by Ken Snyder
It is not surprising that Abbott, the worldwide leader in rapid-testing platforms, came up with a rapid test of the coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19. What is surprising is how rapidly the test was developed.
Various Abbott Diagnostics operations worldwide have adopted the Shingo Model as their model to drive excellence. The most prominent of these is the Abbott Diagnostics Longford facility in Longford, Ireland, which received the Shingo Prize in 2015.
In this case, Abbott has been particularly effective in applying the guiding principles of the Shingo Model. These include:
• Create constancy of purpose. Abbott is driven by its purpose to help customers and patients live “life to the fullest.” It is difficult for people to do that in lockdown, but this rapid test will help all of us get back to a new normal a lot more quickly.
• Respect every individual. Rapid testing helps to alleviate anxiety for those who live in fear while they wait for test results. Once they have a diagnosis, patients and healthcare providers can quickly determine what actions to take.
• Create value for the customer. Rapid testing provides important data to drive patient care and it allows significantly improved tracking of possible virus spread.
• Improve flow. Improved flow is probably the most important Shingo Guiding Principle at work in this particular case study. A new test system such as Abbott’s rapid test typically takes one to two years to develop and another one to two years to get approval. In this case, the development and approval processes were completed in less than three months. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency-use authorization due to the pandemic crisis. This is a fantastic example of shortening the lead time in product development, which is the ideal result from improved flow.
The press release of Abbott’s announcement, and a video explaining how it works, are available at
https://www.abbott.com/corpnewsroom/product-and-innovation/detect-covid-19-in-as-little-as-5-minutes.html.
