Healthcare Kaizen focuses on the principles and methods of daily continuous improvement, or Kaizen, for healthcare professionals and organizations. Kaizen is a Japanese word that means "change for the better," as popularized by Masaaki Imai in his 1986 book Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success and through the books of Norman Bodek, both of whom contributed introductory material for this book. Winner of a 2013 Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award! In 1989, Dr. Donald M. Berwick, founder of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, endorsed the principles of Kaizen in the New England Journal of Medicine, describing it as "the continuous search for opportunities for all processes to get better." This book shows how to make this goal a reality. Healthcare Kaizen shares some of the methods used by numerous hospitals around the world, including Franciscan St. Francis Health, where co-author Joe Swartz has led these efforts. Most importantly, the book covers the management mindsets and philosophies required to make Kaizen work effectively in a hospital department or as an organization-wide program. All of the examples in the book were shared by leading healthcare organizations, with over 200 full-color pictures and visual illustrations of Kaizen-based improvements that were initiated by nurses, physicians, housekeepers, senior executives and other staff members at all levels. Healthcare Kaizen will be helpful for organizations that have embraced weeklong improvement events, but now want to follow the lead of ThedaCare, Virginia Mason Medical Center, and others who have moved beyond just doing events into a more complete management system based on Lean or the Toyota Production System. It's often said, without much reflection, that people hate change. The experiences shared

Merchant Ship Types provides a broad and detailed introduction to the classifications and main categories of merchant vessels for students and cadets. It introduces the concept of ship classification by usage, cargo type, and size, and shows how the various size categories affect which ports and channels the types of vessels are permitted to enter. Detailed outlines of each major vessel category are provided, including: Feeder ship General cargo vessels Container ships Tankers Dry bulk carriers Multi-purpose vessels Reefer ships Roll-on/roll-off vessels The book also explains where these are permitted to operate, the type of cargoes carried, and specific safety or risk factors associated with the vessel class, as well as their main characteristics. Relevant case studies are presented. The textbook is ideal for merchant navy cadets at HNC, HND, and foundation degree level in both the deck and engineering branches, and serves as a general reference for insurance, law, logistics, offshore and fisheries.

Although world-class firms like GE and Motorola have relied on Six Sigma to build their performance cultures, these processes are all too often left out of human resources (HR) functions. This lack of Six Sigma principles is even more surprising because preventing errors and improving productivity are so critical to the people management processes of hiring, retention, appraisal, and development.From the history and evolution of the Total Quality movement to initiatives for introducing a Six Sigma continuous process improvement strategy in your HR department, Achieving HR Excellence through Six Sigma introduces a new way to envision your role within the organization. It explains how this powerful methodology works and supplies a roadmap to help you find and eliminate waste in your HR processes.Describing exactly what HR excellence means, the book outlines dozens of proven approaches as well as a hierarchy of the exact steps required to achieve it. It illustrates the Six Sigma methodology from the creation of a project to its successful completion. At each stage, it describes the specific tools currently available and provides examples of organizations that have used Six Sigma within HR to improve their organizations.The text presents proven approaches that can help you solve and even eliminate people management problems altogether. Filled with real-world examples, it demonstrates how to implement six sigma into the transformational side of your organization. It also includes a listing of additional resources to help you along your Six Sigma journey.Explaining how to build a new business model for your HR organization, the book supplies the new perspective and broad view you will need to discover and recommend game-changing alternatives to traditional HR approaches in your organization.

Provides a thorough, updated guide to ungasketed bolted joints and their design Based around the latest ASME standards for bolted joints Covers use of the Finte Element Method for design analysis of bolted joints, with ANSYS examples Expands coverage of threads, internal/external thread interaction, and adjustment for design functions Examines the materials aspects of bolted joint design and behavior

Especially written for contractors and small businesses carrying out small works, Spon's House Improvement Price Guide contains accurate information on thousands of rates, each broken down to labour, material overheads and profit.

