CAP TODAY Pathology/Laboratory Medicine/Laboratory Management
A College of American Pathologists Q-Probes Study of 35 Clinical Laboratories
June 2020—Over the last century, the American manufacturing industry has come to appreciate that it is possible to construct a production system that can maximize profits without sacrificing quality. Many industrial pioneers have contributed to this production system, known as the “lean production system,” but it is the Toyota Motor Corporation that is credited with developing it to maturity.
Lean production systems are designed to reduce errors, lower overhead, and by expanding production capacity, increase revenue. The basic building block of the lean production system is the removal of waste, specifically wasted steps in the processes of manufacturing goods and delivering services. Removing wasted steps pares paid hours from operating costs, frees those hours to create new opportunities, and perhaps most importantly removes opportunities for making errors.
In order to eliminate wasted steps, production managers must be able to detect them. Lean production accomplishes this by constructing “workflow maps.” Workflow maps are pictorial diagrams of production from beginning to end. They allow managers to detect inefficiencies, wasted movements, unnecessary supplies, and opportunities for improvement. Workflow maps are particularly effective because in general, it is easier and faster to assimilate pictures and symbols than it is to assimilate text.