|
|
Oakland University students present their Lean gap
analysis from HRD 304 to Jim Safran, president of
Beaumont Services Company. Left to right: Safran,
Mark Doman, professor of HRD 304, and OU students
Andrea Stanco and Lynn Curtis-Misner.
|
Oakland University students Andrea Stanco and Lynn Curtis-Misner recently presented their gap analysis project from
HRD 304: Lean Principles and Practices in Organizations to Jim Safran, president and CEO of Beaumont Services Company. OU student LaDonna Kornegay-Bey was also involved in the project.
“There are students out there who can go into a business with fresh eyes and really contribute,” said
Mark Doman, assistant visiting professor of Human Resource Development (HRD) and professor of HRD 304.
A recent OU graduate with a bachelor’s degree in HRD, Stanco works in human resources at the U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command, which is in the early stages of its Lean journey.
Stanco said she took HRD 304 because she knew Lean was used at her work and wanted to become more familiar with Lean principles.
The gap analysis project focused on Beaumont Hospital’s Troy Campus, which, according to Safran, is the top Beaumont campus in Lean concepts.
The purpose of a gap analysis is to look at the current state and the desired future state of a company and identify opportunities for improvement.
“We were pleased to be involved in the project,” said Curtis-Misner, a senior in integrative studies, focusing on business and marketing with a minor in HRD. “It really let us see Lean in action.”
Stanco said that she learned to recognize unnecessary steps and muda, or waste, and that Lean is beneficial to every organization, not just health services. She added that Lean knowledge and skills using Lean principles are important qualities to have.
Both students said that the project allowed them to see all the little pieces of the different processes and how they add up as a whole.
One of the recommendations that the students gave to Beaumont was to stock the carts at the end of the shift instead of in the morning. According to Stanco, this sounds simple, but it is a huge time saver.
“You guys did a very nice job,” Safran told the students after the presentation. “It seemed like you knew your subject well and applied it.”
He also said that the students were very engaged, did a thorough job and put a lot of thought into their recommendations to Beaumont.
Safran and Curtis-Misner both agreed that the most important recommendation was the overall Lean implementation through a planned and strategic process to allow Lean to seep into the culture.
“I think it’s vital that their organization become more Lean ,” Curtis-Misner said. “I think it’s going to be more and more important to the health care industry.”
Curtis-Misner said the concept of Lean is different than what she thought it was, and that it’s valuable to her as a businessperson and student.
“Lean is about bringing value to your clients,” Curtis-Misner said. She also said that she had been using Lean principles for a long time but didn’t realize it, and through HRD 304, she learned how to expand on those principles even more.
“It was definitely an eye-opening experience,” Stanco said. “I feel that the information I learned will be beneficial throughout my professional career.”
Stanco now uses the Lean principles she learned in class in everyday life at home. She will also use this project as a writing sample for her graduate school application at Wayne State.
Stanco said that she would definitely recommend HRD 304 because Lean is becoming even more noticeable and prevalent among corporations.
“I really think every business major should take this class,” Curtis-Misner said.
For more information about Lean courses, visit
oakland.edu/lean.
