McGill University Health Center's in-plant developed a Lean approach to inventory management.

By Carmin Cristofaro

Carmin Cristofaro is manager of Document Management and Printing Services at McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) in Montreal, Canada. He has been working in health care for more than 30 years and has a background in multimedia. He has been managing the in-plant for 13 years and was instrumental in merging the three print shops of the MUHC and transitioning them to digital printing technology. His assistant, Abel De Andrade, manages the daily operation of the print shop while an administrative technician, Anna Colicchio, is responsible for document management. In collaboration with Xerox they also manage almost 600 multifunction devices (MFDs). They are also responsible for managing a program for the destruction of confidential documents. Soon to come: desktop printer management and translation services. To learn more, contact Carmin at carmin.cristofaro@muhc.mcgill.ca

AN IN-PLANT is a perfect candidate for applying Lean production practices. We are essentially a manufacturing environment that uses multiple steps in various processes. We utilize a variety of equipment, technology, human resources and supplies. There is an ever-present risk of waste and errors, and quality and speed are at the forefront of our concerns.