Focusing on the critical role IT plays in organizational development, the book shows how to employ action learning to improve the competitiveness of an organization. Defining the current IT problem from an operational and strategic perspective, it presents a collection of case studies that illustrate key learning issues. It details a dynamic model for effective IT management through adaptive learning techniques-supplying proven educational theories and practices to foster the required changes in your staff. It examines existing organizational learning theories and the historical problems that occurred with companies that have used them, as well as those that have failed to use them.

While innovation can be defined in many ways, the author sees it as a process. It is not the sudden eureka moment in the middle of the night, nor is it a clear and linear path towards a final destination. Instead, it involves a strong sense of creativity and curiosity. An innovative mind has a natural inclination towards out-of-the-box thinking. It involves a willingness to try something new, without fear or judgment, to develop something no one else has ever articulated. While the mindset comes naturally, it requires fuel to keep it running. Innovators are voracious readers and researchers. They feed their mindset all of the fuel it needs to stay informed and relevant in their field. Many of the same things can be said for the Lean mindset. Lean management doesn't happen overnight, and it is very rarely a clear and linear path to true Lean thinking. Some might consider Lean a subset of innovative thinking, while others see it in reverse. Regardless of the relationship's directionality, one thing is certain: You cannot have one without the other. This book follows John Riley, the CEO of a medium-sized valve company just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who will stop at nothing to create an innovative work environment. Through the ups and downs of his journey, he learns a number of Lean and innovative skills, strategies, and mindsets to help him build the business he's always envisioned for himself. Throughout the book, you see examples of both strong and poor innovative leadership skills demonstrated by each of the main characters. The key messages are ones that help leaders build and access a mindset insistent on continuous improvement. Leadership techniques and abilities that bolster creative thought and problem-solving are the most successful throughout this book. To be truly innovative, you can never stop driving the learning process. For this to happen, leaders need to recognize when there is a need for a change or improvement. This is the beauty of the marriage between Lean and innovation: They both require continuous learning and growth. The desire to improve is only one piece of this equation, however. The other is the willingness to act. Without both of these factors, true innovation will always be out of reach.

Covers how product development, advancement, and international promotion are best accomplished through the practice of industrial engineering Illustrates how industrial engineering has a proven track record of aiding the survival of industry Discusses how new industries are more vulnerable to the adverse global developments in the global supply chain Includes “real world” case examples of managing products, services, and results Offers a range of industrial engineering tools for managing industry Presents templates for operational excellence in industry

How Can Reliability Analysis Impact Your Company's Bottom Line? While reliability investigations can be expensive, they can also add value to a product that far exceeds its cost. Affordable Reliability Engineering: Life-Cycle Cost Analysis for Sustainability & Logistical Support shows readers how to achieve the best cost for design development testing and evaluation and compare options for minimizing costs while keeping reliability above specifications. The text is based on the premise that all system sustainment costs result from part failure. It examines part failure in the design and sustainment of fielded parts and outlines a design criticality analysis procedure that reflects system design and sustainment. Achieve the Best Cost for Life-Cycle Sustainment Providing a framework for managers and engineers to develop and implement a reliability program for their organizations, the authors present the practicing professional with the tools needed to manage a system at a high reliability at the best cost. They introduce analytical methods that provide the methodology for integrating part reliability, failure, maintainability, and logistic math models. In addition, they include examples on how to run reliability simulations, highlight tools that are commercially available for such analysis, and explain the process required to ensure a design will meet specifications and minimize costs in the process. This text: Demonstrates how to use information gathered from reliability investigations Provides engineers and managers with an understanding of a reliability engineering program so that they can perform reliability analyses Seeks to resolve uncertainty and establish the value of reliability engineering Affordable Reliability Engineering: Life-Cycle Cost Analysis for Sustainability & Logistical Support focuses on reliability-centered maintenance and is an ideal resource for reliability engineers and managers. This text enables reliability professionals to determine the lowest life-cycle costs for part selection, design configuration options, and the implementation of maintenance practices, as well as spare parts strategies, and logistical resources.

