A Guide to the Life and Work of Paul H. O’Neill

Indiana University created “A Guide to the Life and Work of Paul H. O’Neill” on its IU Libraries site. This resource contains links to news and records related to Paul’s experiences in government, business and health sectors. Please take a look to learn more about the life and impacts Paul had.

In 2019, Indiana University renamed its School of Public and Environmental Affairs as the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, in recognition of O’Neill’s distinguished career in public and private sectors and gifts to the University

Health Care Workers Protect Us. It’s Time to Protect Them.

Value Capture Managing Director Ken Segel and Catalysis Executive Chairman John Toussaint, MD co-authored this article, published in the Harvard Business Review.

“Before Covid-19 pandemic struck, the U.S. health care industry suffered more than 550,000 work-related injuries and illnesses per year, or 150,000 more than any other industry in the country. Therefore, it is no surprise that health care workers have been harmed at tragic rates during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of June 4, 72,346 U.S. health care workers had been infected, a figure it acknowledges is an undercount. A comprehensive national analysis indicates that almost 600 health care workers have died.

Every instance of a health care worker being harmed on the job is preventable. Every single one. So it is time to finally take the safety of health care staff seriously. It is time for the industry to go from the worst to the first in safety. A few visionary leaders and organizations have set out on that course and proven that it is possible. Drawing from their practices before and during the pandemic, we offer five leadership imperatives.”

Read more to learn the five leadership imperatives, and examples of healthcare leaders driving staff harm down toward zero.

Do You Know Your DART Rate?

Healthcare Worker Safety and OSHA Resources

OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, exists to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance. According to the OSHA website, “In 2017, the healthcare and social assistance industry reported more injury and illness cases than any other private industry sector — 582,800 cases (2017 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, BLS). That is 153,900 more cases than the next industry sector, manufacturing.”

OSHA’s website has many helpful and informative resources for healthcare organizations, including information on a Culture of Safety, Safe Patient Handling, and Infectious Diseases. We encourage you to explore the site for information, and want to especially call attention to this page, which embeds in-depth information and useful tools. One such tool is “How Safe Is Your Hospital for Workers?“, a fillable questionnaire to help you gather key information from your facility, find out how safe your workplace is, how much your hospital spends on worker injuries and illnesses, what programs are in place to address the problem, and how you compare with other hospitals nationwide. Take a few minutes to read this document and answer the questions — It may help you lead your organization to higher levels of safety, quality and satisfaction.

Truth, Transparency and Leadership

“I share with you my ideas of what a real leader is and what a real leader does because I find these qualities in short supply today. First of all, real leadership starts from a proposition that you do not seek or accept a leadership designation because it pays better or because you get more fame or recognition, but because you hunger for the responsibility of making a difference by creating the condition that people in your organization can contribute in a way that gives meaning to their lives.” [Emphasis added].

Paul O’Neill published this article in Public Administration Review, Vol. 72 Issue 1, January/February 2012, pgs. 11-12. Learn more here.

The Ecumenical Approach

Learn more about Senior Advisor, Bill O’Rourke, in this article in the John Carroll University alumni magazine. “When Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue needed someone to lead its business in the aftermath of the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history, they called on Bill O’Rourke ’70, who relied on his Catholic faith, Jesuit education, and a career full of lessons in integrity and ethics to serve a community in need.”

“Your Aim Must Be to Be the Best in the World at Everything You Do”*

Indiana University has renamed its School of Public and Environmental Affairs as the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, in recognition of O’Neill’s distinguished career in public and private sectors and gifts to the University. O’Neill attended the School as part of the federal government’s Education for Public Management program, graduating in 1966 with a Master of Public Administration degree.

“Over half a century ago I was afforded the opportunity to come to Indiana University, which I count among the great good fortunes of my life,” O’Neill said. “I am honored to now have the opportunity to give back to this exemplary institution, which means so much to me. My hope is that the school remains a place of excellence where future leaders can combine passion with action and develop the confidence they need to engage with society’s greatest challenges and opportunities.”

O’Neill’s gift will establish the Paul H. O’Neill Center on Leadership in Public Service, a dean’s initiatives fund, three faculty chair positions, five professorships, a fellowship program for master’s, doctoral and postdoctoral students, and a scholarship program, which will continue in perpetuity.

John Graham, former dean of the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, said, “Paul’s dedication to public and community service, his business acumen, and his strong sense of integrity are traits that our students should be proud to carry forward. He is an inspirational example of leading for the greater good.”

Learn more about the O’Neill School here, and watch the dedication ceremony here.

*Paul O’Neill quote on a plaque in the O’Neill School entry.

Value Capture Welcomes John Collodora to the Firm

Value Capture is pleased to announce that John Collodora has joined the firm, serving as a Client Advisor.

“I am excited and honored to join the incredible professionals of Value Capture,” John said. “Value Capture’s mission – to partner with healthcare leaders to help transform their organizations into models of performance excellence by systemically and systematically improving safety and quality, lead time, and financial outcomes – aligns with my own professional mission. The hard and vital work of all those in healthcare, from the front-line teams to the executives, inspires me, and drives me to share my lean experience and coaching techniques to help these dedicated folks improve the systems in which they do their work.”

