Abstract:

Lean production is a continuous improvement philosophy that was first applied to Toyota Motor Company under the leadership of Taiichi Ohno, after the World War II. It was a system focusing on eliminating overall loss in the production process. Lean practices have been used extensively in manufacturing systems. Today, service systems have started to improve fast by the effects of computer technology and information age. Research done in recent years have shown that lean production techniques could be used also in service business. In this study, In this study, the ability of achieving benefits gained in manufacturing systems by lean production philosophy is checked for service systems. Observations have been done in the emergency service of a Training and Research Hospital of the Ministry of Health. In line with the data obtained from these observations, current status map of the emergency service has been created by Value Stream Mapping technique. By analyzing the current status map, a future status map is created in accordance with lean production philosophy principles that can be applied to the system. The adaptability of lean production philosophy to service systems has been evaluated by comparing the value streams results of the current and the future status maps.

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