MoreSteam.com Releases St. Sigma Healthcare Simulation

A simulated medical lab for learning and applying process improvement tools

Published: Tuesday, November 29, 2011 - 13:04

(MoreSteam.com: Columbus, OH) -- MoreSteam.com, a global provider of online lean Six Sigma training and blended learning support technologies, announces the availability of St. Sigma, the new online teaching simulation for the classroom. St. Sigma is a customizable, data-rich learning lab where students explore a simulated medical laboratory to learn and apply process improvement tools. Process improvement trainers, consultants, and deployment leaders can preview this new simulation by registering for the no-cost introductory webcast on Thurs., Dec. 15, 2011, at 1 p.m. EST.

St. Sigma melds online technology and process improvement in a completely new way, delivering a data-rich and flexible teaching tool to instructors and consultants who require a versatile case study but lack the resources required to develop one. Instructors using St. Sigma receive a realistic and comprehensive end-to-end project, complete with an instructor version that includes teaching tips and solution files. Setup for instructors and students is as simple as a computer login and password.

St. Sigma is not proscriptive: instructors are free to customize the simulation to whatever level of mastery they wish their students to receive. Instructors can choose to use St. Sigma for a few hours as a Yellow Belt overview, in a one-day intensive workshop, in short weekly or monthly sessions, or in a few days as a capstone project for Green or Black Belt training.

St. Sigma offers three distinct advantages as a teaching tool. First, the simulation is comprehensive. Based on several real-world health care case studies, St. Sigma contains all the tools, templates, and data sets that students need for a define-measure-analyze-improve-control (DMAIC) project. Second, St. Sigma presents students with an interactive virtual environment, where exploration, experimentation, and even mistakes are inherent to the learning process. Third, St. Sigma can easily be integrated with new or existing educational programs because it offers instructors complete flexibility in the timing, pace, and depth of the materials they want to cover.

To access the simulation, students log on to the MoreSteam teaching portal. St. Sigma begins with a background story involving St. Sigma Hospital, which is facing a serious quality issue: The turn-around-time for lab tests is far too long, resulting in severe customer dissatisfaction. Students are charged with improving and maintaining an appropriate cycle time for the blood glucose level testing process, which will improve patient care and reduce operating costs.

Students can then explore or be led through the online program, which is laid out in a DMAIC format and as a visual, online process map of a medical lab. Each project phase offers several options, or activities, and includes Microsoft Excel data sheets, templates, and teaching lessons. St. Sigma contains 27 different activities, from creating a project charter to balancing capacity, which instructors can use to teach students how to correctly apply the tools and templates of lean Six Sigma. These lessons impart critical thinking skills and a powerful example of how the outputs of various analytical tools are linked and used across the phases of a project.

“St. Sigma has the potential to radically change the way lean Six Sigma is taught in health care,” says Bill Hathaway, CEO and founder of MoreSteam.com. “While most process improvement training programs focus on one tool or a small set of tools at any time, St. Sigma looks at the big picture, explaining how the lean Six Sigma tools work together as the simulated project progresses. Students who learn the toolbox in this way are better prepared to move from training to completing actual projects.”

During the upcoming webcast, trainers will be able to view the entire simulation and have all their questions answered concerning the mechanics, application, and logistics of this online simulation tool. Dale Schattenkirk of LTS Consulting will also present on his experiences with using the tool for training health care clients. Registration is free.

For more details on St. Sigma, including a recorded webcast introduction, visit Moresteam.com.

About The Author

MoreSteam.com

MoreSteam.com is a global provider of online lean Six Sigma training and blended learning technology, serving more than 1,200 corporate clients and more than 20 percent of the Fortune 500 with a full suite of lean Six Sigma e-learning courses, Engine Room data analysis software, TRACtion online project tracking software, Crucible online testing, and SigmaSim online DMAIC simulations and games. MoreSteam.com was launched in the year 2000 in response to the high cost of traditional Six Sigma training and tools, and has now trained more than 200,000 lean Six Sigma professionals. MoreSteam’s mission is to enable people to advance the performance of their organizations by delivering powerful tools for process improvement to the widest possible audience at the lowest price available.