John brings more than 25 years of experience to Value Capture, spanning manufacturing, supply chain and healthcare industries. John comes to Value Capture from Fairview Health Services, where, among other achievements, he helped design and implement daily management and strategy deployment systems, coached leaders and front-line staff in scientific-method problem solving, applied lean methodology to a variety of construction projects, and facilitated process redesign to improve patient experience and flow of services.

During his career, John has served in front-line roles, in addition to engineering and operations leadership.  John utilizes these experiences when coaching teams through change as they develop and sustain new processes that foster engagement of team members and improve the patient safety.

“As I’ve gotten to know John better over the past several months, I am particularly struck by how deeply embedded in principles is his improvement philosophy, the way he thinks about this work,” said Geoff Webster, Value Capture Principal and Engagement Team Lead. “Just as we help our clients base their work in universal principles, such as ‘respect for others,’ John helps his clients do the same. He helps them understand the essential value of a principles-based culture and systems. When challenges arise, when problems occur, when an organization needs help to accelerate and sustain progress, the embrace of principles as the guiding star helps to clarify thinking, planning and action. We look forward to the enormous strides our clients will make as they work with John.”

John added, “Every day, I am inspired to work hard to help leaders, managers and front-line caregivers make a positive difference in the lives of patients, families, communities, and health workers. I am excited for the opportunity to do so as a member of the Value Capture team.”

A Lifetime of Principles, Learning and Leadership – 2019 Case Study of Paul O’Neill

The Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership, of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, published a 2019  case study examining the role fundamental leadership principles and practices have played in the career of Paul O’Neill.  O’Neill has been steadfast in his values-based approach, whether in government, the private sector, or not-for-profit organizations.  His unwavering values include:  respect and concern for all people; continually seeking ways to improve systems and outcomes; decision-making based on evidence; integrity and accountability; and, stewardship.

O’Neill consistently challenges leaders who strive to create habitually excellent organizations to consider the following:

Can everyone in your organization answer “yes,” every day, to these three questions:

1. Am I treated with dignity and respect by everyone I encounter, regardless of job title, education, ethnicity, or any other distinguishing characteristic?
2. Am I given everything I need, such as training, support, and tools, to make a contribution to the organization that has meaning in my life?
3. Am I recognized for my work by someone whose opinion matters to me?

The study concludes by stating, “In an era when evidence-based decision-making often falls victim to political expediency or succumbs to a blizzard of social media opposition, Paul O’Neill’s approach to leadership is perhaps viewed as quaint by some cynics.  Yet leadership that blends demanding standards of performance with a concern for the individual will always be beneficial to our institutions, our world, and our fellow human beings.”

Geoff Webster, Value Capture Principal, followed this study with a blog post for the Shingo Institute, in which Geoff provides personal insights and examples of specific O’Neill leadership behaviors.  Please click here to read A Study in Principles That Drive Habitual Excellence.“

Paul O’Neill Awarded Gerald R. Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation has awarded Paul O’Neill Sr. with the Medal for Distinguished Public Service for 2019. The Gerald R. Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service recognizes outstanding public contributions by individuals who reflect the qualities demonstrated by President Ford during his public service career: Strength of character, Integrity, Trustworthiness, Fidelity to principles in decision making, Sound judgment, Decisiveness (particularly during periods of crisis), Determination in the face of adversity, Diligence, Self-confidence balanced with respect for the views of others, Self-discipline in personal life.

O’Neill began his career in government service under President John F. Kennedy, and continued serving under Presidents Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. He also served the Treasury Secretary under President George W. Bush.

“Through his tenure as a public servant and as a leader in the private sector, Secretary O’Neill has demonstrated personal and professional qualities making him a worthy recipient of the President Gerald R. Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service,” said Mike Ford, Chairman of the Foundation. Carla Hills, Foundation trustee, said, “He devoted much of his life to serving the American people through public service positions and was dedicated to making a difference while he served.”

About the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation fosters increased awareness of the life, career, values, and legacy of America’s 38th President. It does so through activities designed to promote the high ideals of integrity, honesty, and candor that defined President Ford’s extraordinary career of public service. The Foundation promotes the ideas, values, commitment to public service and historical legacy of President Gerald R. Ford and further promotes greater civic engagement and recognition of integrity wherever it exists in the public arena. It supports permanent and changing exhibits designed to promote historical literacy; conferences; educational outreach and other programs, both scholarly and popular, including at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.

Value Capture is a CLEAR Sponsor

June 1, 2019 – Value Capture is very pleased to announce that it has become a sponsor of the Center for Lean Engagement & Research in Healthcare (CLEAR), opened in October 2016 by the UC Berkeley School of Public Health.

Recognizing that much of the existing research on the efficacy of the application of lean methodology to healthcare was based on weak designs, CLEAR was created to conduct and foster better research on lean in healthcare organizations. CLEAR’s goals are to (1) conduct in-house leading-edge research on lean in healthcare, beginning with the first national survey of lean in hospitals; (2) collaborate with specific healthcare organizations and other health services researchers on focused studies of the effects of lean in particular organizations and departments; and (3) facilitate research among other researchers and healthcare delivery organizations through resources and information available on its website.

