Solution Session(GE-type Workout) Colliding Creative Problem Solving & 6-Sigma

Methods

Duke Rohe, BS, FHIMSSPerformance Improvement Specialist

Estella Woodard, the MT QweenDiagnostic Center

Duke Estella

How would you like ?

1. To engage diverse functions to fight a common problem

2. Have meetings that only allow the best and the action-ready to come

3. To accomplish in hours what traditionally took months

4. To line the dominoes up in your favor

5. To bust your culture

Project origin

– Tube system had unused capacity– 10,000 hrs/yr walking specimens to/from

Lab– Spills are too high ~ 2/month– Unable to gain consensus on a

workable tube system policy

Our Problema

Transporting specimens alongside a pneumatic tube system is dumb!

Idea! Let’s use the tube system to transport

8 functions + 3 months = 0 policies

Tip: The easy path is ALWAYS mined

GE Workout features

• Bust up the existing way• Jack Welch-driven (you will find a solution

or we will find someone who can)• Event oriented. You don’t stop til’ it’s

solved• Come prepared (available knowledge) to

change• “System Solutions” prevails over

departmental ones

Osborn-Parnes Creative Problem Solving Process

• Developed studying how geniuses think• Think two ways: Divergent and

Convergent• Migrate from Objective Finding to Problem

Finding to Solution Finding to Acceptance Finding

• Creates Ideas/Thinking threefold• Forces consensus fast

Team Leader a bulldog mentality

• Qualities: Leader, Thinker, Supporter, Robocop,

• Nothing less than SUCCESS will do• Prepares attendees for the event• Follows up on commitments• Funnel for all key information• Tough-hide, Tender-hearted

da Plan, da Plan

Team Leader: Call to Arms4 hours or BUST

Find a “Mr. Big” Jack Welch facsimile

Prepare a Shared Need

Invite the leaders impacted Prepare the “Rules of Engagement” Establish “Sensing” Sessions so they

come aware of their accountability Implied: If you don’t come with your

best equipped, you let down the team

Facilitator

• Think on their feet, energy source• Supports and prompts the Team Leader

(note: it is their show)• Thinks ahead so the dominoes fall just right• Asks great questions that lead to the right

answers• Helps draw out the greatness in others• Positive spirit of a Chihuahua on steroids

Sensing Sessionif they don’t know their role, it’s your fault

Imply this is not for the faint-hearted Amp up the importance Prepare a set of good questions for

them to answer “Fact Finding” Create a momentum for success Put them in the position of

representing their field. Be prepared for horse trading

Improvements anticipated:

– Increased revenues from patient chargeable urine vaccutainer

– Phlebotomy time freed up (6 FTEs)

– Smoother workload in the lab: smaller, more frequent batches

– Combine with implementation of blood product delivery

Preparation, preparation

We consumed a month in preparing for a 4 hour event

Details planned, yet ready to change • Beat the Communication tom-toms• Practice paranoia, surface landmines• Prepare posters, binders, slides• Oh, Make it FUN

The Workout Session

If Mr. Big comes in, Great Stress they will be pushed hard, ideas

will seem half-baked Use the Post-it Brainstorming

Process• Go with the process…or lose• Inertia is half the battle. Schedule

follow-up meeting on commitments (2 weeks)

da ProcessObjective Finding -- list significant challenges

opportunities, then isolate the main ones

Fact finding – what is known, and what has the greatest impact

Problem Finding – list of problem statements, then identify the best wording of the central problem. Start statement with “how 2”

Idea Finding – list of intriguing ideas, then isolation of the best

Solution Finding – possible solutions from the ideas, then the selection of the best one(s)

Acceptance Finding – the action steps needed for successful installation

da Right Way

da Wrong Way

Refinement/Implementation

Usually takes 2 follow-up meetings Action Finding >>> Implementation

Team Leader and Facilitator see to it sub-team sessions are conducted

Expect minor solar flares• Team Leader ultimately responsible

for output.

Plans are Nothing, Planning is Everything

Dwight Eisenhower

Well, Was it a success ?!* Kinda, Sorta

All the units send specimens via the tube system

1/3 of the units get Blood via the tube system. (working on the rest)

No spills in the tube system• The Workout has been replicated

successfully five times with similar results. • We now term it a “Solution Session”• This started a “Systems Mindset”

Any Questions Out There?

It’s what you do now when you don’t have to do anything that takes you where you want to be when it is too late to do anything about it. modifed Robert Gary