Abstract—Lean has been known to be very influential to improving performance in the manufacturing industry. However, studies on the impact of lean on the medical laboratory industry are limited, particularly in a developing economy. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the impact of the adoption of lean tools in the medical laboratory services in Namibia. First, a suitable set of performance criteria are identified for evaluating the impact of lean in a medical laboratory industry setting. Second, the impact of lean adoption is evaluated. Third, managerial implications are derived from the findings. The study evaluated the impact of lean adoption based on a set of identified measures, quality improvement, operational performance, turnaround time, customer satisfaction, market share, employee motivation, cost reduction, and reduced waste. Quality improvement was found to be the most realized impact of lean implementation in more than 85 % of the laboratories. Finally, this research study presents strategies that can be considered for effective lean transformation in the medical laboratory industry. Index Terms— Lean, lean healthcare, lean tools, medical laboratory industry, Namibia I. INTRODUCTION HE adoption of lean tools in the healthcare service sector has been a subject of much concern in the academic and industry community [1]. Similarly, the medical laboratory industry service providers are under strong pressure to improve their turnaround time. Since its inception in the manufacturing sector in the 90s, lean tools have diffused into the healthcare sector, howbeit at a slower pace than expected [2] [3]. To encourage continued adoption of lean healthcare, the healthcare service provider need to be aware of what lean can do in the healthcare industry. In this respect, an assessment or evaluation of the impact of lean Manuscript received May 10, 2017; revised July 29, 2017. This work was supported in part by the Namibia University of Science and Technology, Namibia. M. Mutingi a Senior Lecturer with the Faculty of Engineering, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Namibia. He is also a Visiting Senior Research Fellow with the Department of Quality and Operations Management, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. (phone: 264- 61 207 2569; fax: 264-61 207 9569; e-mail: [email protected]). H.D. Isack was a student in the Master of Industrial Engineering in the Department of Mechanical and Marine Engineering, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Windhoek, Namibia. She is a medical technologist at the Namibia Institute of Pathology, Namibia (e-mail: [email protected]). H. Muaiyarira is an Associate Professor with the Faculty of Engineering, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Namibia (email: [email protected]). C. Mbohwa is an established Researcher and Professor with the Department of Quality and Operations Management, University of Johannesburg, South Africa (email: [email protected]) adoption is essential. This inquiry will help to reveal the realized operational excellence improvement and competitive advantages that the healthcare service may expect to obtain, should lean healthcare be adopted. A few studies on impact of lean in other industries are found in the literature. In [4], the authors investigated the impact of lean practices on the operational performance of manufacturing organizations. Similarly, studies were conducted to investigate the impact of lean strategies on the operational performance, with a focus on manufacturing companies in Thailand [5]. The researchers considered four operational performance measures, namely, quick delivery relative to competitors, unit cost of products relative to competitors, overall productivity, and customer satisfaction. In the same vein, the impact of the application of lean manufacturing strategies was assessed based on profitability [6]. Other studies evaluated the impact on performance based on financial performance [7], innovation performance [8], social performance, and environmental performance. The healthcare sector could significantly benefit from lean adoption, in terms of cost saving, time saving, service delivery timeliness, productivity, and quality improvement [2][3]. As reported in [9], lean can improve productivity, cost efficiency, quality, and service delivery in hospitals. Successful lean improvement were reported in [2], in terms of patients care, reduced errors, decreased cost, reduced waiting time, improved interdepartmental interaction, and increased employee satisfaction. In [10], lean implementation improved patient care and financial performance of health care services. In [11], the researchers examined the impact of lean on hospital performance in term of perceived quality and efficiency measures. An assessment of the impact of lean techniques was carried out on a rural district hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, in terms of patient cycle and waiting times [12]. In light of this review, the impact of lean implementation can be measured in terms of delivery time, cost efficiency, productivity, quality, and patient satisfaction. To our knowledge, there are no prior studies on the impact of lean adoption on healthcare service performance of the medical laboratory industry in a developing economy. Thus, the purpose of this study is to assess the impact of lean in the Namibian medical laboratory industry. The specific objectives of the research are as follows: 1) To determine the suitable criteria for evaluation of the impact of lean in a medical industry setting; 2) To evaluate the impact of lean adoption in the medical industry in Namibia; and, The Impact of Lean in Medical Laboratory Industry: Empirical Studies in Namibia Michael Mutingi, Member, IAENG, Hilma D. Isack, Harmony Musiyarira, and Charles Mbohwa T Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science 2017 Vol II WCECS 2017, October 25-27, 2017, San Francisco, USA ISBN: 978-988-14048-4-8 ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online) WCECS 2017
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The Impact of Lean in Medical Laboratory Industry ...public medical laboratories. On the other hand, the rest, 32 out of 72 (44 %) respondents, were from private medical laboratories.
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Abstract—Lean has been known to be very influential to
improving performance in the manufacturing industry.
However, studies on the impact of lean on the medical
laboratory industry are limited, particularly in a developing
economy. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the
impact of the adoption of lean tools in the medical laboratory
services in Namibia. First, a suitable set of performance criteria
are identified for evaluating the impact of lean in a medical
laboratory industry setting. Second, the impact of lean adoption
is evaluated. Third, managerial implications are derived from
the findings. The study evaluated the impact of lean adoption
based on a set of identified measures, quality improvement,
operational performance, turnaround time, customer