Armed with more comprehensive understanding, healthcare leaders and organizations will be able to design and execute more effective strategies to transform the provision of care, improve patient outcomes, and do so more quickly and at lower cost.

The mission of Value Capture is to help healthcare organizations transform to continually and sustainably deliver significantly higher safety and quality to patients while lowering costs. Transformed organizations can then serve as models of excellence, helping to show the way and spread transformation throughout the industry. The work of CLEAR will provide actionable information to leaders to undertake and effect such transformations, and thus will help Value Capture better support leaders and achieve its mission.

About UC Berkeley School of Public Health

The first school of public health west of the Mississippi, the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health was founded in 1943 on the Berkeley campus. It is one of 50 schools accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. The UC Berkeley School of Public Health improves population health, especially for the most vulnerable, through interdisciplinary collaborations to meet health needs and achieve health equity, preeminent education that challenges convention and develops diverse leaders, and transformational research on the major public health threats and opportunities of today and tomorrow.

Lean Transformation Sensei Didier Rabino Joins Value Capture

Value Capture is very pleased to welcome Didier Rabino, who joins the firm as a Client Advisor.

“I am very excited to be part of the deeply talented Value Capture team,” Rabino said. “The firmly held principles of each professional, individually and collectively, seamlessly mesh with my own principles. I am anxious to begin to work with this team, and leverage my experiences to help coach executives and their teams to produce less waste, greater engagement, more effective systems, and better and better outcomes.”

“Every person working in a health system, whether they are the CEO, a clinician, in IT, billing or food services, is dedicated to helping patients have better outcomes and experiences. These people care. Often, the systems in which they work, such as medication delivery or getting the correct meal to a newly admitted patient, aren’t structured to consistently deliver the high quality service these employees want to provide to patients, families, and their co-workers. This is why it’s so important to me to do this work.”

For more than 25 years, Rabino has studied, practiced and coached the principles and methodologies of Lean, in a variety of industries. Since 2012, his work has been focused on the healthcare industry. Prior to joining Value Capture, Rabino served as Vice President, Executive Lean Sensei of Fairview Health Services. In this role, he supported the development of the Fairview Operating System and provided Lean coaching to the senior executive team and Board members. Prior to holding that position, he worked for Andersen Windows as plant manager and architect of the Andersen Manufacturing System. He also worked for Steelcase in England, France and in the United States leading and supporting Lean transformations and new process implementations.

Ken Segel, Value Capture Managing Director, said, “We are thrilled and honored that Didier is joining us. I have had the pleasure of learning from and sharing questions and thoughts in many conversations with Didier over the years, and I look forward to learning more with him in the years to come. The depth and breadth of expertise and experience that we can bring to bear for our partners is powerful, and no doubt, impactful.”

Rabino is also the director of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) North Central Region Board, instructor for Manufacturers Alliance and a regular presenter at Lean Conferences. He obtained Lean certificates from the University of Michigan, the University of Tennessee, Kellogg University and the Shingo/AME/SME Lean certification. He is the 27th recipient of the Institute of Engineering Honorary Member Award; the highest honor IIE grants an individual of acknowledged professional eminence who is not a member of the Institute.

Accomplishments Rabino’s partners have achieved include:  improvement of customer experience from the 73rd to 99th percentile; reduction of the number of call lights by 57%; reduction of homecare administrative cycle time by 75%; and, elimination of material shortages in clinics.

Welcome, Didier!

Value Capture Welcomes Lean Healthcare Expert and Coach Tony Milian

Pittsburgh, PA, November 8, 2018 – Value Capture welcomes Tony Milian, a passionate coach, practitioner, and designer of healthcare system transformation. He joins the widely respected team at Value Capture as a Senior Advisor.

“Driving sustainable system-wide transformative levels of performance improvement continues to be a significant challenge for healthcare leaders. Only a few trusted advisory groups have reliably helped their healthcare clients deliver consistent, sustained results. The Value Capture team has a proven track record of engaging leaders, providers and staff in doing just that, by helping health systems clearly align work, management and improvement systems to foundational principles,” said Milian. “I am honored to join this team of leaders who equally share a passion for making healthcare institutions safer – for patients and staff — as well as more affordable places to receive quality care. My Value Capture colleagues tirelessly focus on unlocking the problem-solving capability of every employee every day. This approach not only delivers significant results, it instills a passion in every employee by empowering them to make their work and patients’ outcomes better every day.”

Geoff Webster, Co-founding Principal of Value Capture, said, “We were privileged to have Tony work with us a few years ago when we were partnering with the University of Virginia Health System to support improved performance in the development of their ACO. Tony’s keen understanding of Lean improvement and his “we’re in this together” coaching approach help create rapid and sustained gains in patient outcomes, employee engagement and financial savings. He’s a perfect fit for Value Capture.”

