about the changes, the performance improvements, and the advantages over the old batch-and-queue production methods. Associates also show some of the improvements they've made. (Then watch the clip from an award presentation of CEO Karl Wadensten talking about the advantages a lean company has in a tough economy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wnw_Km89yLU&feature=related )

The department's web page has a list of resources at the bottom under "Information Listing" that contain brief summaries of what lean, what constitutes waste in nonproduction settings, misconceptions about processes, examples of customers in government, and other helpful resources.

Environmental agencies in several states, including Delaware, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Nebraska are applying lean and six sigma principles to cut permitting time and complexity. This page at the federal EPA summarizes what's going on in the states. Scroll to the bottom for links to presentations and more information.

This article describes elements required, but often overlooked, to realize true potential from lean or Six Sigma improvement programs. Beyond floor-level improvement activities, integration of lean into the culture and management system of an organization is required to have any hope of emulating the operational achievements of the great Toyota. (Published by McKinsey Quarterly online Nov. 2008.) (Note: Registration required)

Your tax dollars at work ... the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has put together a free 80-page toolkit for achieving environmental performance targets along with your lean goals.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has created this very useful resource for learning about how lean principles dovetail with good environmental practices. It also has general background on basic lean practices.