The Secret to a More Efficient, Less Stressful Dental Practice? LEAN Thinking

Whether you are a weekly reader of this blog or this is your first time, you will hear me banter about LEAN and LEAN manufacturing principles in a dental practice. But what is it? What does is mean? Why are you writing about it? Well, let me try to do this in less than 1000 words. Ok, here it goes: The basis of LEAN is doing more with less. Ok! Well, that was easy. Thanks for reading...Just kidding.

I can’t leave you hanging like that! One definition of Lean Manufacturing is following a series of applied processes and tools that eliminate waste from production. The Toyota Production System or TPS and Just In Time production is a more formal title. Blah, Blah… There are so many books out there that will define Lean Manufacturing better than I can, but there aren’t many books or people (for that matter) who can define it quite the way I can.

Lean, to me, has a whole lot more function than use in a Dental Practice. It's a way of life. It’s applied in my work, my travel, my home and my family. Let me be the first to tell you I am not a structured individual. In fact, due to constant change that enters every facet of my life (hourly at times), it can be extremely difficult to apply Lean principles. Simplification and standardization are key, yet I travel from Florida to every state in the union and Canada. Currently, I am in Syracuse. It’s June and it’s freezing. Packing can be a challenge, so I standardize what I can for 90% of my travel (in a carry on). At home, I try to follow a system for cleaning and maintenance. Even if I cheat from time to time, I still have the process written and checklists in place, which is yet another Lean Manufacturing principle; making sure the AC filters are changed monthly and the water filters in the fridge are changed every six months, etc. Check that off the list!!

Family is incredibly important. I write birthdays down and check my birthday calendar at least two weeks in advance. This way, I can get a card/gift out on time. My husband signed up for this crazy schedule of mine three years ago when he said , “I do”. For my entire adult working life, I have always put clients first (actually second to my beautiful, white English Labrador Retriever, Frodo, who lives forever in eternity). Now, I have a needy husband….oops, I wasn’t supposed to share that! Making time for my husband is the recipe for success. It must happen no matter what.

Do you want me to tell you my favorite part about Lean Manufacturing principles? It’s always a work in progress - Continuous Improvement.

You may already use these principles without realizing it. Do you cook? When you do, do you do it Blue Apron style? Meaning, do you make sure you have all the ingredients? Then, prep you food? Do you follow the step by step process of completing the meal under 30 minutes? Grandma’s sauce takes all day. She probably always has the ingredients but she likely memorized her process.

Have you ever heard the story of the perfect ham?

One day, a new bride wanted to impress her husband by making a ham with all the fixin's. She didn’t want to make any mistakes, so she made it just like her mother did.

She took the ham out of the package and began cutting a little off of each end before placing it into the pan.

Her husband who was watching asked, "Why do you do that?"

Her reply was, “I don’t know, it’s just the way my mom always did it.”

Some time later, she had the opportunity to ask her mother why she prepared the ham the way she did.

She responded, “Well, I never had a pan big enough to cook the whole ham, so I had to cut it off on the ends.”

The way we’ve always done things is maybe not always the best. Pursue continuous improvement and eliminate waste, remember? Let’s eat the whole ham. She had always removed the ends of the ham without ever understanding why - because she never asked!!

You can do this in your Dental Practice, too. Sometimes the way you’ve always done things isn’t the most efficient. Do you have your processes standardized? If so, when is the last time you revisited them? When is the last time you actually concentrated on improving your processes? Sterilization, room turnaround, patient check-in...everything can (and should!) have a standardized system than anyone can be easily taught to follow. Is that the way you're working now?  The point is, you don't know unless you ask!

So - what can you do today to implement LEAN principles into your practice? I’d love to show you...