Applying Lean Methods to Mitigate COVID-19 at Work

Why is there so much focus on this strain of the coronavirus?

Compared to the seasonal flu, COVID-19 is:

• 2x as contagious
• 2.5x longer to see symptoms
• 2x longer duration it survives on surfaces
• 2x as many people don’t have symptoms
• 5-100x more deadly

This data is of course affected by other risk factors like age, lung and heart health and immune system.

How to wash your hands using Training Within Industry (TWI) principles

Cleaning and Avoiding Transmission

Check out Clean and Lean Practices from Indow Windows CEO and Founder Sam Pardue at CleanPractice.org to improve morale and reduce risks.

XRAY FM interview on November 5, 2020

Here is an early webinar from Sam from Friday April 10, 2020.

Here is an interview on Float about Clean Practice from 6/8/20

More articles from Indow:

• Trust & Science Key to Solving COVID-19
• Entrepreneurs lean in to stop the spread of COVID-19
• Member Indow Leading through Pandemic with Open-Source Innovation
• Ditch The Doorknobs: A Portland Company’s Coronavirus Response
• How Indow is Handling the New Coronavirus
• How a Small Manufacturer in Portland, OR is Responding to COVID-19
• Clean Manufacturing LinkedIn Group

Official Recommendations

• COVID-19 Employer Information for Office Buildings

Videos

Using Lean Tools in Food Businesses during COVID-19 from Oregon Tilth

Related Articles about Lean and COVID-19

• Japan COVID-19 vaccination center uses ‘Toyota method’ to rev up productivity – The Mainichi
• Honeywell Factory Workers Know How to Speed Up Covid Shots – Bloomberg
• Lean and Covid-19 Vaccination in Wales – Planet Lean
• Quality’s Role in the Global Pandemic Response – ASQ
• A Shot in the Arm – Applying Lean Thinking to Covid-19 Vaccinations – Lean UK
• Blaming “Human Error” Isn’t an Excuse for Wasting 500 Doses of Covid Vaccine – Lean Blog
• COVID-19 Modeling and Analytics Templates – Northeastern University Healthcare Systems Engineering Institute
• Lean and the global Covid-19 vaccine race – Product and process development
• Lean ASAP! Norwegian producer ramps up the production of medical gowns
• Front-Line Solutions: How One Employee’s Perspective Changed COVID Problem Solving
• John Toussaint, MD on Managing Hospitals and Clinics During Covid-19
• GM quietly helped company set up ventilator assembly line after a cold call
• 9 Tips for a Lean and Secure Plant After the COVID-19 Imposed Shutdown – Flexpipe
• Health Care Workers Protect Us. It’s Time to Protect Them. – Harvard Business Review
• Pivoting from Furniture to Personal Protective Equipment with Jeff Kaas – Gemba Academy
• Webinar and Video: How Control Charts Can Help Us Fight COVID-19 by The Deming Institute
• Key Steps To Assess When (And If) To Bring Employees Back To The Office with Mark Graban
• Supermarkets are using Kanban to help fight the Coronavirus – You have seen Kanban in action at the grocery store, but are probably unaware of it
• How we made our microbiology lab COVID-ready
• 5 Ways Lean Six Sigma Heroes Are Solving Problems Caused by COVID-19 – Hospitals, military bases and family businesses share quick wins and improvements related to COVID-19
• Lean healthcare vs the Coronavirus – This recorded webinar from Lean Management Instituut in Holland discusses the response of lean healthcare organizations to the Coronavirus
• The Impact of Social Distancing on Assembly Operations – John Shook shares assembly examples from businesses
• Ex-Toyota engineer fights the good fight – Former Toyota Australia industrial engineer Mat Bowtell has responded to the escalating coronavirus pandemic by diverting resources at his internationally recognised Victorian-based charity, Free 3D Hands, to produce face shields for medical staff and other frontline workers.
• IE alum joins effort to combat COVID-19 – Shubham Khoje is a manufacturing engineer at NSK which makes ball bearings for producing ventilators, and is now producing disinfectant sprayers, which will also be used to reduce the spread of the virus.
• Spaghetti charts and physical distancing – A simple lean tool can help us create safer flows in our businesses, a critical challenge as we plan our return to work with new physical distancing measures in place.
• Derby catering specialist adapts manufacturing operations to produce vital healthcare equipment
• Why the Lean Community Is Uniquely Positioned to Fight the Pandemic by Sammy Obara on GoLeanSixSigma.com
• The Post COVID Crisis Supply Chain: a Time to Rise – Addressing confusion about JIT inventory and cost cutting measures blamed on lean methods
• How Lean Six Sigma Can Help Fight the Coronavirus Pandemic – Leaders in the Lean Six Sigma community share how they are helping during the crisis
• Why (and How) We Believe Lean Can Help During COVID-19 from Lean Sensei Women
• Fighting Covid-19 with lean healthcare – A team of lean practitioners and coaches shares a set of lean healthcare tips hospitals can use today to support their battle against Covid-19
• Lean in the Time of Coronavirus – In times of crisis, lean offers a stable approach to healthy work. Foundational lean practices such as just-in-time supply chains are not—and have never been—liabilities in a time such as today’s coronavirus outbreak.
• What is Exponential Growth and Why Should You Care? – The article below talks about the statistics behind exponential growth, and why it’s important to do these proactive things when the problem is still manageable.