Milian’s experience in improvement began in manufacturing. Milian held various positions with Johnson & Johnson, Inc., where he directly supported the manufacturing of medical devices. His first experience implementing the Toyota Production System led to a 600% increase in manufacturing throughput, while utilizing the same staffing levels. That single experience generated a career-long passion for improvement, and it also phentermine-med left Milian with a desire to master how to win over the hearts and minds of employees, so that improvement isn’t happening to them but through them. “I remember how surprised and excited I was when all of our analysis came together to produce this amazing result. I also remember how disappointed I was that our line staff didn’t receive the improvements with the same level of enthusiasm as our engineering team. This instilled in me a deep desire to learn how to engage and learn with employees in the improvement process.”

In 2008, Milian transitioned exclusively to healthcare, coaching leaders, providers, and staff globally through their improvement transformations. Milian has worked in Clinical Laboratories, Primary Care, Nursing, and Eye Care. Prior to joining Value Capture, Milian worked with over 400 Ophthalmology clinics, Optometry clinics, and Ambulatory Surgery Centers across the United States and Canada to improve customer experience, efficiency, quality of care, and financial performance. Milian is known for his ability to partner with organizations, large and small, to analyze their data, develop clear strategies, and then design and operationalize improvement systems so they can meet their strategic goals.

“As challenges mount ever higher for healthcare leaders, providers and staff, it is incumbent on us to continue to make our very strong team even stronger,” said Ken Segel, Value Capture Managing Director. “Tony brings great strengths as a coach, as a teacher and learning partner, and his laser-focus on process improvement has already helped one of our clients design the structure of their “Zero Harm” work. Welcome to the team, Tony.”

Value Capture is a Pittsburgh-based advanced operational excellence / Lean advisory firm. Founded in 2005, Value Capture’s innovative methodology, expert coaching services and scalable approach drive profound, sustained improvements, helping healthcare organizations change the way they work to provide better medical care at a lower cost.

Lean Operational Pioneer and Improvement Coach Bill Boyd Joins Value Capture

Pittsburgh, PA, October 26, 2018  — Value Capture welcomes Bill Boyd, a proven healthcare operations leader, thought leader and practitioner in coaching and implementing process improvement methodologies, including Lean (developed in manufacturing as the Toyota Production System).  He joins the internationally respected team of trusted advisors at Value Capture, bringing his deep expertise as a coach and Lean Sensei to Value Capture’s clients.

Ken Segel, Managing Director and co-founding Principal of Value Capture, said, “The stellar body of work that our team has built throughout years of helping healthcare leaders embed the principles, systems and tools of Lean and operational excellence throughout their workforces will shine even more brightly with the addition of Bill as a Client Advisor.  Our rigorous focus on principles-based improvement, and the power of building problem-solving capabilities for everyone, every day, not only helps our clients succeed and sustain success, it allows us to attract the best of the best.  We are happy to welcome Bill to our growing team of the best advisors in the field.”

Leading Transformation in the Healthcare Sector in a Challenging Environment

Value Capture’s methodology and coaching expertise have helped healthcare organizations across North America achieve continuous improvement in clinical, financial, patient and employee satisfaction, and other measures. Value Capture’s methodology is built upon co-founder and former Alcoa CEO Paul O’Neill’s success utilizing a focus on “perfect safety” to transform that manufacturing giant into the world’s safest workplace, while simultaneously increasing efficiency, profitability and market value.

“Healthcare at both a macro and micro level is in need of reform.  Healthcare team members overcome broken processes continuously throughout their days; the need for change is paramount.  Patients, families, and the entire healthcare team deserve solutions,” Boyd describes.  “My personal mission is to work with my Value Capture colleagues to partner with organizations in the creation of sustainable positive changes.”

Always Looking Forward

Significantly, Boyd was a key leader at ThedaCare, buy viagraonline Inc. during its breakthrough Lean transformation.  Boyd has been given credit in John Toussaint and Roger Gerard’s book “On the Mend” for his work as an operational leader, and more recently acknowledged in Mike Rother’s newest book, “The Toyota Kata Practice Guide,” resulting from his application of rapid-cycle experimentation through use of Improvement and Coaching Katas.  As a leader and coach, Boyd always proactively looks for solutions to help teach his teams to succeed in improving, walking beside them throughout implementation.

Boyd’s experience in process improvement began in 2004 at ThedaCare, where he was part of the groundbreaking vanguard experimenting with Lean.  He has coached organizations across the United States, leveraging his strength of deep operational understanding combined with over a decade of refining process improvement and coaching methods.  He has worked with some of the best Sensei in the Lean world and helped experiment and inform current process improvement thinking and practice.  In his time at ThedaCare, he routinely led strategic priority initiatives employing Lean thinking to drive success.

Geoff Webster, the leader of Value Capture’s West Coast office and a co-founding Principal, notes, “Bill’s wealth of operational expertise, coupled with his deep, values-based coaching experience, blend perfectly with his passion for improving the outcomes for patients and their families.  Bill makes our strong team of client advisors even better.  Bill is seamlessly integrating into client work, and collaboratively learning with his new colleagues.  We are proud to welcome Bill to the Value Capture family.”

