Learning from Animal Behavior: Lions and Tigers and Dogs, Oh My!
Presented By:
Gerard Cronin & Rohit Malhotra, DVM
Session Abstract:
Lean thinking has crossed into many non-manufacturing sectors including healthcare, start-ups and service industries. 11 years ago, Lean management was introduced to the biomedical research field at Mass General Hospital. Since then, MGH has been called upon to help other lab animal programs get started, and most recently to help Boston’s Franklin Park Zoo. MGH developed a teaching simulation to enable organizations to embrace the concepts of lean quickly, and MGH continues to work with their staff to build their capabilities. Our common thread is our daily interface with animals of all species. We will explore how our mutual understanding of animal behavior in packs and as individuals has influenced the way we train our staff in lean concepts.
In this session you will learn…
- How understanding animal motivation, behavior, and reward systems may influence employee training.
- How incremental skill development and positive reinforcement are the keys to success.
- How simulation training can help bring the “outlier” into the “herd”
Facilitator Bio:
Gerard Cronin is the Kaizen Promotion Office Manager for the Center for Comparative Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). In his previous role, Gerry was an Operations Manager overseeing 8 in-patient and clinical areas of MGH. Gerry has a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering Management with a minor in Mechanical Engineering, from Wentworth Institute, and received his MBA from St. Joseph’s College of Maine.
He has worked as an Industrial Engineer at Honeywell Information Systems, on the Patriot Missile system for the Raytheon Company, owned and operated a Best of Boston food service operation, and has held Customer Service Manager and Department Manager positions with a national home improvement retailer.
Gerry completed training in the Toyota Production System at Autoliv Inc, has been awarded a full scholarship to attend the Deming Immersion Program with the Deming Institute under Dr Joyce Orsini, at Fordham University. Gerry is the interim Executive Director of the Vivarium Operational Excellence Network, and currently lectures on Process Improvement to Nursing schools around the Boston area.
Dr. Rohit Malhotra’s mission is to utilize lean philosophies and strategies from other industries to improve the efficiency and efficacy of veterinary medical operations, leading to improved medical care for patients. He developed his coaching skills and knowledge through a diversity of operational experiences at many health care organizations, including Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Partners HealthCare. Currently he is completing a Veterinary Healthcare Management Fellowship with Ethos Veterinary Health, a national group of fourteen veterinary specialty and emergency hospitals, and is responsible for the development and implementation of a lean culture within that organization. Dr. Malhotra is also very passionate about improving elephant health care internationally, and has worked with over 300 Asian elephants thus far. He graduated from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, MA with both a B.S. in Leadership Management, and a B.A. in Biology. Subsequently, he graduated from a dual-degree program at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, and a Master of Business Administration.