Lean Strategic Asset Management: Integrating Value, Flow and Capacity Provision in the Uk Health Sector

Purpose: The English National Health Service is facing a huge financial and capacity crisis. There is a major need for new thinking in meeting expanding healthcare demand while controlling rising costs, improving quality and raising productivity. Lean thinking will be central to achieving success; however, a broader interpretation of asset value is necessary. Methodology: This paper is based on a health specific literature review of the existing evidence that inter alia supports the use of Lean thinking in infrastructure re-design, reconfiguration, space rationalisation and clinical productivity. There is some reflection on the significant underpinnings of Lean Manufacture, but this has been limited since it has been well documented by others since Womack et al., (1990) and the Toyota Production System (TPS). It also reports on a workshop with academic and industry professionals and outlines a potential future direction for Lean healthcare asset related research and development. Findings: This paper highlights the need for a whole system integrated approach to delivering value over various healthcare care scales through lean asset management. Implications: Incentivising the alignment of national and local healthcare stakeholders around value will maximise the use of scarce capital resources.