Kauvery Hospital Trichy region’s journey towards 5S model hospital recognition

R. Sneha

Business Excellence, Kauvery Hospital, Trichy

Introduction

Kauvery Hospital, Trichy region, has achieved a significant milestone by being recognized as a First 5S Model Hospital, along with the Kauvery Hospital Salem unit. The Trichy region includes Tennur, Heart City, and Cantonment units. This prestigious award emphasizes our hospital’s unwavering commitment to operational excellence, patient safety, patient delight, and employee satisfaction. The Trichy region units were awarded the coveted ABK AOTS’s 5S Model Hospital recognition on 18th Aug 24, demonstrating exemplary 5S practices and integrating 5S into their culture.

Impact of the Model Hospital Award

The Model Hospital award serves as a powerful motivator, boosting team morale and promoting a sense of accomplishment. It validates the successful implementation of 5S practices at our hospital. This recognition reinforces Our commitment to excellence and provides a clear direction for further growth. Furthermore, the award process allows us to assess its progress, identify areas for improvement, and refine its 5S methods, ensuring long-term sustainability and continual improvement.

Model Level Kick-off

The journey towards 5S Model Hospital achievement began with a kick-off event. This gathering served as a platform to inspire and motivate all stakeholders, from senior management to frontline staff. The model level kick-off for the 5S initiative was held in November 2022. Our esteemed Managing Director, Dr. Manivannan, formally inaugurated the event.

Model level kick-off Event Inauguration

Strengthening the 6-Pillar Approach for the journey towards Model Hospital

At sustenance level 2, our hospital had already adopted the six-pillar approach. To achieve model level, we scaled up our 5S initiatives and adopted new innovative practices to strengthen 5S improvements. These initiatives included:

  1. Deepening the understanding and practice of 5S.
  2. Adopting Lean practices through the elimination of non-value-added activities (NVAs).
  3. Introducing 5S ambassadors to promote 5S at all levels of employees.
  4. Implementing campaigns to eliminate 5S abnormalities.
  5. Driving 5S adoption in other industry partners in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

Leadership Pillar

Led by Mr. Anbuchezian R, Facility Director of the Tennur unit, this pillar provides a clear vision for the 5S initiative and sets achievable goals. Through effective leadership, we empowered employees to take ownership of the 5S process and motivated them to achieve excellence. Our leadership team demonstrated top-level commitment, active participation, and setting clear expectations for the Model Hospital journey. Our Leadership team’s regular, visible support encouraged employee efforts. This Pillar had a Structured meetings were held to review 5S progress and hold individuals accountable for 5S compliance, ensuring its ongoing success.

Basic 5S Pillar

Led by Mr. Jayakumar P, GM Operations at the Cantonment unit. “This pillar focused on sustaining basic 5S practices. To scale up and initiate Lean practices, we identified and eliminated non-value-added activities and promoted 5S practices through 5S ambassadors. 5S ambassadors play a crucial role in promoting a culture of continuous improvement. They possess strong knowledge of 5S, effective communication, leadership, and interpersonal skills. By leading by example and providing guidance, ambassadors drive 5S implementation, inspire others, and promote knowledge sharing.

Basic 5S pillar head continuously reviewed 5S progress with unit 5S coordinators and the Business Excellence team on a regular basis”.

Mr. Jayakumar conducted thorough 5S audits in all three units to assess the basic 5S status and identify areas for further improvements. Our hospital implemented the 5-min 5S concept to create a cleaner, safer, and more efficient workplace. Departmental in-charges drives 5S initiatives, which were further strengthened by surprise audits conducted by the Business Excellence team. The Basic 5S pillar ensured that employees were motivated to practice 5S principles with more rigor. An important factor for easy review and compliance mechanism is that the Trichy region units successfully transitioned from hard copy zone files to digital folders, streamlining operations and reducing paper waste

Management Improvement Projects Pillar

Led by Mr. Androse Nithiyadoss, Senior General Manager of Operations at the Heart city unit. “The Management Improvement Project (MIP) pillar focuses on identifying and implementing initiatives that deliver significant improvements in key operational areas. 18 projects were completed to achieve Model level recognition. The main objective of this pillar is to incorporate a structured approach for identifying and selecting issues aligned with business direction and to execute projects that have significant infrastructure improvements”.

MIP Pillar members

Standardization Pillar

Led by Mr. Clement, Manager – CST (Central Support Team). “The Standardization Pillar focuses on establishing clear procedures, guidelines, and standards to ensure consistency, efficiency, and quality across all units.  The Standardization pillar had the challenge of writing the 5S Model Manual and 5S standardization manual, which contain all the implemented standards and practices. Pillar members also have the task to collate forms pertaining to 5S and initiate digital checklists in our hospital”.