For anyone who has ever wondered why suspension bridges don't collapse under eight lanes of traffic, how dams hold back - or give way under - thousands of gallons of water, or what principles guide the design of a skyscraper or a kangaroo, this book aims to ease your anxiety and answer your questions. J.E. Gordon strips engineering of its confusing technical terms, communicating its founding principles in accessible, witty prose.

Logistics refers to the processes that start with resources and their acquisition, storage, and transportation to their destination. The concept is crucial in business -- particularly for the manufacturing sector -- to understand, manage, and control how resources are handled and progress through the whole supply chain. Now, there is a strong trend to focus on sustainability and eco-friendly solutions in logistics. Processes based on both technology and management need innovations and detailed implementation steps to achieve a satisfactory level of sustainability. This book explores how and where innovations can be implemented to provide a wide approach to sustainability in logistics. It addresses the main challenges affecting modern and sustainable logistics and supply chains and is organized according to six main themes: supply chain management; information intelligent hubs (e.g. warehouse and cities); sustainable transportation; technology for logistics; reverse logistics; and city logistics. The key results presented are based on both extensive types of research and business cases. The overarching advanced logistics and supply chain concepts at the heart of this book contribute to a sustainable intelligent logistics and transport system by making it more efficient, reliable, environmentally friendly, and competitive. Essentially, this book presents the most current research related to sustainability in logistics activities and addresses the theoretical background of sustainability and its significance for logistics, the challenges in supply chains and transportation, and possible solutions for more sustainable logistics systems.

Written in a novel format, this book addresses the challenge of changing a "sick" culture. Some organizations wake up one day and realize they have become something they never intended. Their employees run scared. There is no innovation, only blind obedience. There are warlords within the ranks of management, and they fight over turf without considering the best interests of customers, their employees, or their organization as a whole. At the Charleston, SC, branch of Copper-Bottom Insurance, the wakeup call comes when an employee files a lawsuit against the company and its leaders. The Charleston division Vice President, Jack Simmons, is put on probation and given an ultimatum: "Change the culture!" Jack understands the "or be fired" implication all too well. He scrambles to find help and runs into an old friend, Don Spears, from Friedman Electronics. With Don's help, Jack begins the journey that will heal his organization. In the course of their first visit, Don and his Director of Continuous Improvement, Tim Stark, help Jack to make an important discovery: Copper-Bottom's executives are not showing their people respect. Don and Tim point to the following observations as proof. Copper-Bottom leaders are Using top-down, "command-and-control" leadership behaviors rather than recognizing their people as Subject Matter Experts and listening to them Issuing instructions to their people rather than observing then improving performance through coaching Keeping employees in the dark as to the impact their work has on the organization's mission Unaware of the obstacles in their people's paths; hence, never using the authority of their positions to remove those obstacles Staying in their offices, aloof to the difficulties their subordinates face As Don and Tim see it, Copper-Bottom's problems stem from the way its leaders lead. After the executive who precipitated the lawsuit is let go, the Friedman team begins the process of teaching Copper-Bottom's executives that a healthy culture begins at the leadership level. Don, Friedman's General Manager, states that cultures change when their leaders change. In short, leaders need to initiate the changes in the culture by first demonstrating the desired behavior. So begins the process of reeducating Copper-Bottom's leaders in the difference between managing and leading. In short order, Tim begins to work with Jack's leadership team while Don takes Jack to Friedman's Oakland facility. There Jack learns To first concentrate on surrounding himself with the right people The importance of top-down metrics to which leaders first hold themselves accountable Cascading their metrics (KPIs) down through their organization and using a dialog about them as a way of developing relationships of respect Although a long way from complete, by the end of Jack's six-month probation, Copper-Bottom has made significant strides and is well on its way to changing its culture. Jack will learn that he is not the only one to appreciate the new developments.

