(UI: Iowa City, IA) -- A group of researchers at the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business is using the principles of more efficient manufacturing processes in an effort to help contain ever-increasing health care costs.

“Whether you’re talking about health care or manufacturing, lean manufacturing provides a framework to systematically improve service and lower costs,” says Barrett Thomas, lean expert and assistant professor of management sciences in the Tippie College.

Barrett and other lean experts on the Tippie faculty work with students to teach the principles of lean operations so they can help their organizations operate more efficiently.

Lean manufacturing is a comprehensive process that involves everyone in the organization, from the CEO down to the people on the line, Thomas says. Changes could be as major as redesigning an entire assembly line, or as basic as simply moving a single piece of machinery or equipment storage area.

For years, manufacturers have been using the lean manufacturing principle to streamline their factory operations, improve product quality, and strengthen their bottom lines. Pioneered by Toyota, lean is a process improvement system that offers simple tools to identify and eliminate waste in an organization’s processes.

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