Document Type
Article
Rights
Available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 4.0 International Licence
Disciplines
Business and Management.
Abstract
Recently, the application of lean thinking in healthcare has grown significantly in response to rising demand, caused by population growth, ageing and high expectations of service quality. However, insufficient justifications and lack of quantifiable evidence are the main obstacles to convince healthcare executives to adopt lean philosophies. This paper presents a real application of the successful implementation of a methodology that integrates Value Stream Mapping (VSM) and simulation modelling to improve an emergency department (ED) of a University hospital in Dublin. Appling lean approach in operations will minimize the patient waiting time and improve service time. VSM points out to the value-added and non-value-added activities in a clear schematic way. Simulation Model is also developed for the department in order to account for the variability and complexity resulted in healthcare processes due to dynamism and sharing resources. A comparative analysis of current and future state of the ED is provided and presented to managers to illustrate the potential benefits of adopting lean practices.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21427/D71V38
Recommended Citation
Swallmeh, E. et al. (2014) Integrating Simulation Modelling and Value Stream Mapping for Leaner Capacity Planning of an Emergency Department, Sixth International Conference on Advances in System Simulation, SIMUL 2014, Nice – France.
Funder
College of Business - DIT
Included in
Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods Commons, Operations and Supply Chain Management Commons
Publication Details
Proceedings of Sixth International Conference on Advances in System Simulation, SIMUL 2014, Nice – France