Dental Practice performing a Gemba Walk

Unlock Hidden Potential: How Gemba Walks Can Revolutionize Your Dental Practice

Change Management
August 18, 2024•5 min read

In the realm of Lean Six Sigma, the concept of Gemba is pivotal for operational excellence. Originating from the Japanese term meaning "the real place," Gemba refers to the actual location where work is performed. Gemba Walks and Gemba Boards are tools used to observe and improve processes by engaging directly with the people involved. This article explores how these concepts can be applied in dental practices, particularly focusing on empowering dental nurses and receptionists to enhance efficiency and patient care.

Understanding Gemba, Gemba Walks, and Gemba Boards

Let me ask you a question: when’s the last time you bought into a software or app to help the dental practice to find out it went completely unutilised for months? Or perhaps there was a problem, and instead of solving that problem, your team found a way around it?

Gembas helps your practice prevent these downfalls in only 20 min.

Gemba Walks involve leaders or managers visiting the workplace to observe operations, engage with staff, and identify areas for improvement. Now - we know that dentists share the same workspace as nurses and receptionists - but here we mean physically spending time at their work stations to discuss their challenges. The purpose is to gain firsthand insights into how work is performed and uncover inefficiencies or problems that cause constraints in capacity. This approach emphasises observation, asking questions, and fostering open communication with employees to drive continuous improvement.

Gemba Boards are visual management tools that display real-time information about ongoing tasks, goals, and performance metrics. This could be as simple as using your CRM dashboard to review patient funnel processing or a manual chart keeping track of issues. They serve as a centralised location for information sharing and problem-solving, aligning with the principles of observation, check, countermeasures, and root cause analysis.

Applying Gemba in Dental Practices

In a dental practice, Gemba Walks can be a powerful tool to enhance operations and patient care. By observing the workflow and engaging with dental nurses and receptionists, practice leaders can identify areas for improvement and empower staff to contribute their insights.

Empowering Receptionists & Administrators

  1. Flagging Issues: Dental nurses and receptionists can use Gemba Walks to highlight challenges they face, such as workflow inefficiencies or equipment issues. This visibility allows for prompt resolution and process optimization.

  2. Requesting Help: Staff can communicate their needs for additional resources or training, ensuring they have the tools necessary to perform their roles effectively.

  3. Proposing Ideas: Encouraging staff to share innovative ideas for improving patient care or streamlining operations fosters a culture of continuous improvement and ownership.

Empowering Your Dental Nurses & Dentists

Gemba practices can significantly enhance the performance and job satisfaction of all dental staff members, including dentists. By fostering a culture of continuous improvement and open communication, Gemba can help:

  1. Prevent Repeated Mistakes:

    • Gemba Walks provide an opportunity for dentists to share experiences and learn from each other's mistakes. This can also be tracked as anonymised data showing Patients returning into the practice for the same problems.

    • By discussing challenges openly, the team can collectively develop strategies to avoid common pitfalls. Dentists have vast networks - some work in multiple practice - here is an opportunity to colelct the best practice & what doesn't work.

    • Implementing a system to document and review past errors during Gemba sessions can help prevent their recurrence.

  2. Discuss and Implement Best Practices:

    • Regular Gemba Walks create a platform for dentists to share successful techniques and approaches. This could be knowledge from webinar and seminars.

    • Staff can observe and discuss the most effective methods for various procedures, patient interactions, and administrative tasks.

    • Best practices can be documented on Gemba Boards, making them easily accessible to all team members.

By leveraging Gemba principles, dental practices can create an environment where all staff members, including dentists, are empowered to contribute to the practice's success. This approach not only improves individual performance but also enhances the overall quality of patient care and practice efficiency.

Best Practices for Successful Gemba Walks

To maximise the effectiveness of Gemba Walks, dental practices should consider the following best practices:

  1. Purpose and Scope: Clearly define the objectives of the Gemba Walk, focusing on key performance indicators (KPIs) such as patient satisfaction, appointment efficiency, customer complaints and staff engagement. If you don’t measure these already - it’s never too late to start. Something as simple as a customer complaint can provide the basis for a discussion that uncovers what went wrong and what needs changing.

  2. Engagement and Communication: Foster an environment where staff feel comfortable sharing their insights and concerns. Use open-ended questions to facilitate meaningful discussions. Ask questions such as “what’s the impact of this problem on your day?” or “How does X prevent you from completing your task”.

  3. Follow-Up and Implementation: After identifying areas for improvement, develop action plans. Start off with a simple action list to implement changes and track progress and make it visible. Perhaps you can consider the use of a white board or a tracker which is accessible to everyone. And remember: just because a problem is brought to you, it doesn’t mean you have to fix it. If it’s within the capabilities of any other team members, you can ask them to take it away.

Conclusion: The Role of Leadership in Gemba Success

While Gemba Walks offer significant potential for improvement, their success ultimately hinges on leadership. Leaders must actively listen to feedback, address barriers, and implement changes based on staff input. If leadership takes these steps, the workforce will view Gemba Walks as a valuable exercise. However, if feedback is ignored and no tangible improvements are made, the initiative may lose credibility and effectiveness.

In conclusion, Gemba Walks and Boards can transform dental practices by fostering a culture of continuous improvement and empowering staff. By leveraging these tools, practices can enhance patient care, streamline operations, and create a more engaged and motivated workforce.

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