Using topics of critical and creative thinking, Critical Thinking, Idea Innovation, and Creativity discusses methods of solving complex problems, demonstrates the benefits of using the methods of imaginative thinking, identifies ways to overcome problems and inhibitors such as a lack of confidence, provides guidelines for assessing creative experiences, and encourages the application of the methods to leadership, research, and decision making. It allows readers to turn their unidimensional technical knowledge into a multi-dimensional knowledge framework that will provide a broader and more realistic framework for the solution of complex problems. Emphasis is placed on the fundamental concepts of critical and creative thinking and idea innovation, and each chapter presents numerous activities to accompany the knowledge-based educational material provided. Features: Provides educational material on creativity in a format that stresses application. An array of creative thinking tools will enable the reader to develop imaginative ideas Emphasizes ways that critical thinking, idea innovation, and creativity can enhance a reader's ability to solve problems related to leadership, the conduct of research, making decisions, and solving complex problems Focuses on ways to improve the reader's thinking skills, which will enhance the likelihood of developing novel solutions to complex problems; this skill set includes skills like curiosity, questioning, and skepticism, which are central to efficiently solving complex problems and meeting the requirements of effective leadership Includes numerous activities in each chapter that will enable readers to apply the methods and develop actual experience at critical and creative thinking; these activities are appropriate for use either by individuals or by small groups

The rise of the information age and the digital economy has dramatically changed engineering. With tremendous advances in computing and communication systems, causing major organizational upheaval, all fueled by complexity, globalization, short cycle times, and lean supply chains, the functions of engineers have significantly changed. Engineers must be technically savvy and have product management and costing skills all while working in a distributed and often unstable environment. This new edition textbook is updated to cover the integration of cost, risk, value, scheduling, and information technologies going beyond basic engineering economics. Engineering Economics of Life Cycle Cost Analysis, Second Edition offers a systems and life cycle or total ownership cost perspective. It presents advanced costing techniques such as simulation-based costing, decision analysis, complex systems costing, software, big data, and cloud computing estimation. Examples and problems demonstrating these techniques with real-world applications are also included. All engineers will find this book useful, but it is mainly written for systems engineers, engineering management, and industrial engineers along with graduate courses on advanced engineering economic analysis and cost management, and financial analysis for engineers. To assist with classroom teaching, the textbook provides an instructor's manual for qualified course adoption and downloadable Excel solutions.

This book focuses on and promotes the applications of the diverse tools and techniques of industrial engineering to the design and operation of systems in industry, business, the government, and the military. Industrial engineering is growing rapidly as an educational option and is a practice favorite in Asia, South America, and many parts of Europe. This book will meet the needs of those growth markets. Industrial Engineering in Systems Design: Guidelines, Practical Examples, Tools, and Techniques offers a wide range of engineering tools from checklists to in-depth analysis guidelines for systems design and operation. The book discusses the integration of industrial and systems engineering from both qualitative and quantitative techniques for systems design. In addition, guidelines for operational resiliency for industry in the case of disruptions, such as a pandemic are covered, and the book provides case examples for industries in developing and under-developed nations. The inclusion of practical examples of where industrial engineering has contributed to the advancement and survival of industries makes this book a very interesting and useful resource. This is a practical guide for professional engineers and consultants involved in the design and operation of systems, particularly manufacturing, production, and supply chain systems, and can also be used as a reference for students.

