Process
Management for Business Improvement - ISO9000/2000
Clear process
management is the foundation for an effective and
efficient business. Whether used on its own to improve profitability
or in conjunction with an Accreditation exercise, mapping processes
adds value to the business operation.
ISO9000/2000
promotes the adoption of a process approach when developing, implementing
and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of any business.
Businesses are required to structure their activities around processes,
which can be identified and developed as part of a corporate business
improvement activity.
A process
map can be simply introduced, easily developed and immediately
effective in the workplace.
Defining the
process map will:
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Allow
you to identify each element of the process |
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Add information
to any element |
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Ensure
that activities are carried out to the same standard time
after time |
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Add value
to activities by re-assessing processes |
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Make
procedures and documentation relevant to the process |
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Identify
duplication and waste |
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Reduce
time spent training new staff on how work flows |
Process
Management for Effective Healthcare and Controls Assurance Standards.
The Controls
Assurance Standards and accreditation systems require organisations
to create numerous policies often difficult to access and far
removed from the task in hand.
By defining
the process or activity, attaching the relevant standards to each
element of the process and publishing on your network, you can
create corporate "how to do"s around the task in hand.
Because policies
and standards are attached to the process, staff have the relevant
information at their fingertips.
This rational
approach identifies duplication, creates a focus around the activity
and reduces waste.
Process
Maps for Clinical Governance and Clinical Pathways
Defining clinical
activity is crucial to safeguard both clinicians and patients.
The process
map of an activity will show the route the clinician should take.
Elements of the activity may be divided into sub processes, but
at each stage relevant information may be attached, such as:
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clinical
evidence |
|
professional
advice |
|
drugs
and their contra indications |
|
photographs
of complex equipment and instructions of use |
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Departmental
guidance for sensitive issues |
Process Mapping
in Primary Care Trusts
Create a corporate
identity, with common elements accessed by all the professionals
across the Trust.
Develop, agree
and publish the Trust standards as they relate to activities.Structure
Clinical Governance and make the clinical process transparent
across the organisation.
Create an
information source for clinical pathways, which can be easily
accessed by all stakeholders.
Clinical Governance
for Sterile Services
Throughout
industry, businesses are chasing efficiencies to maintain market
position; some are improving quality to increase market share.
The EFQM Excellence model has been adopted by many businesses
to create focused organisational management while others have
adopted the new ISO 9000/2000 approach to quality.
The common
theme is the sense of improvement embedded in the business process,
whether that is manufacturing or service. Process Management has
been fundamental to the success of many businesses with the methodology
developed in manufacturing industry being used extensively in
new industries such as call-centres to provide up to date information
and procedures to telephone operators. The focus on process management
ensures a common corporate response to each customer, common standards
and safe business practices.
Policies and
procedures while well documented at Trust or Department level
are often filed away only to be brought out for an annual review.
Key to the maintenance of standards is up to date information,
which is easily accessible. Providing relevant information to
staff when they need it is essential to the safe provision of
services.
The Controls
Assurance Standards are a first step in setting national minimum
standards for the NHS, but communicating the standards to staff
will require a new approach to be effective. Process and quality
improvements are interdependent, and few industrial areas are
as critical as the Sterile Services Department of a hospital.
Just as process
management adds structure to Clinical Governance by linking best
practice, evidence and national policies to clinical activity,
so a similar approach can be applied to other sensitive areas
such as sterile services where quality is just as important to
the patient.
Like most
Sterile Services Departments, output quality is paramount to the
Glenfield Hospital CSSD, linked as it is to patient safety. The
CSSD provides a wide range of specialist dressing packs as well
as pre-set trays of surgical equipment for operating theatres.
All instrument trays are bar-coded and can be traced using a computerised
tray tracking system
The throughput
at Glenfield is prodigious, with some 600 instrument trays presently
processed each week. The CSSD serves eight theatres which includes
three cardiac, one thoracic, two general and two orthopaedic.
The Department also provides an ethylene oxide sterilisation service
covering six counties in the Midlands.
Every step
of the process needs to be quality controlled to protect the sterile
integrity of the product. With a clear focus on quality, the Glenfield
CSSD has been at the forefront of the drive to meet ever increasing
regulation and quality standards.
The Department
gained ISO 9000 in August 1996 led by the CSSD Manager George
Needham who says " Following the discipline of ISO 9000 accreditation
was fundamental to maintaining the levels of quality in our products
in an ever changing environment ."
Recognising
that the new ISO 9000/2000 standards required a different approach,
one where policies and procedures were linked directly to the
relevant elements of the process, George attended a BSI open day
on the new standards. BSI recommended the mapping of processes
and the attachment of policies and procedures using the Process
Expert software package.
Following
a demonstration, George purchased Process Expert, developed a
series of process maps and now has an integrated system of process
and quality control. The software allowed George to retain his
existing ISO policies and procedures and attach them to relevant
areas of the process.
Initially
there were four main structural elements to the process map:-
Quality
Systems, which held the British Standards and their relevant
processes.
Standing
Operational Procedures, which provided an overview of the
workflow through the department including specifications and policies
for a variety of operational issues.
Training
Procedures for staff to link together the Investors in People
standard with statutory requirements for training in Fire Safety,
Health and Satety, Coshh and lifting and handling.
Management
Structure to define a clear and open structure in the department
and show the individual responsibilities and their interdependence.
The new system
based on Process Expert protected the considerable investment
in existing documentation and allowed process and procedural documents
to be separated, thus allowing policy and procedure audit to be
independent of process. When regulations change, policies and
procedures can be amended and immediately available from the process
map. Access to change the process map and its attendant information
is controlled by comprehensive security and audit facilities.
Process Expert
allows the user to publish process maps and their information
across an Intranet, thus the integration of CSSD and Clinical
Governance can be achieved. The greatest impact is that for the
first time the information is able to be shared between the whole
team and easily accessible from any desktop. At a glance, staff
can see the elements of the processes with which they are involved,
and amendments and their effects can be tried and tested for outcome
benefit before implementation.
The next step
for Glenfield is to determine process maps for each of the work
streams and attach photographs of finished products. " Some
sterile packs are complex to describe to temporary staff, and
a photograph of the finished tray of surgical equipment is easier
to visualise, " says George Needham.
Process Management
has long been used in industry to improve quality and efficiency.
The principles identified at Glenfield can be used throughout
the NHS to raise the standards of quality and care.
Ash House
will help you start the process mapping exercise and show you
how to draw, add information and publish your process maps on
your intranet.
For further
information telephone 01352 750300 or
complete the contact page.
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