What Are The 3 Types of Lean Activity?

If I’m not mistaken, I’d say that right now you are under increasing pressure to identify and deliver quality improvements and efficiency savings. In your position I would also want to have a robust improvement plan, putting me in a position where I have confidence and control to get from where I am currently, to where I want/need to be. Therefore, a top priority must be ‘how’ to go about devising a suitable improvement plan that works for you, your staff, organisation and importantly your patients. Having a good understanding of the 3 types of Lean activity is an essential starting position.

The problem is you’re; firefighting operational issues, have lengthy wait times, have quality issues that are impacting patient experience and outcomes, and you’re under ever increasing pressure to find efficiency/cost savings. It’s no wonder why you’re feeling frustrated at the prospect of spinning yet more plates, leading to longer hours at work and, indeed fatigue if not actual burnout.

I believe that you shouldn’t have to make the task of process improvement feel overwhelming and stressful. I understand that any improvement ‘strategy’ needs to fit in with everything else that needs to be done and can’t become a full-time job in itself as you just don’t have the time or headspace for that matter.

By following the tips and guidance in this blog you’ll be confidently leading and implementing process improvement projects

Abdul Ghani

This article will help you get down to what you really need to know to maximise your time and resources. It will also help you benefit from my experience of leading large and small scale improvement projects over a decade and a half with the public sector, particularly the NHS. Having a good understanding of the 3 types of Lean activity is an essential starting position and will save you time, effort and energy in the long run.

Here’s how we will do this together. I’ll give you an overview of the 3 types of lean activity. It’s incredibly important you understand these as they will make the difference between success and failure. It’s also important that you familiarise yourelf with the 5 Lean Principles.

Whilst implementing process improvement shouldn’t be overly complicated and difficult, it can appear that way for some. Don’t panic, schedule a FREE consultation with me if you need any specific advice or support to help you get started!”

By not embracing the opportunities to be had from process improvement you risk continued inefficiencies, patient dissatisfaction, and inability to deliver quality care you’d expect/want as a patient yourself. Also, from an organisational perspective, it’s highly likely that you would fail to deliver sustainable cost efficiencies.

By following the tips and guidance in this blog you’ll be confidently leading and implementing process improvement projects that transforms your operations, enhances patient experience, reduces waste and improves quality, all the while increasing staff engagement. This is real healthcare excellence.

What are the 3 Types of Lean Activity?

Simply put, the 3 types of lean activity are;

• Value Added activity.
• Necessary non-value adding activity.
• Non-value adding activity, better known as ‘waste’.

In the world of healthcare, providing high quality patient care is your top priority. However, achieving this goal requires more than just hard work and dedication – it warrants a well thought out approach that delivers maximum efficiency that is within your capabilities to implement it. Enter the process improvement or lean methodology, a powerful science that promises to transform the way you deliver your processes, services and pathways by identifying and eliminating waste.

First, I will dive into value-added activities. These are those processes that directly contribute to improving patient care and enhancing the overall patient and staff experience. By optimizing these processes, you can ensure that every moment spent with your patients is purposeful and impactful.

Next, I will discuss the ever-present challenge of non-value-added activities – better known as ‘waste’. The reality of waste is that it silently drains your resources and hinders your improvement and operational progress. Armed with the knowledge of the 8 types of waste, you will learn to identify and eliminate these inefficiencies, freeing up valuable resources and capacity to be redirected towards patient care.

Finally, I will talk about necessary non-value-added activities. While these tasks may not directly contribute to patient care by themselves, they are essential for enabling value adding activities to happen.

Together, we’ll explore tactics to engage your teams, foster a culture of continuous improvement, and ultimately optimise processes that truly put your patients first.

So, join me as we unlock the secrets of lean methodology and pave the way for a future where exceptional patient care is not just a goal, but a reality. Embrace the Lean mindset, and let’s embark on a journey that will help you become a confident leader of process improvement.

Learning more about the ACTION Framework will give you a great practical way to start and manage your improvement project.

Value-Added Activities:

The most crucial type of lean activity is value-added activities. These are the actions that directly contribute to you and your staff being able to deliver ‘value’ to your patients, and can directly improve patient care, enhance service quality and improve patient and staff experience.

Why Value-Added Activities Matter

As your improvement resources are finite, focusing on value-added activities is essential. By identifying and optimizing these activities, you can streamline your processes, reduce waste, and deliver better outcomes for your patients – and your staff. After all, every minute spent on non-value-added processes is a minute that could have been dedicated to doing more value-added activities like patient care.

To better understand value-added activities, let’s explore some real-life examples from healthcare:

1. Patient Consultations: The time a doctor or nurse spends directly interacting with a patient, gathering information, and providing medical advice is a classic value-added activity. These interactions are at the core of healthcare and are highly valued by patients. From these interactions care and treatment plans can be put together based specifically to the patient’s requirements.
2. Surgical Procedures: The precise time that a surgeon is ‘knife to skin’ with a patient in theatre is also a good example of a value-added activity. It’s at this specific time that the procedure can be undertaken to help the patient with their condition.
3. Medication Administration: The careful preparation and administration of prescribed medications by nurses and pharmacists are also value-added activities. Ensuring patients receive the right medication, at the right time is crucial for their treatment and overall health.
4. Diagnostic Testing: Conducting diagnostic tests, such as X-rays, blood tests, or MRI scans, provides valuable information that guides treatment decisions and adds value to the patient’s care journey. But only if the diagnostic is required.

