The words “process improvement” in any organization ring fairly familiar. Sadly, even with the best intentions, enterprise organizations fall short of actually achieving real efficiencies or saving money.
But not always.
Enter the Blue Brains team. When Beverly Jordan found herself leading Baptist OneCare, she began thinking about how to change behavior related to process. As early adopters of the Baptist Management System (BMS), she created the Blue Brains and set about learning more about it and Training Within Industry (TWI). Their group held monthly meetings to discuss learning goals, highlighting those team members who had developed A3s. By posting documents outside cubes, a friendly competition began to motivate the team. As the various divisions combined under Jordan’s leadership, the Blue Brains expanded and the work accelerated at every level.
During an early meeting, Jordan and her directors shared their stories about their A3 learning journeys.
“It was pretty painful,” she said. But one fact became clear as the group began deeper work, reading through A3s and talking about learning differently. “I knew this was not going away. It was not a flash in a pan,” she said.
Jordan’s group began working with Carol Bubnick, an organizational development coach with Baptist’s Center for Education and Organizational Development, who coached the team along as they examined different cost-saving scenarios, including using rental cars instead of personal vehicles for trips. They participated in nine gemba walks and adjusted plans as they learned more. In one instance, the team solved an ER turnaround issue at Baptist Collierville.
In the past two years, Jordan’s Blue Brains found real process improvements by applying the Baptist Management System principles, or quite simply, by looking at the world in a new way. For instance, one initiative that studied paper usage and the associated costs has netted a great return on investment.
“From March until June we have reduced paper use by 500,000 sheets of paper,” said Sandy Boyle, an advisory application analyst with Baptist OneCare.
The Blue Brains have now completed TWI and KATA training and are soaring with new experiments that can now be measured—ultimately saving everyone time and money.
Interested in your team learning more about the Baptist Management System? Contact Skip Steward at Skip.Steward@BMHCC.org or 417-766-2771.