Total Employee Involvement (TEI) Pillar

Led by Mr. Veeramanikandan, Senior Manager of HR. “The Total Employee Involvement (TEI) Pillar empowers and engages all employees in continuous improvement. Employees are encouraged to share ideas and suggestions for enhancing efficiency, quality, and productivity. Valuable ideas are implemented to drive positive change. We had enhanced the TEI avenues through Kaizen Melas, Quality Circle activities, Thangamanasu, Flying Angles, internal 5S quizzes, and slogan competitions. We have also completed benchmark visits to Jayajothi Mills, Yokohama ATC Tires, and ZF Rane, and TVS Panjapur to learn from best-in-class 5S practices”.

Beyond Boundaries (BYB) Pillar

Led by Mr. Sowmesh, Manager – Business Excellence. “The BYB (Beyond boundaries) Pillar extends the principles of 5S beyond the workplace and into the lives of employees and their communities. We initiated 5S in employee homes and conducted a 5S competition for employee children, known as Kids 5S. We also implemented the 5S concept in the following areas: Occupational Health Centre (OHC) at Bharathidasan University, IIM Trichy, and the Pharmacy vendor Curtis Drug Point, and the Mutharasanallur special children day-care centre. We also provided training on 5S and its benefits to students, staff, and parents. For special children, we developed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for physiotherapy equipment. In the primary school, students are actively participating in 1S, 2S, and 3S activities”.

Overcoming 5S Challenges in Trichy’s Three-Unit Region

Since the Trichy region comprises three units, we faced challenges in standardizing 5S practices, especially in basic 5S, where Floor 5S is very critical. The Basic Pillar head conducted regular reviews with coordinators from all three units to align them and demonstrate standardized 5S practices. One of the agenda was to showcase the best practices adopted in each unit and how they could be adopted in the other two units. With decades of experience in practicing 5S by all three units and mentoring each other, we possessed the knowledge and courage to pursue model assessment as a region, including all three units.

Another challenge faced was increasing attrition and the need for new employee training. We overcame this challenge by using the “train the trainer” concept and 5S ambassadors

Mock Assessments: A Stepping Stone to Improvement

To assess progress and identify areas for improvement, ABK AOTS conducted mock assessments led by Mr. R. Mohanakrishnan on August 2nd and 3rd, 2024, in its Trichy region units.  These assessments focused on pillar presentations and key 5S observation points identified during Gemba rounds. This was a valuable handholding session instead of a mere assessment. These two days were immensely helpful for everyone as Mr. RMK provided many insightful guidance on a deeper understanding of 5S and clearer guidance on how to approach deeper 5S and lean practices. In fact, the mock assessment was more beneficial for our learning and improvement than the final assessment. The final assessment was constrained by the criteria, limiting its scope.

Assessor Gemba rounds in Mock Assessment

Model Hospital Assessment Successfully Completed

The culmination of our 5S journey was the Final assessment conducted on 14th Aug 24. Assessors Mr. P.N. Rajan, Executive president of ATC tires, and Dr. N. Ramesh, Head, Quality from Taegutec India, with their extensive knowledge and experience assessed our progress based on pillar presentations, Gemba observations, a quality circle presentation, and a Kaizen presentation.

Following the assessment, assessors and attendees provided feedback. The feedback from the assessors was valuable and enabled us to peek into Total Quality Management (TQM) initiatives. By addressing these recommendations, including the need for more Kaizen implementations, a stronger focus on 4S and 5S in audit checklists, and a focus on the implementation process, we can build upon our existing strengths and further enhance its our 5S journey.

Through the collaborative efforts of these six pillars, we have successfully driven 5S practices and improvements. In recognition of exceptional teamwork, the model hospital award was received by the pillar heads and all 5S team members during a ceremony held in Chennai.

Our 5S team with ABK AOTS Assessors

Conclusion

Our 5S journey has been a significant milestone in our commitment to operational excellence. By adopting a structured approach and involving all stakeholders, we made substantial progress toward achieving the recognition of a 5S model hospital. Regular review, audits, and employee engagement will ensure that the positive gains achieved are maintained over time.

Upon achieving the Model Hospital award, employees expressed immense satisfaction and pride. This success is attributed to the teamwork and dedication demonstrated by all staff members.

The successful achievement of 5S model hospital recognition is not merely the end goal; it serves as a crucial stepping-stone toward a broader Lean culture. By establishing a foundation of organization, cleanliness, and standardization, 5S paves the way for continuous improvement culture, leading to a more efficient and effective workplace.

Model hospital Award received by Pillar Heads and 5S Team

 

 

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