Non-Value-Added Activities:

While value-added activities are the essence of lean operations, non-value-added activities (also known as waste) are the main ‘targets’ that must be eliminated. These are activities that consume resources but do not add any ‘value’ from the patient’s or staff perspective. In the context of the NHS, non-value-added activities are those that do not directly contribute to improving patient care or enhancing care experience.

The Lean methodology identifies 8 types of waste, and it’s essential to recognise and eliminate these non-value-added activities to achieve true efficiency and excellence in patient care.

• Transportation: The unnecessary movement of equipment or patients.
  Examples: Transporting patients between departments unnecessarily, moving medical records or supplies across long distances, or inefficient layout of facilities.
• Inventory: Having too much or not enough inventory of supplies, equipment, or materials.
  Examples: Overstocking of medical supplies, excess medication inventory, or unused equipment taking up valuable space.
• Motion: Unnecessary movement of people or equipment, resulting in wasted time and effort.
  Examples: Staff walking excessive distances to retrieve supplies or medicines, inefficient layout of workstations, or inefficient movement during surgical procedures.
• Waiting: The unnecessary time spent waiting for the next step in a process, causing delays and inefficiencies.
  Examples: Patients waiting for extended periods in the waiting room, staff waiting for test results, equipment or decisions, or delays in receiving supplies.
• Overproduction: The unnecessary performing services or producing things before they are needed, leading to excess inventory, storage costs, and potential waste.
  Examples: Printing excessive copies of forms, preparing medications before they are required, or scheduling unnecessary appointments.
• Over-processing: Performing unnecessary steps or activities that do not add value to patient care.
  Examples: Redundant paperwork, excessive approvals, or unnecessary diagnostic tests.
• Defects: Errors, mistakes, or rework that require additional resources and effort to correct.
  Examples: Incorrect diagnoses, medication errors, or incomplete patient records.
• Underutilised Talent: Failure to fully utilise the improvement skills, knowledge, and expertise of staff members.
  Examples: Not involving your staff in process improvement projects, problem solving or ‘waste walks’.

By identifying and eliminating these non-value-added activities, you can streamline processes, reduce waste, and redirect resources towards value-added activities that directly benefit your patients.

Necessary Non-Value-Added Activities:

These types of activity are not value adding and are not waste. They sit between value adding and waste activities.

Why Necessary Non-Value-Added Activities Matter

While these activities may not directly contribute to improving patient care, they play a crucial role in supporting the overall care pathway. Whilst minimising these types of activity, it is not feasible to eliminate them outright.

To better understand necessary non-value-added activities, let’s look at the following example:

• Getting a patient from ward to theatre. If a patient requires surgical procedure in an operating room, then the patient needs to somehow get from the ward to the actual theatre. This activity of getting from A to B isn’t value adding because the value adding will be undertaken in theatre. It’s neither waste as the patient has to get to theatre to have their procedure done.

While these activities may not directly contribute to improving patient care, they are essential for maintaining a safe and well-organized healthcare system. By streamlining and optimizing these necessary non-value-added activities, you can ensure that they are performed efficiently, without compromising their intended purpose.

Remember, the key to a truly lean and efficient healthcare system lies in finding the right balance between value-added activities, eliminating non-value-added activities (waste), and minimizing necessary non-value-added activities. By mastering this balance, you can create a healthcare environment that prioritizes patient care, reduces waste, and maintains the highest standards of quality and safety.

Summary

As we conclude our exploration of the three types of lean activities, it’s clear that Lean methodology holds immense potential for transforming healthcare delivery within the NHS. By mastering the art of value-added activities, eliminating non-value-added waste, and optimising necessary non-value-added tasks, you can create processes, pathways and systems that truly puts your patients first.

The key takeaways from our journey are:

1. Value-Added Activities: The Heartbeat of Patient Care
   Focus on optimizing activities that directly contribute to improving patient care and enhancing the overall healthcare experience. These are the actions that our patients truly value and appreciate, such as consultations, surgical procedures, medication administration, and diagnostic testing.
2. Non-Value-Added Activities: The Waste to Eliminate
   Identify and eliminate the eight types of waste, including overproduction, waiting, transportation, over-processing, inventory, motion, defects, and underutilised talent. By eliminating these non-value-added activities, you can redirect valuable resources towards patient care.
3. Necessary Non-Value-Added Activities: Striking a Balance
   Streamline and optimise these activities to minimize their impact on value-added efforts.

Embracing the Lean mindset requires a cultural shift, one that fosters continuous improvement, engages your teams, and empowers you to challenge the status quo. By working together, sharing best practices, and learning from real-life examples, you can create an environment that prioritises patient care, reduces waste, and maintains the highest standards of quality and safety.

Remember, the journey towards Lean excellence is an ongoing process, requiring dedication, perseverance, and a relentless pursuit of continuous, incremental improvement. The rewards are immense – a healthcare system that truly puts your patients first, delivering exceptional care with unparalleled efficiency.

So, embrace the process improvement or Lean methodology, and pro-actively create a future where exceptional patient care is not just a goal, but a reality.

So what now?

Here are a couple of suggestions for immediate next steps; 1. Read more about the ACTION Framework, 2. Having a good grasp of the 5 Lean principles will be incredibly useful, 3. Talk to me – Schedule a FREE consultation

Almco – We help busy professionals enhance operational performance by providing process improvement expertise to optimise their processes and maximise productivity.