Ellis Healthcare System's Lean team has met with great success in their first endeavor within the organization. The goal was to reduce linen utilization, and the team was comprised of a cross-functional group of staff volunteers who represented various areas that were affected by, or had an effect upon, linen usage. While searching for ways to reduce volume, they had amongst themselves people with the answers. In this particular case, it was the Environmental Services group, responsible for cleaning and housekeeping, that explained the dramatic increase in washcloth usage and verified excessive amounts of linen in patient rooms. The result -- a 25% reduction in both linen cost and volume.  

Facilities layout and design, while a core piece of Industrial Engineering, is often lacking from the world of architecture.  Architects and engineers often find themselves at odds with one another in a battle of form vs. function. This is why we applaud Array Architects for hiring a Healthcare Systems Engineer to aid their process improvement efforts as they work in the healthcare industry.  Laura Silvoy, Array's new engineer, received her Master's degree in Engineering from Lehigh University. Her expertise will be leveraged to help Array create cost-effective designs with an eye on the process and quality of care. We're especially excited that one of her first projects involved simulation for the design of a surgery center. You can read more about Laura's research here.