Using Lean in Professional Services

Dr. Sami Bahri was my guest on the Business901 podcast. He delivered a message that all professionals should listen too. While 33% of most Dentist practices are shrinking in today’s marketplace, Dr. Bahri’s is expanding.

Dr Sami Bahri, DDS runs a private dental practice in Jacksonville, Florida. The practice has three general dentists, one orthodontist, 10 chairs for general dentistry, and seven chairs for orthodontics.

In 1990, after ten years of intense work in the teaching, administrative and private practice fields, Dr Bahri moved to Jacksonville, Florida. In the same year he opened his first Jacksonville practice with two dental chairs. He studied dental management and applied it in his practice.

Eager to know how other industries manage their resources to satisfy their customers, he started searching outside dentistry, in the mainstream where many management experts are continuously trying to improve the way things are done. He studied most management systems available to the public and tried them in his practice; systems like Total Quality Management, Six Sigma and Lean Management—to mention the most important ones.

In 1996, Dr. Bahri read “Lean Thinking” by James Womack and Daniel Jones, and started implementing Lean Management principles in his dental office. He is the first dentist known to utilize Lean Management techniques to continuously improve the delivery of quality dental care. Dr Bahri has been called “The Leanest Dentist on the Planet.” This implementation has benefited patients, employees, dental laboratories, suppliers, etc. In 2006, Bahri Dental Group provided the same amount of dental treatments as 2005, but needed 40 percent less resources, thanks to the application of “Lean Dental Management.”

In March of 2007, Dr Bahri was invited to present his work as a keynote speaker at the “Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing” where he was recognized as the “World’s First Lean Dentist”. In March of 2009, Dr Bahri wrote Follow the Learner: The Role of a Leader in Creating a Lean Culture, published by the Lean Enterprise Institute. He lectures nationally and internationally to share his experience on implementing lean management in the dental practice.

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P.S. On the LeanBlog Video Podcast hosted by Mark Graban, he had a new discussion with Dr. Bahri. They talked about lessons Dr. Bahri  has learned from touring factories and why focusing on single piece flow is a key to true Lean success, even for a dentist’s office.

Related Information:

The Florida Times-Union

Bahri Dental Practice