McAuliffe CONSULTING

"Every system is perfectly designed for what it produces."  


Don Berwick, MD
President
Institute for Healthcare Improvement

Performance Improvement

Performance Improvement and Process Redesign


Virtually every workplace and industry is struggling with the need to provide a better product or service, in less time, and at less cost.  And the additional challenge is to meet this requirement without overburdening employees.  Our preferred approach is the Lean/Toyota Production System model and our specialty is applying these improvement concepts in non-manufacturing environments, especially health care and government settings.  

Every consulting engagement begins with the establishment of clear and measurable goals and a specific scope.  Once the data on your current situation has been collected and analyzed, the result is not merely a client report.  We will then establish the best way to achieve your goals and work together through implementation.  

One common approach is to conduct a Rapid Process Improvement (or Kaizen) workshop as a means to remove waste from the identified work process, engage front line employees, and develop key leaders.  These 3 to 5 day workshops accelerate the pace of change and often provide a strong boost in employee morale. Implementation is also jump-started. Below are a couple of examples that highlight the level of improvement attainable:

  • 85% reduction in accounts receivable for employed physicians
  • 43% reduction in process steps to execute a construction change order
  • 88% reduction in lead time to assemble a surgical case cart


Our unique skill set blends lean expertise with leadership coaching and change management practices ensuring project success.  It has been our experience that process improvement projects that are well sponsored and provide action learning for key leaders are able to achieve and, more importantly, sustain measurable and dramatic improvements.