Boyd will work closely with Value Capture clients, leading and coaching onsite, designing and implementing daily management systems, value stream improvements, coaching and pattern implementation in the gemba,  and other Lean models. “I’m excited to join a tremendously talented team all focused on making things better,” Boyd explains. “I want our clients to know that we are a 100% partner with them and invested in their success.”

Lean Healthcare Expert Helen Zak Joins Value Capture

Pittsburgh, PA, January 28, 2019 — Helen Zak, one of the most respected figures in healthcare improvement and principle-driven leadership across industries, has joined Value Capture. Helen will serve as Senior Advisor, Partnerships, overseeing all of Value Capture’s efforts to develop Trusted Advisory relationships with healthcare leaders determined to lead their institutions to sustainable excellence, and she will lead the development of our critical learning partnerships across the sector.

More than 10 years ago, Helen helped Dr. John Toussaint found Catalysis, and since then, has worked to build the Lean healthcare community worldwide.  She served Catalysis most recently as President of International Strategy and Relations, leading learning networks of Executives, including CEO’s, Physician Leaders and Nurse Leaders, and developing a CEO Network in Europe. Prior to joining Catalysis, Helen was the Executive V.P. and COO of the Lean Enterprise Institute, where she worked with Jim Womack to spread Lean thinking around the globe and every industry.

Widely respected for her Lean expertise and her principles-based approach to continuous improvement, Helen has served on the board of advisors of the Shingo Institute, and she is faculty for the Institute of Healthcare Improvement, and faculty and coach for the MBOE program at Fisher College of Business at Ohio State. Helen also has more than a decade of experience in the manufacturing industry, and in 2017, she was inducted into the Association for Manufacturing Excellence Hall of Fame.

“I am so pleased to join the incredible group of people that comprise the Value Capture team,” Helen said. “I have known these dedicated experts for many years, especially through the important work Catalysis and Value Capture collaborated on at a number of health systems. I know that the Value Capture team truly exemplifies the continuous improvement mindset of always seeking to learn more, to share more, and to work toward perfection.”

Ken Segel, Managing Director of Value Capture, said, “Helen is one of the most respected builders of great organizations and developers of people in our sector, and those two things are connected.  She will help us to work toward our mission of helping healthcare leaders develop the people and systems capabilities to achieve ever-better quality and outcomes for patients, while reducing delivery time and improving finances. Helen knows the challenges the leaders, physicians, and staff face, and she also knows the power networks and partnerships bring to help face those challenges. We are honored that Helen is joining us. We also deeply appreciate the strong relationship we have with Catalysis, and we will continue working toward the same goals of transforming healthcare to deliver highest value to patients.”

“In the early 2000’s people started to ask, who is the Toyota of healthcare?” Helen notes. “At that time, there was no Toyota-like healthcare organization.  Today, I am happy to report that there are hundreds of organizations on a transformation journey to deliver better value – safety, quality and outcomes — to every patient by using Lean thinking. I am proud to have played a small role and look forward to continuing the work of improving healthcare with Value Capture.”

Paul O’Neill to Receive the Exemplary Leadership Award from the Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership

Each year, the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs selects a leader who exemplifies the values and ideals of the Johnson Institute – leadership, integrity, and accountability. The selection process is rigorous, involving an external nominating committee and a staff of students who research candidates for the award.

This prestigious recognition will be presented on April 6, 2018, findviagra 4:30 – 6:00 p.m., in an event that is free and open to the public. The event takes place at:

7th Floor Auditorium, Alumni Hall
University of Pittsburgh
4227 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
(Reception to follow in the Gallery of Views)

If you wish to attend, please email gspiaji@pitt.edu or call 412-648-1336.

Shingo Award-Winning Author and Lean Healthcare Authority Mark Graban Partners with Value Capture

For Immediate Release

Pittsburgh, PA, January 17, 2018 — Value Capture is very pleased to welcome Mark Graban to its strong team of international Lean healthcare experts.

“The reputation of each Value Capture advisor is stellar,” Graban said, “Value Capture is known as a true partner to leaders and their teams, with a focus on embedding a culture and sustainable infrastructure of improvement. With the greater-than-ever need for health systems to deliver great care, which includes the safest care, fully engage all of their people, every day, and cut waste, I am excited to work with this team to help tackle these significant industry challenges.”

Until 2005, Graban applied Lean methodologies in many types of manufacturing settings. In 2005, Graban devoted his focus exclusively to healthcare, where he has coached leaders, providers and staff at sites around the world; these include medical laboratories, hospitals and primary care clinics. Graban is particularly known for his support in helping leaders create improvement and management systems, identify the proper measures and evaluate metrics in the context of the client’s goals.

Ken Segel, Value Capture Managing Director, said, “Mark is certainly one of the leading voices in Lean healthcare. He is a gifted communicator of leading-edge insights, in demand to speak at industry conferences, and his coaching is just as impactful. In terms of communications, he is perhaps best known for his two Shingo award-winning  ambienbuy books — Lean Hospitals:  Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Engagement, which was, in 2009, the first healthcare book selected for a Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award; and, Healthcare Kaizen:  Engaging Front-Line Staff in Sustainable Continuous Improvements, which was a Shingo Research Award recipient.”

