Pragmatic Evaluating of Toyota Production System (TPS) Analysis Procedure for Problem Solving with Entry-Level Nurses and Industrial Engineers

Funding Agency: Bozeman Deaconess Hospital (BDH, Bozeman, MT).  

Co-PIs: Dr. Lukasz Mazur and Dr. Gary Chen 

Description: Many medical and industrial engineering students gain an undergraduate/graduate degree without being properly exposed to quality improvement knowledge/methods/tools. In addition, relatively few healthcare professionals in industry are equipped to analytically view their work processes as a system or appreciate the relevance and benefits of systems engineering approach to process improvement and product development. This research project in education included three parallel pathways:The first was to increase the understanding of systems analysis performed either individually or in interdisciplinary teams. The second was to evaluate various systems engineering methods and learn how such methods affect the student’s individual and cooperative abilities to analyze and solve system problems. The third was to identify the individual and collaborative skills needed for future students to solve system related problems and determine how these skills can be developed.