This book focuses on the behavioral and personality areas that can be used to strengthen one's skills and to make wise decisions about when and how to lead. It was written for the working professional who wants to learn what he or she can do by working with their personality to become more satisfied with and masterful in their leadership roles. Good leaders have learned to succeed over time by acquiring the needed range of personal skills, much like one learns a second language. Geared for entry and mid-term leaders, this book is an empirically based training guide to acquire knowledge and implement a plan to help increase one's leadership skills. Within the framework of 10 chapters, this book: * promotes a shared recognition of the role that personality plays in leadership by reviewing a case study of representative leadership situation that both identifies familiar personal struggles and organizational changes; * offers a way of thinking about how personality in general and the Big 5 in particular fills in the gaps and connects the pieces when it comes to how people become effective leaders; * illustrates how--within the Big 5 framework--to use the 2nd language approach to leverage natural personality strengths and manage weaknesses in an effort to build greater leadership effectiveness; * makes available 2nd language tools including effective intervention strategies and goal setting techniques based on enabling philosophies to understand what makes this approach accessible and practical to use; and * reassures that most leadership failures are reversible and that through using the 2nd language approach, these inevitable and sometimes necessary setbacks afford clarity about how to use your style to the best advantage.

What is the relationship between the social performance of companies and their financial performance? More colloquially, can a firm effectively attend to both people and profits as it conducts its business? This question has been investigated in no fewer than 95 empirical studies published since 1972. The authors have assembled a compendium of this research to give researchers and practitioners alike a broad overview of these 95 studies and a systematic database detailing the content of each one. This book provides a comprehensive portrait of this research literature. It begins with a broad orientation to the literature, exploring why the link between social and financial performance has been subject to continual inquiry and often heated debate. The authors then present an integrated overview of the 95 studies. Through the charts and tables, the authors illuminate the nature of the studies conducted; the data samples selected for investigation; the ways in which financial and social performance have been measured; and the overall tally of results.

This book provides an introduction to the Human Centred Design of autonomous vehicles for professionals and students. While rapid progress is being made in the field of autonomous road vehicles the majority of actions and the research address the technical challenges, with little attention to the physical, perceptual, cognitive and emotional needs of humans. This book fills a gap in the knowledge by providing an easily understandable introduction to the needs and desires of people in relation to autonomous vehicles. The book is "human centred design" led, adding an important human perspective to the primarily technology-driven debates about autonomous vehicles. It combines knowledge from fields ranging from linguistics to electrical engineering to provide a holistic, multidisciplinary overview of the issues affecting the interactions between autonomous vehicles and people. It emphasises the constraints and requirements that a human centred perspective necessitates, giving balanced information about the potential conflicts between technical and human factors. The book provides a helpful introduction to the field of design ethics, to enhance the reader's awareness and understanding of the multiple ethical issues involved in autonomous vehicle design. Written as an accessible guide for design practitioners and students, this will be a key read for those interested in the psychological, sociological and ethical factors involved in automotive design, human centred design, industrial design and technology.

Traffic psychology is a rapidly expanding and broad field within applied psychology with a considerable volume of research activities and a growing network of academic strands of enquiry. The discipline primarily focuses on the behaviour of road users and the psychological processes underlying these behaviours, looking at issues such as cognition, distraction, fatigue, personality and social aspects, often delivering practical applications and educational interventions. Traffic psychology has been the focus of research for almost as long as the motor car has been in existence and was first recognised as a discipline in 1990 when the International Association of Applied Psychology formed Division 13: Traffic and Transportation Psychology. The benefits of understanding traffic psychology are being increasingly recognised by a whole host of organisations keen to improve road safety or minimise health and safety risks when travelling in vehicles. The objective of this volume is to describe and discuss recent advances in the study of traffic psychology, with a major focus on how the field contributes to the understanding of at-risk road-user behaviour. The intended readerships include road-safety researchers from a variety of different academic backgrounds, senior practitioners in the field including regulatory authorities, the private and public sector personnel, and vehicle manufacturers concerned with improving road safety.

