“Kaizen” is a Japanese word that means “change for better”. In other words, kaizen refers to activities that cause continuous improvements in business processes. Thus, a kaizen event is an improvement project that is carried out for a short period of time. It is usually done with the aim to resolve problems within an organization’s…
Six Sigma (SS) professionals are placed in various levels based on their certification. They are also ranked based on the roles they play in SS implementation. These levels are known as Six Sigma Belts. The levels of Six Sigma belts hierarchy are: white belt, yellow belt, green belt, black belt and master black belt. During…
Since the 1900s, healthcare organisations have debated and discussed the adoption of lean management principles as a means to achieve quality services to patients and remove excess waste. Nevertheless, lean in healthcare entails a bit of adaptation and flexibility for it to be effective. While lean principles are likely to improve the quality of healthcare,…
As more and more healthcare practitioners become increasingly aware of issues around quality of care, Six Sigma in healthcare is becoming an increasingly popular concept. Every business seeks to improve its processes in order to meet and exceed customer satisfaction. Likewise, in healthcare, the primary focus is on improving patient safety and satisfaction. The conventional…
Total Quality Management (TQM) originated in 1954 from the industrial sector of Japan. However, its history dates back to the 1920’s. In the 1980s, this concept became more popular and has been continually developed for use in schools, hospitals, hotels and other organizations. Nowadays, e-businesses are also employing the Total Quality Management principles. By definition,…
As access to health care services increases across the globe, the need for quality improvement in healthcare has never been this important or this urgent. There is really no universally accepted definition of quality in healthcare. However, the definition by the United States Institute of Medicine is widely accepted. The US Institute of Medicine defines…