USU Shingo conference features first lean dentist and sheriff
It’s not everyday that hundreds of people give a standing ovation to a dentist.
In late March, Dr. Sami Bahri and his staff stood before several hundred people at The 19th Annual Shingo Prize Conference in Jacksonville, Florida, where he was recognized as the "world’s first lean dentist."
Lean is a philosophy promoted by an organization in Utah State University’s Jon M. Huntsman School of Business called the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing. Those who implement lean principles are usually manufacturing firms. The firms have discovered the value of the philosophy that changes the way people think about workplace practices so that they eliminate waste, find more efficient ways of doing things and better tap the talents and ideas in their own work force.
While most of those who understand the philosophy think it can be applied in many other settings, including the home, Bahri appears to be the first dentist to demonstrate the benefits of a lean dentist office.
hygiene manager, played the part of a patient
on stage while her boss, Dr. Sami Bahri spoke.
Patients who come to see Bahri don’t wait in the waiting room, he said. They go straight to a chair where they immediately get their visit underway. If problems are discovered, they are often treated for those problems on the first visit. Bahri said he doesn’t like to see a patient come back multiple times to be treated for the same issue. Many times patients are able to make same-day appointments to have their needs addressed, he said.
At the conference he had dental chairs and other basic equipment brought in and set up a two-chair dental office on the stage. As he spoke, his staff demonstrated the process they have mastered together that simplifies things for his patients and saves money for his business. The audience, which was mostly made up of people who’d had experience implementing lean, appeared impressed with his innovative application of the philosophy.
Dr. Sami Bahri’s staff got a standing ovation
after they demonstrated how they apply lean
practices in their office. Bahri was recognized
as the world’s first lean dentist.
"In short, lean thinking is neat because it provides a way to do more with less," Bahri told the group. "Less effort, less time, less equipment, less space, while coming closer and closer with providing customers with exactly what they want."
His presentation ended with his staff lined up on stage like the cast of a Broadway production while the audience stood and applauded.
That wasn’t the only first at the conference that drew more than 500 people from 320 companies and organizations. The Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford is also a lean believer and said he has made dramatic changes in his operation by applying lean principles. Jacksonville is 840 square miles, the biggest land mass city in the country and the 14th most populated. The sheriff’s office also serves as the municipal police department for Jacksonville, which is located in Duval County.
Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford and Dr.
Sami Bahri, the first lean sheriff and
the first lean dentist, got a chance to
compare notes during the 19th Annual
Shingo Prize Conference in Jacksonville Florida.
After his speech Rutherford said lean dramatically improves the culture of an organization because people see that their ideas for making improvements are welcomed and implemented.
"When you are practicing lean in an organization and you are getting the users involved," he said, "I can’t tell you what it does to their self worth."
Lean practices helped the sheriff’s department learn to process the data it has to better identify patterns and solve crimes.
"It’s about making sure you are trying to accomplish the right things, you have processes in place to do that, and you have matrixes that are telling you how effective you are being," Rutherford said of lean.
Ross Robson, the executive director of the program, told conference attendees that hearing of the success the dentist and sheriff have serve as a reminder that lean principles can be applied successfully beyond the manufacturing floor. The event was the best attended Shingo conference ever, Robson said.
Jon M. Huntsman School of Business Dean Douglas D. Anderson spoke twice at the conference, each time talking of the benefits that the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing brings to the students and the businesses that practice lean.
"The influence of the prize, as you well know, has spread now throughout North America and into Mexico, and we are delighted to learn in this conference of the impact that it is having," Anderson said. "As you know, everywhere the Shingo Prize begins to have influence lean principles are put into practice, companies become more competitive, workplaces become more enjoyable and rewarding, and productivity is enhanced."
The conference ended with a formal awards dinner where a dozen companies were recognized with the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing. Seven of the winning companies this year are located in Mexico. Each of the companies proudly cited statistics that showed the many positive ways their lean transformation impacted their companies.
The lean philosophy was originally articulated by Shigeo Shingo, who was an industrial engineer in Japan whose teachings have been key to Toyota’s success. In 1988, he came to Utah State University and was honored with an honorary doctorate in business. The Shingo Prize organization was created not long after that visit.