Value Analysis Non-Salary Expense Reduction Supply Chain Management Savings

If You Don’t Have A Lot Of Time For Value Analysis, Then Use The Time You Have Wisely!

“It’s All About Managing Your Minutes Wisely, So The Important Things That Need To Be Done -- Get Done”.

Benjamin Franklin once said that, “if we take care of the minutes, the years will take care of themselves.” If you think of time as an hourglass, with the grains of sand dropping one by one, not cascading like a waterfall, these images can be a powerful metaphor for understanding how you can use the time you have wisely for the value analysis projects that are critical for your healthcare organization’s survival in the 21^st century.

Let me give you an example of the power of using minutes wisely from my own personal experience. Last summer I decided to set aside 240 minutes each Saturday to finish my back porch that wasn’t completed when I built my house 10 years ago by my builder. For obvious reasons, I won’t bore you with the gory details, but here’s a summation of my project:

First, I had to install a new screening system for my porch, which included cutting and installing about 25 new 2x4s to attach my new screening system to. Then, I had to set up the screening system, which really was a two-person job, but since I was the only person doing the work I persevered even when it seemed impossible for one person to be able to mount, fit, cut, stretch, screw, snap and finish off this system. I then had to buy scaffolding to finish off my skylight with new clap board. I cleaned, primed and painted the porch white, so it would be in “A” one condition once more.

The lesson to be learned here is that if I estimated how many minutes or hours it would take me to complete this project, I wouldn’t have even started the job because it would have looked like an enormous amount of time for a guy who doesn’t have a lot of time. But, because I wisely decided to dedicate 240 minutes each Saturday to the project, I wasn’t overwhelmed by the scope and scale of the project.

In fact, it took me every Saturday from Memorial Day to Labor Day last summer to finish this project, or about 5,760 minutes. Now the job is completed for $300.00, and I am delighted with the outcome.

You can wisely use this same time management technique with your value analysis projects too.

We required our value team members to dedicate 60 minutes a week to their value analysis projects (most give us more time than requested), over a 12 week cycle, or an investment of 720 minutes. This was setting the expectation that if value analysis project managers can use their minutes wisely, they can complete their projects on time and within budget without breaking a sweat.

By employing this time management technique, our clients (on average) are performing 43.33 value analysis studies annually at a savings of $1 million dollars and more for their hospitals – beyond price!

The key to this time management system is to set reasonable time limiting expectations for your department heads and managers vs. demanding that everyone involved in your value analysis initiative drop everything they are doing to work on your value analysis projects. This creates unrealistic expectations for your department heads and managers that will guarantee push back and antipathy from them.

If you think you can’t find time for your value analysis projects then you won’t find time, because of your mid-set. However, if you decide that finding time for value analysis projects is a priority, then there are numerous time management techniques to assist you in doing so. The most powerful one being (to paraphrase Ben Franklin quote above), “take care of your minutes, and your value analysis savings will take care of themselves”.

Strategic Value Analysis In Healthcare
	Advancing Healthcare Organizations to the Next Level of Supply Chain Savings^TM
	STRATEGIC VALUE ANALYSIS^TM NEWSLETTER

Home Weekly Strategic Value Analysis Newsletter View Archived Strategic Value Analysis Newsletters Fast Target Savings Strategic^TM Value Analysis ValueNet Central^TM Value Analysis Software Training About HCP Client List Articles and White Papers Contact HCP Click Here to Access the NO Obligation Free Non-Salary Survey to find out what your savings opportunities are for your organization. Free Weekly Strategic Value Analysis Newsletter Free Web poll for your Web site - freepolls.com		September 3, 2004 by Robert T. Yokl, President If You Don’t Have A Lot Of Time For Value Analysis, Then Use The Time You Have Wisely! It’s All About Time *“It’s All About Managing Your Minutes Wisely, So The Important Things That Need To Be Done -- Get Done”.* Benjamin Franklin once said that, “if we take care of the minutes, the years will take care of themselves.” If you think of time as an hourglass, with the grains of sand dropping one by one, not cascading like a waterfall, these images can be a powerful metaphor for understanding how you can use the time you have wisely for the value analysis projects that are critical for your healthcare organization’s survival in the 21^st century. Let me give you an example of the power of using minutes wisely from my own personal experience. Last summer I decided to set aside 240 minutes each Saturday to finish my back porch that wasn’t completed when I built my house 10 years ago by my builder. For obvious reasons, I won’t bore you with the gory details, but here’s a summation of my project: First, I had to install a new screening system for my porch, which included cutting and installing about 25 new 2x4s to attach my new screening system to. Then, I had to set up the screening system, which really was a two-person job, but since I was the only person doing the work I persevered even when it seemed impossible for one person to be able to mount, fit, cut, stretch, screw, snap and finish off this system. I then had to buy scaffolding to finish off my skylight with new clap board. I cleaned, primed and painted the porch white, so it would be in “A” one condition once more. The lesson to be learned here is that if I estimated how many minutes or hours it would take me to complete this project, I wouldn’t have even started the job because it would have looked like an enormous amount of time for a guy who doesn’t have a lot of time. But, because I wisely decided to dedicate 240 minutes each Saturday to the project, I wasn’t overwhelmed by the scope and scale of the project. In fact, it took me every Saturday from Memorial Day to Labor Day last summer to finish this project, or about 5,760 minutes. Now the job is completed for $300.00, and I am delighted with the outcome. You can wisely use this same time management technique with your value analysis projects too. If You Take Care Of The Minutes, Then It Becomes Easy To Find Time For Your Value Analysis Projects We required our value team members to dedicate 60 minutes a week to their value analysis projects (most give us more time than requested), over a 12 week cycle, or an investment of 720 minutes. This was setting the expectation that if value analysis project managers can use their minutes wisely, they can complete their projects on time and within budget without breaking a sweat. By employing this time management technique, our clients (on average) are performing 43.33 value analysis studies annually at a savings of $1 million dollars and more for their hospitals – beyond price! The key to this time management system is to set reasonable time limiting expectations for your department heads and managers vs. demanding that everyone involved in your value analysis initiative drop everything they are doing to work on your value analysis projects. This creates unrealistic expectations for your department heads and managers that will guarantee push back and antipathy from them. Value Analysis It’s All About Time Management If you think you can’t find time for your value analysis projects then you won’t find time, because of your mid-set. However, if you decide that finding time for value analysis projects is a priority, then there are numerous time management techniques to assist you in doing so. The most powerful one being (to paraphrase Ben Franklin quote above), “take care of your minutes, and your value analysis savings will take care of themselves”. About the Author Robert T. Yokl, President, The HCP Group, Ltd., has over 35 years of experience as a consultant and manager in the field of Supply Value Chain Management and is one of the country's leading healthcare experts in value analysis, value engineering, Non Salary Expense Reduction and materials management. He is the developer and program leader of the award winning Certified Value Analysis Practitioner Training Program™. Mr. Yokl is also the developer of the healthcare industry's leading ValueNetCentral™ Value Analysis Software. Over the past two decades he has trained thousands of healthcare managers in his patented Strategic Value Analysis™ and Team-Based Project Management™ processes and has assisted scores of organizations in developing their own value management programs. He has published six books, videos and audios on supply/value chain management. His latest book being, “ Strategic Value Analysis™: The #1 Smart Strategy for Taking Cost Out of a Healthcare Organizations’ Healthcare Supply Value Chain”. _____________________________________________________________ COPYRIGHT 2004 - THE HCP GROUP, LTD. - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Advancing Healthcare Organizations to the Next Level of Supply Chain Savings^TM