Chapter 5
Standardized Work as a Foundation of Lean
Helpful Standardization: From 171 Forms to Just Six
During a rapid improvement event at the University of Kansas Hospital, leaders were sent out to observe patients as they arrived at 5:00 a.m., not stopping until the patient was discharged later that day. In the course of the observation, the hospital learned that they had 171 different registration forms related to ambulatory care. They were able to reduce that to just six standardized forms. “A lot of executives sit in their offices all day and we think great thoughts and we analyze reports and have meetings and meetings, but one of the fundamental principles of this is get out of your office and go to where the work is,” chief executive ...
