Lean Six Sigma Project

care industry is being questioned (96). A recent comprehensive literature review article went as far as to argue that LSS projects in health care have failed to show measurable improvements over time (97). In general, peer reviewed articles of original LSS projects in health care have shown a lack of evidence in sustaining improvements as many LSS project reports have only reported on outcomes close to post intervention (97). Furthermore, few articles in the literature have reported long-term impacts of LSS on health care and some have reported that organizational barriers diminished the potential for LSS to provide lasting breakthrough improvements (97). Even, a survey conducted by the management consulting firm Bain and Company reported that upwards of 80% of respondents claimed that LSS efforts are failing to drive the anticipated value (98). To get the most out of LSS methodology, therefore, it is required to identify barriers that have limited the impact of LSS projects in health care and suggest remediation steps that LSS …show more content…
Informants had an average continuous process improvement experience of at least 22 years with the majority of their health care experience being in large academic tertiary hospitals and military hospitals. All the informants were formally trained in LSS and achieved the certification level of Master Black Belt. In Lean Six Sigma programs, the Master Black Belt certification level is the highest level attainable and symbolizes mastery of LSS topics and experiences in leading large-scale LSS process improvement projects (10). Key informants provided six common themes to barriers that impact sustainability of LSS improvements in health care, and are explained below. These six themes were categorized further into two main topics: lack of leadership commitment to drive a culture of quality and inadequately trained and unqualified LSS practitioners to execute LSS projects in health