In healthcare, words are used to describe colors like “a sort of dark yellow” and “probably amber” which creates inaccurate communication and less optimal clinical decisions. There was a lack of standardization in the colors, and efforts were made to resolve this problem, which is at the heart of any lean improvement. A website called […]
The dominance of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) as the “gold standard” for evaluating social programs presents significant challenges for nonprofit organizations. While a well-implemented RCT can demonstrate that a program causes a specific, measurable outcome, this singular focus often comes at the cost of continuous learning and organizational strength. In the Fall 2025 issue of […]
Written by Brion
In an innovative cross-industry collaboration, clinicians at Great Ormond Street Hospital applied Formula 1 pit stop principles to high-risk patient handovers from the operating room to the intensive care unit (ICU). Recognizing that the transfer phase was a period of significant risk characterized by role confusion and communication breakdowns, doctors studied the Ferrari and Williams […]
Written by Brion
Lean management was successfully implemented by the humanitarian organization Medair Somalia despite the highly challenging context of a conflict-ridden nation, Somalia. Abdinoor Hassan and Andrew Parris conducted training and kaizen event facilitation to lead the teams in four impact areas. A one-day Lean training was conducted in the capital Mogadishu, with 22 Medair staff and leaders, and […]
Written by Brion
Dr. Jean Kaseya, the director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) stated that 60% of traditional foreign health aid to Africa was essentially wasted. The waste was due to fragmentation, inefficiencies, and cases where foreign aid didn’t align with specific government priorities. This assertion, which suggests African countries need significantly […]
Written by Brion
A recent initiative by Washington State University (WSU) has demonstrated significant success in improving patient safety and reducing hospitalizations by tackling a pervasive issue in home health care: medication list discrepancies. It is estimated that 90% of patients receiving care at home have at least one difference between their official medication list and what they […]
Written by Brion
Using data from a project conducted with the University of California San Francisco and funded by the San Francisco Department of the Environment last year, Zabble (AI waste management app) sought to answer questions about the minimum required sample size for reliably estimating waste contamination. The study was based on a 6-month experiment conducted at […]
Written by Brion
A solar power company location in Shanghai, China discovered that their manufacturing process was producing unacceptable levels of variability in the thickness of their silicon nitride films. They needed to control the thickness of the film to improve the solar cells’ surface energy efficiency levels. Using statistical analysis, they were able to pinpoint and rectify […]
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Jim Oskins from Minitab shares a real-world use case where a government agency turned 60,000+ nitrate tests into actionable insights, cutting analysis time from months to minutes. These tests are needed to quickly identify the cause of nitrate contamination in groundwater near large farms, to ensure groundwater near residential areas did not get exposed to […]
Written by Brion
Lean for Hope is an initiative associated with Honsha (founded by Sammy Obara), which focuses on applying Lean principles to create positive social impact. Lean methodologies, originally developed for improving efficiency in manufacturing, are adapted to help organizations in the social sector enhance their operations, reduce waste, and better serve their communities, such as education, […]
Written by Brion