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Barriers to Swift, Even Flow in the Internal Supply Chain of Perioperative Surgical Services Department: A Case Study *
Author(s) -
Fredendall Lawrence D.,
Craig Janet B.,
Fowler Pat J.,
Damali Uzay
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
decision sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.238
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1540-5915
pISSN - 0011-7315
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-5915.2009.00232.x
Subject(s) - swift , operations management , supply chain , flow (mathematics) , variance (accounting) , closure (psychology) , service (business) , variable (mathematics) , operations research , business , computer science , process management , marketing , economics , mechanics , mathematics , physics , accounting , market economy , mathematical analysis , programming language
This research analyzes the internal service supply chain of a perioperative surgical services department of a nonacademic community hospital using the theory of swift and even flow as a theoretical lens. Performance data were gathered using an in‐depth case study and it was determined that the swift and even flow constructs did affect flow speed and variance, but did not account for all the effects observed. To understand the need for departments to coordinate their efforts with each other and how this affected flow, further analysis was conducted using insights from Pagell's (2004) theory of internal integration and Gittell's (2002) research about coordinating mechanisms. The findings suggest the need to incorporate a variable measuring supply chain coordination into the theory of swift and even flow.