Most photovoltaic (PV) installations utilise heavy conventional glass or polycarbonate panels, and even newly developed thin plastic or metal films for PV cell use may fracture during both construction and application. Textile fabrics, the most widespread flexible materials in everyday use, offer a solution to the need for lightweight, flexible solar PV generators. Solar Textiles: The Flexible Solution for Solar Power is about the incorporation and operation of solar cells on textile fabrics. The combination of textile manufacturing and solar PV cell technology opens up further avenues for both the textile and semiconductor industries. Thus, this book reflects the progressively increasing commercial interest in PV cell technology and the versatility that their integration in textiles provides. Discusses textiles as electrical substrates Explains the photovoltaic effect and associated parameters Offers special consideration of solar cells on textiles Compares fibres and fabrics and how to implement PV activity on a textile Describes manufacturing methods outside of semiconductor technology Includes applications open only to textiles This work is aimed at textile technologists, electronic engineers, solar technologists, civil engineers and designers in building fabrics and architecture.

Digital Transformations for Lighting in the Workplace: A Systematic Approach Used in Ergonomics offers a practical concept for the implementation of digital transformation in ergonomics in work settings. It specifically focuses on providing information about illumination in production and non-production fields, and the described design solutions are applicable in practice. The concepts can be used in a typical manufacturing workplace or an academic setting. The methods in the book complement the modern trend to digitalise the workplace, making the research and practical outcomes of this book compatible with the concept of Industry 4.0 - Digital Manufacturing. This title offers a systematic approach to the field of digital transformation for ergonomics. It presents an opportunity for the reader to learn to create a digital model for lighting by analysing mathematical models for calculation through formulas and simulation algorithms. To put learning into context, this book provides two case studies from the production and non-production sectors, including an example of a classroom. The reader will then be able to utilise the methods to create their own digitized illumination system. This monograph is an ideal read for academics and researchers working at universities in the field of Ergonomics and professionals in industrial management including those in manufacturing plants, ergonomists, designers from the industry sector, or people who are interested in ergonomics, digitization, and simulation of a working environment.

This book addresses the vital importance of reshoring US manufacturing capability to ensure economic and military security and then discusses the proven methods that the United States used to gain manufacturing supremacy in the first place. The vital takeaway is: If the job can be made sufficiently productive, the per-unit labor cost ceases to be relevant which means a business can pay high wages, realize high profits, and deliver low prices simultaneously. The contest is then not between high wages and cheap labor, but between efficiency and inefficiency and, when automation is involved, machine against machine. Readers will be able to put these principles to work very quickly to achieve tangible results. The relatively low Federal minimum wage has meanwhile become a major issue, but inflation skyrocketed in the second quarter of 2022 when higher wages, and higher demand for goods and services, were not matched with higher productivity. The book addresses the relationship between the money supply and the velocity of money to prices, wages, and productivity. A manufacturing resurgence in the United States will not only increase our standard of living enormously but generate taxable economic activity that will help pay down rather than increase the Federal debt. Higher productivity also delivers a greater supply of goods to accompany higher wages, and thus works against inflation. This can prevent looming recessions and disruptions.

All the cost data you need to keep your estimating accurate, competitive and profitable. Do you work on jobs between 50 and 50,000? Then this book is for you. Specially written for contractors, quantity surveyors and clients carrying out small works, this book contains accurate information on thousands of rates each broken down to labour, material overheads and profit.More than just a price book, it gives easy-to-read professional advice on setting up and running a business.

All the cost data you need to keep your estimating accurate, competitive and profitable.Do you work on jobs between 50 and 50,000? - Then this book is for you.Specially written for contractors and small businesses carrying out small works, Spon's Estimating Cost Guide to Plumbing and Heating contains accurate information on thousands of rates each broken down to labour, material overheads and profit.The first book to include typical project costs for: rainwater goods installations bathrooms external waste systems central heating systems hot and cold water systems.

Specifically written for contractors and small businesses carrying out small works, this second edition of Spon's Estimating Cost Guide to Small Groundworks, Landscaping Work and Gardening contains accurate information on thousands of rates, each broken down to labour, material overheads and profit.This is the first book to focus on this range of external work, including garden maintenance work on blocks of flats and individual houses, schools and sports fields, garden makeovers, laying patios and paths, small land drainage schemes on farmland, and small-scale local authority maintenance work.