While a facility renovation or expansion may seem like the best way to accommodate a growing patient population or to solve current challenges, this course of action is often expensive and, in many cases, avoidable.

It is our job to help clients think critically about each move, which is why we employ Lean thinking while working with clients to improve process and flow. This helps us determine whether construction is actually necessary. Often after mapping a facility’s current state process, we can find a way to prevent the need for costly, disruptive construction.

In the case study below, our client believed that an expansion to allow for a fourth procedure room might be necessary to provide efficient, effective care to their patients. Array’s Healthcare Systems Engineer developed a simulation model to test the interaction between scheduling and room utilization.

Organizations hope to optimize their resources’ utilization because they typically have an associated cost, which decreases with higher utilization. After determining ways to maximize throughput and implement flow, we can ensure full utilization of resources without creating non-value-adding process steps. Developing a simulation model helped us test different scheduling and resource assignment options without disrupting the clinic. Analyzing the results of the model helped physicians see the potential impact of changing the current scheduling practices.

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