QI tools to ignite improvement
By Duke Rohe, FHIMSS
Performance Improvement specialist
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston
Most organizations are not short on think-power from their employees; they are simply short on the tools to make improvement happen and an environment to stimulate this type of thinking.
Here’s a squirt of starter fluid to ignite the grass fires of improvement in your area. These files are a free collection of ready-to-use tools that have helped improve performance in a variety of projects over the past decade. They borrow from a myriad of sources and can help your organization’s change effort be faster and more effective.
They are organized for ready access, sharing, and expansion. For most effective results, place them on a shared server to be accessed by anyone making improvement. Simply open the file, then save it under another name on a personal drive.
Knowledge management notes: The design here is for a growing tool set that is collectively expanded and groomed for freshness and accessibility. To add to the "tool chest," file your newly created tool in a given folder (or make a new one) and update the index with the file name and title. There is a "new stuff" folder for new tools that were created and are candidates for continued use. Evaluate the new tools each month for benefit and file accordingly. There is a red-tag file for tools that don’t have a ready home or whose use is questionable.
If you have tools that might benefit others, e-mail them to Duke Rohe at [email protected] for future tool sets or updates. These files are free to use, copy, and share. To receive them, e-mail a request to [email protected] with your postal mailing address. I’ll make a copy on diskettes (around 6 MB) and send them your way. There will be a request for $20 to cover the copying and mailing. If you have counterparts in other organizations, just pass the diskettes along.
The files are meant to be self-explanatory. But if you need help, call Duke Rohe at (713) 460-3601.
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