“We are delighted that Mark will be collaborating with our team, and we are thrilled that we are able to bring Mark’s considerable expertise to our clients,” Ken added.

“We are proud of the work we’ve been privileged to support,” said Geoff Webster, co-founding Principal and leader of Value Capture’s West Coast office. “We live and breathe continuous improvement, and adding someone of Mark’s caliber to our already impactful team speaks to our core. We are looking forward to integrating Mark’s skills and experiences with ours, to bring even more value to clients, their workforce, and of course, their patients.”

Graban’s work helping healthcare organizations improve safety, quality and productivity includes:  reducing outpatient MRI appointment waiting times from 14 weeks to 3 weeks in a children’s hospital; reducing laboratory turnaround times by over 50%, and improving productivity and throughput by 50%.

Value Capture is a Pittsburgh-based advanced Lean advisory firm. Founded in 2005, Value Capture’s innovative methodology, expert coaching services and scalable approach drive profound, sustained improvements, helping healthcare organizations change the way they work to provide better medical care at a lower cost.

Succeed in Spite of Bureaucracy – A Harvard Business Review Article by Ken Segel

Harvard Business Review published Ken Segel’s article, “Bureaucracy is Keeping Health Care from Getting Better.” This article describes successful countermeasures taken by a number of health systems to tear down the value-destroying barriers that bureaucratic structures throw up.

Ken notes that in many organizations, “Bureaucracy is destroying value in innumerable antivirals ways, including slowing problem solving, discouraging innovation, and diverting huge amounts of time into politicking and “working the system.” However, there are tried-and-true methods to defeat this, most notably lean daily management systems and a real-time problem-solving approach to eliminating workplace injuries.

Shingo Workshops for Healthcare

Value Capture is very honored to be a Licensed Affiliate of the Shingo Institute. As the only affiliate focused on healthcare, Value Capture has bolstered its proven, principles-based framework to help healthcare leaders guide their organizations toward operational excellence.

Click to learn more about The Shingo Model.

Virtual Shingo Workshops – How to Learn More

Each Shingo workshop can now be delivered to virtually. All the familiar aspects of a Shingo workshop will remain:  full-group discussion; small-group exercises; go-and-observe work; and the host report-out. This will save registrants time and money, since no travel to a host site is involved. For hosts, we will work closely with your team to plan for the technology and go-and-observe requirements to ensure a truly meaningful Shingo learning experience.

Learn by Hosting a Shingo Workshop

Serving as a host site for a workshop provides the host with the opportunity to share learnings and discuss challenges with like-minded peers, and the benefits of having “fresh eyes.” Workshop participants interact virtually with employees in host-selected work areas, where participants develop skills in gathering information to identify the strength of the links from principles to systems to behaviors, and results. Each workshop culminates in a report-out of findings, which leaders of the host are encouraged to engage in. Host sites receive two free registrations.

If you are interested in hosting a Shingo workshop at your organization, please contact Melissa Moore, mmoore@valuecapturellc.com.

Discover Excellence

Discover Excellence is the foundational, two-day seminar introducing the Shingo Model, the Guiding Principles and the Three Insights to Enterprise Excellence. With real-time discussions and virtual learning at a host organization, this program is a highly interactive experience. It is designed to make your learning meaningful and immediately applicable as you learn how to begin to release the latent potential in your organization and achieve enterprise excellence.

As a DISCOVER participant, you will

• Learn and understand the Shingo Model
• Discover the Three Insights of Enterprise Excellence
• Explore how the Guiding Principles inform ideal behaviors that ultimately lead to sustainable results
• Understand the behavioral assessment process through an interactive case study and go-and-observe learning
• Apply your learning with a call to action

DISCOVER is the prerequisite to all other workshops.

Systems Design   

In this workshop, you will:

Cultural Enablers 

• Respect Every Individual
• Lead with Humility

Continuous Improvement 

• Seek Perfection
• Embrace Scientific Thinking
• Focus on Process
• Assure Quality at the Source
• Improve Flow & Pull

Enterprise Alignment 

Build Excellence 

Check our Events page frequently for upcoming Shingo Workshops. If you would like to receive email notices of upcoming workshops and other updates, please click here to subscribe.

Our Certified Facilitators

We are proud to introduce you to our facilitators. Each is certified to conduct the Discover Excellence Workshop, and those with asterisks are also certified to teach the SYSTEMS, ENABLE, IMPROVE, ALIGN and BUILD workshops. They are:

Lisa Beckwith

José Bustillo

Leslie Corak

Shana Padgett*

Meghan Scanlon

Ken Segel*

Geoff Webster

About the Shingo Institute

The Shingo Institute is home of the Shingo Prize, an award that recognizes organizations that demonstrate an exceptional culture that fosters continuous improvement. Part of the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University, the Shingo Institute is named after Japanese industrial engineer and Toyota advisor, Shigeo Shingo. Dr. Shingo distinguished himself as one of the world’s thought leaders in concepts, management systems and improvement techniques that have become known as the Toyota Production System.

