Quality Management

 Leaning-Out a Process

In this journal, you will continue to build your understanding of the DMAIC methodology of quality management by applying the skills and knowledge you have learned in this module to the process you have been exploring in the previous module’s journal.

Waste is any non-value-added process activity that does not create customer value. Non-value activities or waste should be eliminated to improve process efficiency and effectiveness. For this assignment, you will practice identifying the eight forms of DOWNTIME waste and suggesting Lean tool(s) for waste elimination.

To successfully complete this assignment, view the Module 2 Journal Rubric document

MGT 4399: Quality Management
Module 2 Journal: Leaning-Out a Process
Guidelines and Rubric
In this journal, you will continue to build your understanding of the DMAIC methodology of quality management by applying the skills and
knowledge you have learned in this module to the process you have been exploring in the previous module’s journal.
Waste is any non-value-added process activity that does not create customer value. Non-value activities or waste should be eliminated to
improve process efficiency and effectiveness. For this assignment, you will practice identifying the eight forms of DOWNTIME waste and
suggesting Lean tool(s) for waste elimination.
For this journal entry, address the following:
1. Process: Briefly identify the process that you described in the Module 1 journal. (For example, waiting to see a physician in an urgent
care waiting room when you have a sore throat).
2. Waste: Identify at least three forms of DOWNTIME waste that might exist in that process. For example, perhaps the process you
described in Module 1 was waiting to see a physician in an urgent care waiting room when you have a sore throat. One of the
DOWNTIME wastes you might identify is that having patients sitting in an urgent care waiting room creates waiting waste because the
patients’ time is not being used productively, and could also create a defect waste because they could infect each other while waiting in a
confined space together.
3. Prioritize: Order the identified wastes based on their appropriateness for applying techniques for leaning-out the waste, ranking them
from most appropriate to least.
4. Lean Tool: Address the following:
a. Suggest a Lean tool to address each of the identified waste activities
b. Explain why that tool would be appropriate in that situation
c. Describe how it would be applied
For example, applying the Ishikawa (cause-and-effect) diagram tool could reveal the root causes of the defect (patients infecting one
another because they are spending significant amounts of time in confined spaces together).
Guidelines for Submission: Your journal should be 1-2 paragraphs in length
Instructor Feedback: This activity uses an integrated rubric in Blackboard. Students can view instructor feedback in the Grade Center.
MGT 4399: Quality Management
Rubric
Criteria Exemplary (100%) Needs Improvement (75%) Not Evident (0%) Value
Process Briefly identifies a process. N/A
Does not identify a process. 10
Waste Identifies at least three forms of
DOWNTIME waste in a process.
Identifies one or two forms of DOWNTIME waste
in a process, or identifies three but they are
unclear or inaccurate.
Does not identify forms of DOWNTIME
waste in a process.
35
Prioritize Orders the identified wastes based on
their appropriateness for applying
techniques for leaning-out the waste,
ranking them from most appropriate to
least.
N/A
Does not order the identified wastes
based on their appropriateness for
applying techniques for leaning-out the
waste.
10
Lean Tool Suggests a lean tool to address each
of the identified waste activities;
explaining why each tool would be
appropriate; and describing how it
would be applied.
Suggests a lean tool to address each of the
identified waste activities, but does not explain
appropriateness or describe application; or does
all the above but contains inaccuracies.
Does not suggest lean tools to address
the identified waste activities.
35
Mechanics No grammar or spelling errors that
distract the reader from the content. All
sources used are cited using APA
Style, 6th ed.
Minor errors in grammar or spelling that distract
the reader from the content. All sources used are
cited using APA Style, 6th ed.
Major errors in grammar or spelling
that distract the reader from the
content and/or errors made in citing
sources using APA Style, 6th ed.
10
Total 100%