L'Obeya, bien plus que de la communication visuelle, une révolution culturelle du management

In 2013, an audit performed about the pediatric parenteral nutrition activity (PPN) has revealed dysfonctions. Corrective measures were implemented accordingly. However, managerial difficulties were faced and we definitely realized that the usual communication was not satisfactory. Objective: The aim of our study was to introduce the concept of visual management called "Obeya" in order to more effectively implement quality improvement projects and evaluate this tool in real life. Material and methods: Obeya relies on: (1) a Board named Obeya Board which includes: objectives, metrics, ongoing and completed projects, micro and macro schedules, suggestion box, problems encountered, (2) 3 working groups with a facilitator for each group; (3) 3 types of meetings: "Flash 5"' (5 min), "Flash 30"' (30 min), OBEYA meeting (1h). Results: During the first "Flash 30"', 5 priority objectives were validated. "Flash 5"' facilitated information dissemination to all operators. The initial objectives were achieved on due time. During the next "Flash 30'," 8 new objectives were validated using in particular the ideas from the suggestion box. During the six months analyzed, 12 of the 13 initiated improvement projects were completed on time; 100% of the scheduled meetings took place; 54.2% of operators (13/24) involved in PPN activity completed the Obeya board at least once. Discussion/Conclusion: Through its collaborative approach, visual management facilitates information dissemination, develops motivation, involvement, and team-building in the implementation of improvement projects. This suggests for manager and staff to adopt a new behaviour. The very positive results obtained show that this is an interesting management tool to lead change in hospital pharmacy.