How do you integrate hoshin kanri with other lean thinking principles and practices?

What Hoshin Kanri is meant for? You want to aim improvement efforts within an organisation towards the same goal. This way, all efforts to improve are connected to the same goals. People regularly ask what the words Hoshin Kanri mean in a literal sense. Hoshin is Japanese for ‘course’ or ‘compass needle’, while Kanri means ‘to manage’ or ‘to control’. This translates into meanings like course management, navigational management, or strategy deployment. . This is why the direction Hoshin Kanri is pointing or navigating to is sometimes called ‘the true North’. As such, Hoshin Kanri can be described, in summary, as: the methodology you use to find the true North and pinpoint your route towards it.

Hoshin kanri emphasizes the importance of delivering value to customers, for example, patients. By identifying and prioritising activities that directly contribute to improving patient flow, the organisation can eliminate waste and streamline processes to enhance the overall patient experience.

Defining value from the customer's perspective is crucial. It's not just about solving their problems, but also about understanding their needs and expectations deeply. This understanding forms the basis of the hoshin kanri process, where strategic direction and measurable goals are set. It's a data-driven approach that aligns the vision of the organization with the value it provides to its customers, ensuring that the process is customer-focused and relevant.

Think long term strategy and getting everyone aligned. Communicating with the organization the long term mission and vision. Another key term for Hoshin is Policy deployment. True North is also what others call it. Integrating Hoshin Kanri with lean thinking begins with understanding customer value. Identify what customers truly value and ensure this is the focus of your strategic goals. Hoshin Kanri helps align organizational objectives with delivering this value. Use lean tools such as the voice of the customer to gather insights and make certain that every strategic initiative is geared towards enhancing customer satisfaction and delivering value.

While determining strategic goals, Hoshin Kanri supports the identification and reduction of waste at the operational level with Lean tools such as Kaizen and 5S. For example, in line with the long-term goals determined by Hoshin Kanri, unnecessary processes and resource waste can be minimized by using a culture of continuous improvement and visual management techniques. Wastes can be eliminated with many lean thinking techniques such as value stream maps, JIT, TPM, GEMBA, standardization. The main point is that root cause analysis, which is used to identify the root causes of problems and eliminate these causes, provides permanent solutions by identifying the causes of waste in the processes.

An example of eliminating waste could be where a NHS organisation conducting a GEMBA virtual waste walk to identify wastes within a patient pathway. By setting a strategic goal to minimize waste, the trust can cascade this objective down to different divisions/departments and teams. The trust may set a strategic goal to reduce waiting times for patients by streamlining administrative tasks. For example, the trust's leadership team can identify key areas of waste in administrative processes, such as redundant paperwork or inefficient appointment scheduling systems. They can then empower departmental managers and frontline staff to implement changes that eliminate these sources of waste.

The elimination of waste is a critical aspect of Lean Thinking, and it's not just about physical waste. It's about eliminating unnecessary steps, reducing complexity, and streamlining processes. I've seen firsthand how aligning strategic goals with daily operations through Hoshin Kanri can empower teams to make decisions that support the vision and eliminate waste. Regular review of progress is crucial to identify and rectify any deviations, ensuring a data-driven approach to continuous improvement.

The next step is to focus on eliminate waste. One of the core principles into your Hoshin Kanri deployment by identifying waste in your strategic planning and execution processes. Use value stream mapping to visualize and analyze the flow of materials and information. Align your strategic goals with initiatives that aim to eliminate waste in all forms, such as defects, overproduction, waiting, non-utilized talent, transportation, inventory, motion, and extra-processing. Be sure to communicate often with the organization regarding the wins and lessons learned. Recognize the efforts by all involved and encourage others to get involved.

Once an organisation implements Hoshin kanri - they can cascade key strategic goals, such as patient flow throughout the organisation. This alignment ensures that all departments and teams are working towards the same objective, reducing silos and fostering collaboration. This will ultimately deliver better outcomes for patients. By continuously evaluating the effectiveness of initiatives to optimize patient flow and incorporating lessons learned into future PDSA cycles, the organisation can sustain and build upon its improvements over time.

The principle of optimizing flow is crucial in streamlining processes and driving efficiency. Hoshin Kanri, when effectively integrated, can indeed create a common language and shared understanding of goals across an organization. However, it's essential to remember that this requires a culture of open communication and a data-driven approach to identify and eliminate bottlenecks.

Optimizing flow is essential for creating efficient processes. Incorporate this lean principle into your Hoshin Kanri approach by ensuring that strategic objectives promote smooth, uninterrupted workflows. Identify bottlenecks and streamline processes to enhance flow efficiency. Techniques like continuous flow and takt time can be used to balance work processes and ensure that operations run smoothly form one step to the next, aligning with the strategic goals set through Hoshin Kanri.

The pull system is a key lean principle where production is based on customer demand rather than forecasts. Integrate this principle with Hoshin Kanri by setting strategic goals that encourage a pull-based approach. Use Kanban systems to manage workflow and ensure that each step in the process is only based on actual demand. This reduces overproduction and ensures resources are utilized effectively, aligning day to day operations with strategic objectives laid out in the Hoshin Kanri plan.

Implementing pull through Hoshin Kanri is a critical step in lean thinking. By aligning strategic goals with daily operations, organizations can ensure that resources are allocated efficiently, reducing waste and overproduction. This approach not only enhances responsiveness to patient needs but also fosters a culture of continuous improvement. Engaging frontline workers and patients in the feedback loop ensures that the improvements are both practical and impactful, ultimately driving better outcomes and operational efficiency.

Integrating Hoshin Kanri with other lean principles ensures a holistic approach to continuous improvement. By aligning strategic goals with daily operations, organizations can streamline processes and eliminate waste more effectively. This alignment fosters a culture of data-driven problem-solving and servant leadership, driving efficiency and innovation across all levels. Regularly reviewing and adjusting the Hoshin Kanri process keeps strategies relevant, ensuring sustained improvement and excellence in a variety of settings.

Hoshin kanri, método para desdobramento da estratégia. Uma etapa muito importante para garantir a conex?o dos esfor?os de todos os níveis e etapas do negócio e fluxo de valor. Tudo come?a com a defini??o do norte verdadeiro. Para onde queremos ir? Tendo o norte bem claro, definimos metas e objetivos macro e desdobramos para áreas onde cada uma prop?e estratégias, metas e objetivos para contribuir com o alcance do norte verdadeiro. As áreas buscam alinhamento horizontal e vertical sobre as estratégias , buscando sinergia entre com isso convergir para a busca dos resultados Na execu??o da estratégia, o gerenciamento diário é um grande aliado. Acompanhando a performance, corrigindo os desvios, resolvendo problemas e desenvolvendo pessoas

Real transformation can be achieved when Hoshin Kanri is combined with Kaizen, 5S and Value Stream Mapping. A vision determined with Hoshin Kanri can be continuously improved with Kaizen events, order and efficiency can be achieved in the workplace with 5S applications, and every stage of the processes can be optimized with Value Stream Mapping. By supporting all lean thinking methods, strategic goals can be transformed into operational excellence. Thus, a synergy is created that supports not only the transformation of processes but also the transformation of the organization's culture, and each employee sees himself as a part of the big picture and begins to contribute to strategic goals in daily work.