Drawing from Dr. Shingo’s teachings and years of experience working with organizations worldwide, the Shingo Institute developed the Shingo Model™ which is the basis for its several educational offerings, including workshops, study tours and conferences. Workshops are available in English and Spanish through Value Capture, LLC. For more information on workshops, the Shingo Prize, or to register to attend the International Shingo Conference, please visit www.shingo.org.

[The Shingo Model and Three Insights to Enterprise Excellence are trademarks of the Shingo Institute.]

Lean Healthcare Innovator José Bustillo Joins Value Capture, LLC

Advanced Improvement Methodologies Developed by Bustillo and Value Capture Help Healthcare Systems Deliver Better Care While Lowering Costs

For Immediate Release

Pittsburgh, PA, January 17, 2017—One of Lean healthcare’s most highly regarded practitioners is joining Pittsburgh-based advisory firm Value Capture, LLC, as a Client Advisor.

José Bustillo is a driving force behind successfully refining and applying Lean management practices (developed in manufacturing as the Toyota Production System) to the healthcare industry. He joins a widely respected team of trusted advisors at Value Capture, bringing his deep expertise as a coach and Lean Sensei to Value Capture’s clients.

“With José, Value Capture is better able than ever to help healthcare organizations transform every aspect of their performance,” says Ken Segel, Value Capture’s Managing Director. “He has an exceptional, proven ability to help leaders utilize Lean practices to rapidly achieve sustained improvements in the quality of care, while increasing efficiency and reducing costs. He has helped healthcare clients to achieve more than $15 million in documented savings.”

Value Capture co-founding Principal and West Coast office leader Geoff Webster adds, “We are extremely pleased to be able to offer healthcare leaders the profound insights José and the rest of the Value Capture advisors bring. José’s success in helping systems achieve enterprise-wide transformation speaks for itself. José’s partners’ accomplishments include: 25% length of stay reduction; 40% readmission rate reduction; 30% average cost per case reduction; 20% patient and physician satisfaction improvement; and, reduction of Emergency Department admission waiting time by 95%.”

Leading Transformation in the Healthcare Sector in a Challenging Environment

Established in 2005, Value Capture’s methodology and coaching services have helped healthcare organizations across North America achieve continuous improvement in clinical, financial, satisfaction and other measures. Value Capture’s methodology is built upon co-founder and former Alcoa CEO Paul O’Neill’s success utilizing a focus on “perfect safety” to transform that manufacturing giant into the world’s safest workplace, while simultaneously increasing efficiency and profitability. 

“The potential for Lean to address buy elavil online critical healthcare challenges in an ever-changing environment —from patient safety and satisfaction to cost containment to clinical advancement and reimbursement changes—is tremendous,” Bustillo explained. “I look forward to working with my Value Capture colleagues and our clients to help make these needed improvements reality.”

Bustillo’s experience in Lean manufacturing extends back 30 years, including work with national and international industry leaders. He has led large-scale Lean transformations for clients across manufacturing and healthcare in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, El Salvador, and Dominican Republic. He is a Six Sigma Black Belt widely recognized for his knowledge and ability to execute, lead and coach with diverse groups of people, as well as his team approach to achieving success with Lean concepts.

His extensive healthcare experience includes more than a dozen healthcare systems, and innovations that have led to successes in complete Lean transformation, value stream improvements, strategic planning and management, and Lean daily management systems.

One of ThedaCare’s Original Sensei

Significantly, Bustillo served as sensei to healthcare system ThedaCare, Inc. in its groundbreaking Lean transformation. In her book, Beyond Heroes, Kim Barnas (a ThedaCare leader) credits Bustillo for helping “navigate the changes necessary to achieve the new management vision…. We depended on our sensei José Bustillo to keep us on course and challenge our direction.”

Bustillo will work closely with Value Capture clients, leading and coaching on-site, designing and implementing daily management systems, value streams and other Lean models. “I’m motivated by the opportunity to help people to make things better,” Bustillo explains. “I want our clients to know that we are a 100% partner with them.”

For more information, contact Melissa Moore at mmoore@valuecapturellc.com.

Value Capture is a Pittsburgh-based advanced Lean advisory firm. Founded in 2005, Value Capture’s innovative methodology, expert coaching services and scalable approach drive profound, sustained improvements, helping healthcare organizations change the way they work to provide better medical care at a lower cost.

Have a Value Structure and Practice It Relentlessly

Value Capture co-founder Paul O’Neill went in-depth with Public Administration Review on the leadership imperative of articulating and practicing an effective organizational value structure.

“I think real leadership is about a value structure. I think that’s a constant. No matter what kind of organization you’re in, the value structure ought to be present.”

O’Neill, a fellow at the National Academy of Public Administration and former Alcoa CEO, is world-renowned for his proven successes leading values-based organizational transformation. For example, O’Neill tells PAR, at Alcoa he focused the organization on creating an injury-free workplace—a cultural transformation so effective that even now, fifteen years after his departure, the company maintains an injury rate close to zero (and a lost workday rate that is 20 times lower than that of most American hospitals).

At Value Capture, O’Neill counsels and supports healthcare executives, driven by his conviction that the value of healthcare operations can be increased by 50% or more through the pursuit of perfect safety.

Read the full article here.

