Full-Level: Value Stream Mapping: Design Waste-Free Laboratory Processes

Price: $1295.00

37.0 Contact Hours. Online/work at your own pace

Description

Current Status

Not Enrolled

Enroll in this course to get access

Price

$59.99

Get Started

Take this Course

Course Reviews

6.0 Contact Hours ($59.99)

Welcome to Value Stream Mapping!

Description:

Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is a key Lean tool that visually represents the flow of materials and information needed to deliver a product or service to a customer. By using VSM, organizations can pinpoint inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and waste within a process, leading to enhanced operational performance and improved customer satisfaction. You will learn to differentiate between value-added activities and waste, measure and assess process flow to uncover delays and inefficiencies and apply visual mapping techniques to optimize workflows. You will also learn a hands-on application to create three sequential maps for a real-world process that include:

1. Current State Map – Identifies existing inefficiencies and bottlenecks
2. Future State Map – Pinpoints potential Lean-driven improvements
3. Ideal State Map – Envisions a fully optimized, waste-free process

You will be equipped to use Value Stream Mapping as a powerful tool for continuous improvement, driving efficiency and quality in your work environment.

Purpose of Value Stream Mapping

Through the development of a value stream map, you will learn how to design a simplistic value stream map based on your laboratory process. This involves developing a current state map to understand the workflow, including identifying the supplier, customer, and 5-7 high-level steps in between.

In this process, you will learn to identify:

• Non-value-added (NVA) activities
• Value-added (VA) work
• Bottlenecks
• Redundant paths within the current state

Upon completion of the current state map, we will review the findings with our team and brainstorm opportunities for improvement. The objective is to eliminate non-value-added steps and redesign the process for greater efficiency and effectiveness.

The goal of value stream mapping is to develop a future state map that implements process improvements, eliminates waste, and creates a streamlined, waste-free, and efficient process.

Metrics for Value Stream Mapping

During the mapping exercise, we will discuss relevant metrics to accurately measure and compare the current and future state processes. These metrics include:

• Cycle Time (CT): The total time required to complete a process step.
• Takt Time: The rate at which a product or service needs to be completed to meet customer demand.
• Lead Time: The total time taken from the initiation to the completion of a process.
• Value-Added Time vs. Non-Value-Added Time: A comparison to determine process efficiency.
• Percent Efficiency: The proportion of value-added work to the total process time.

The Course Structure

In this course, we will take a step-by-step approach to develop each section of a current and future state map. To enhance the learning experience, it is recommended to print out the value stream map template provided with the course and practice each step as we progress. The course includes:

1. Short instructional videos
2. Quiz-10 questions
3. Operational quiz-2 questions
4. Assignment to demonstrate your newly learned skill

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Summarize wasteful activities in a current state map
   • Identify bottlenecks, redundancies, and non-value-added steps in laboratory workflows.
2. Estimate the origin of non-value-added activities within laboratory workflow
   • Recognize inefficiencies and areas for potential improvement.
3. Describe redesign ideas for a future state map that contain only value-added processes
   • Develop streamlined workflows that minimize wasteful handoffs and improve overall process efficiency.

Included in this course:

1. Value stream map template
2. A list of icons for use when developing the map

By mastering the concepts and techniques covered in this course, you will be equipped with the skills to analyze and improve processes, enhancing overall productivity and customer value.

Average Review Score:

★★★★★

You must log in and have started this course to submit a review.

Username or Email Address

Password

Remember Me

This online certificate program is designed to equip healthcare professionals with the knowledge and skills required to serve as a Lean Practitioner across clinical and healthcare environments. Through interactive learning modules, real-world healthcare case studies, and hands-on assignments, participants will develop a strong foundation in Lean principles, methods, and tools inspired by the Toyota Production System—a globally recognized framework for improving efficiency, quality, and patient-centered care.

This online certificate program is designed to equip healthcare professionals with the knowledge and skills required to serve as a Lean Practitioner across clinical and healthcare environments. Through interactive learning modules, real-world healthcare case studies, and hands-on assignments, participants will develop a strong foundation in Lean principles, methods, and tools inspired by the Toyota Production System—a globally recognized framework for improving efficiency, quality, and patient-centered care.

As a Lean Practitioner, you will collaborate closely with healthcare leaders, clinicians, and support teams to embed a culture of continuous improvement across the organization. Your work will ensure that processes are efficient, reliable, and centered on delivering high-quality patient care. You will:

• Establish and support Lean foundations across departments and service lines
• Train and mentor healthcare teams in Lean methodologies and daily improvement practices
• Facilitate Kaizen events and Gemba Walks to evaluate real-time care delivery and operational processes
• Apply root cause analysis to reduce variation, eliminate errors, and prevent recurrence
• Improve patient safety, care quality, and experience through standardized, reliable processes
• Ensure alignment with regulatory and accreditation standards such as CLIA, CAP, and FDA while optimizing system performance

This program prepares you to lead meaningful transformation in healthcare settings—enhancing efficiency, strengthening quality, and ultimately improving outcomes for patients and communities.

In this course, you will build the skills and techniques needed to help your healthcare organization systematically eliminate waste and maximize value across diagnostic and clinical operations. Through a structured, hands-on learning approach, you will gain practical, real-world experience applying Lean principles and methodologies to improve efficiency, quality, and patient care outcomes.

✔ 7 Course Modules – Covering essential Lean concepts and their application across healthcare and diagnostic workflows
✔ Instructional Video Presentations – Engaging, real-world content designed to reinforce learning and clinical relevance
✔ 7 Knowledge Checks – One per module to assess understanding and practical application
✔ 3 Reflection Activities – Encouraging critical thinking and deeper analysis within a healthcare context
✔ Capstone Project (7 Assignments) – Apply Lean principles to identify, analyze, and eliminate a recurring issue impacting workflow, quality, or patient care within your organization

The course project includes seven structured assignments, each designed to help you apply Lean tools and methodologies directly within your healthcare work environment. Through these hands-on activities, you will gain practical experience identifying inefficiencies, improving workflows, and implementing sustainable, patient-centered improvements.

Throughout the course, we will reference The New Lean Healthcare Pocket Guide XL to reinforce key concepts and support real-world application across hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare settings.

In addition, live virtual classrooms are available to help teams deepen their understanding and effectively translate learning into practice. These weekly, instructor-led sessions provide opportunities to:

✔ Ask questions and clarify course concepts in a healthcare context
✔ Share insights, challenges, and lessons learned with peers
✔ Collaborate on strategies for implementing Lean methodologies within your organization

For more information on virtual team sessions, including dates and times, please contact your instructor.

✔ Explain Lean principles, methodologies, and tools as they apply to clinical, administrative, and diagnostic healthcare workflows
✔ Apply Lean thinking to design a targeted improvement strategy within your healthcare or laboratory setting
✔ Plan and lead a 5S event, including preparation, implementation, and ongoing sustainment in a clinical environment
✔ Conduct a “Go and See” (Gemba) observation to uncover inefficiencies and identify opportunities for improving patient care and workflow
✔ Analyze waste and variation using a current-state value stream map to improve flow and reduce delays
✔ Apply the A3 problem-solving approach, understanding its structure and use in healthcare decision-making
✔ Plan and facilitate a Kaizen event, including defining objectives, engaging teams, and achieving measurable outcomes

This course equips you with practical Lean tools and techniques to drive continuous improvement, enhance efficiency, and improve patient outcomes across healthcare settings.