Children’s Hospitals’ Solutions for Patient Safety (SPS) taps Value Capture to expand its life-saving efforts.

Over the past three years, the efforts of SPS have been transformational—saving almost 6,000 children from serious harm and achieving an estimated savings of nearly $110 million in the network of more than 100 pediatric hospitals.

To take their mission to the next level, SPS is now teaming with Value Capture to include the hospitals’ xenicaltab employees and staff, making it the most widespread and first-ever safety effort of its kind.

Using Value Capture’s proven methods and support, SPS hospitals are choosing a new way to improve safety, working together as never before to create a culture of safety across the board.

Read the full news release here.

Paul O’Neill advises employers that the new OSHA injury reporting rule will improve worker safety, as well as the company bottom line.

“For 45 years, the Department of Labor has required employers to record the injuries and illnesses that workers suffer in their workplaces. But a new rule from the department is generating controversy because it requires employers to electronically submit some of that data to OSHA, with the intention that it will be made public.

Well, my message to the business community is this: Don’t fear transparency. Embrace it. A focus on safety ? even in the glare of public scrutiny ? will not only help your workers, it will also improve your bottom line.

I know, because…”

Read the full article on the U.S. Department of Labor blog here.

Fifth International High Reliability Conference Proceedings Feature Value Capture’s Geoff Webster

The proceedings of the Fifth International High Reliability Conference, hosted by The Joint Commission, feature the testimony of Value Capture Principal Geoff Webster and other thought leaders in the field.  Webster’s call that “We must have the courage to aim for perfect” frames the opening page of the proceedings.  The conference was intended to help health care leaders learn and apply High Reliability principles, which “are used in industries striving for zero defects or errors in order to maximize safety among workers, communities and customers.  These industries, such as aviation and nuclear power, are highly complex and even small errors can cause catastrophic consequences.”  Among Webster’s conference teachings cited by the proceedings are concrete demonstrations that “safety risks are associated with inefficient and costly processes,” noting health care organizations that have achieved “90 percent failure reduction (while cutting) 30 to 50 percent of the costs out of a process.”  The report also cites Webster showing how “safety culture in healthcare can be accomplished in very practical ways.” Webster demonstrates how health care organizations have used “a ‘problem log’ system through which anyone in the organization can identify barriers to perfect performance and contribute to implementing system-wide solutions in as close to real time as possible.”  Contact Value Capture for more information on how to bring to life the power of safety, pursuing perfection, and high reliability principles in your organization.   The 2012 Fifth International High Reliability Conference

A Closer look with Arthur Levitt: Paul O’Neill

Arthur Levitt, former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, interviews Paul O’Neill, Value Capture Non Executive Chair and former secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, on Bloomberg Radio’s “A Closer Look With Arthur Levitt.”  Mr. O’Neill discusses bringing a systems approach to health care delivery beginning at approximately 19:30 of the recording.

Value Capture presented the “We Have No Time!” seminar at the 2016 IHI National Forum in Orlando

Pictured are Value Capture principals Paul O’Neill Jr., Hayley Brugos and Ken Segel on December 9th, having just delivered a well-attended seminar on how to free up senior leadership & management time to support front-line improvement at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s 27^th Annual National Forum in Orlando.

Successful Lean transformation requires structured, focused time from leaders, which in most institutions feels like scarce currency. But leaders and managers can find several hours a day to spend ‘where the work is done’ to help coach and clear barriers.  This session provided an overview of a disciplined facilitation process to help senior teams self-assess every standing meeting and whether it is value-added, necessary in the current state but not value-added, or pure valtabs waste. The idea is that you can then replicate the process at each layer of leadership in your organization.

The seminar highlighted the case study of one leading Lean health system that used the process to free up 2,250 hours per year of Senior Leadership Team time to deploy closer to where value is created, and more than 2,600 hours for other leaders. Once time savings like this are captured, building Lean into the way everyone works, including leaders, seems much more possible.

For a copy of the seminar slides, or to discuss how Value Capture can help you and your executive team create thousands of hours of more value-added time, please contact Ken Segel, Managing Director, at ksegel@valuecapturellc.com or 412-445-0024.

Innovations and Best Practices in Healthcare Scheduling

Patient waits have been a long-standing concern in healthcare. Waits occur throughout the continuum of care and are built into and budgeted for within day-to-day operations. The status quo is changing, however, as patient experience becomes linked to provider payment, efficiency and service become differentiators between hospitals and providers, and patient expectations evolve. While excellent clinical care remains the expectation, healthcare consumers are now seeking healthcare and supporting systems that are respectful of individuals. Read this insightful article and how Lean principles and the Toyota Production System are helping hospitals identify wasteful processes and implement more efficient ones.

http://nam.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/SchedulingBestPractices.pdf

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life And Business

Award-winning New York Times business reporter Charles Duhigg shows that habits aren’t destiny, and that we can transform our businesses, communities, and lives by harnessing a new science. One chapter is devoted to Paul O’Neill when he was the CEO of Alcoa. His first order of business was attacking a single pattern among his employees—how they approached worker safety. Soon Alcoa became the top performer in the Dow Jones. Discover his thinking and more in this transformational book.

Buy now