Smarter design, smoother projects: how Treanor uses LEAN to empower healthcare clients

At Treanor, we believe healthcare spaces function best when they heal, support, and inspire. To do that effectively, the design process needs to be just as intentional as the final product. That’s where LEAN methodology comes in.

Our Health team uses LEAN design principles to help clients reduce inefficiencies, improve patient outcomes, and make better decisions so their projects run more smoothly and deliver the outcomes they’re aiming for.

Originally developed by Toyota to enhance manufacturing efficiency and reduce waste, LEAN methodology has since been adapted for industries across the globe. In the healthcare environment, LEAN is all about eliminating waste, improving workflows, and enhancing the patient and caregiver experience.

The methodology empowers every stakeholder whether they’re ordering supplies or delivering care to identify inefficiencies and suggest improvements. It results in systems that actually work in real life, where people are empowered and resources are optimized.

But healthcare isn’t a closed-loop system like a car factory. Patients are unpredictable, staffing changes, and supply chains shift. That’s why our team is trained in healthcare-specific LEAN applications equipped to navigate the complexities of real-world healthcare environments while improving flow, safety, and performance.

Our Health studio uses LEAN principles at every stage of a project, starting by asking questions like:

• Where does waste show up in your current space?
• What flows of patients, staff, supplies cause bottlenecks or delays?
• Where are decisions getting stuck?
• How can your facility better support the people working in it?

We use tools like Value Stream Mapping and A3 Thinking to find clear, actionable answers and to guide both design strategy and project execution.

Value Stream Mapping is a powerful LEAN tool we use to visualize and understand how work moves through space. It helps identify both value-added steps (the things that support outcomes) and non-value-added steps (waste that slows the system down).

Take a surgical center  that Treanor Health Principal Kat DiPietro worked on, for example: mapping out the flow of sterile case carts revealed that a too-small decontamination space was causing backups across the entire department. We didn’t just spot a problem we worked with the client to reimagine the flow, reconfigure the layout, and ultimately expand the department. That redesign directly supported safer, more efficient patient care.

These insights aren’t limited to surgery centers. From emergency departments to endoscopy suites and lab spaces, Value Stream Mapping helps teams visualize their processes and identify where smart design can make a big impact.

A core tenet of LEAN is that anyone, no matter their title, can “pull the cord” and point out a problem. We bring that philosophy into our user group meetings by ensuring that every voice is heard. Whether it’s a nurse, a supply tech, or a department director, we want everyone’s perspective on how a space functions.

Why? Because the people using space every day are often the ones who know exactly where the breakdowns happen, and how to fix them. LEAN gives us a framework to have those conversations constructively, focusing on the process instead of the people.

Another critical LEAN tool we use is A3 Thinking, which is a structured, one-page method for clearly documenting a decision, a problem, or a process. From choosing between building options to deciding which equipment should run on backup generators, A3s allow teams to make thoughtful decisions and remember why they made them.

For our clients, that means less backtracking, fewer surprises during construction, and more alignment among decision-makers. When leadership changes or new questions arise, the A3 becomes a powerful artifact that keeps everyone grounded in shared understanding.

LEAN isn’t just theory for us—it’s hands-on. We’ve used LEAN tools like cardboard prototyping to test kitchen layouts, spaghetti diagrams to optimize lab flows, and flow charts to visualize everything from medication administration to food delivery. These tools help clients see and feel how a space will work before it’s built, saving time and money while building confidence in the design.

For example, in one small-town hospital project Kat worked on, a dietary director was deeply involved in testing a cardboard prototype of a new kitchen. His input helped her redesign the layout on the spot, and the final space became not just functional, but a source of pride and community connection. That’s the power of co-creating with LEAN.

The healthcare world is evolving quickly. From AI-enabled documentation and ambient listening to increased regulatory complexity and infectious disease protocols, your facility needs to do more than meet today’s needs and adapt to tomorrow’s needs.

LEAN gives us a flexible, scalable way to help you do just that. It sharpens our focus on what matters most and helps your teams navigate change with clarity and confidence.

At Treanor, LEAN is built into how we think. Our Health studio includes team members like Kat DiPietro and Chuang-Ming Liu, principals who hold certifications in healthcare-specific LEAN training. They’ve spent years applying these tools across real projects, fine-tuning them to help healthcare providers deliver better outcomes.

When you work with Treanor, you’re not just getting architects, you’re getting collaborators who know how to listen, how to lead effective conversations, and how to guide complex decisions. This style of management makes your project smoother, faster, and more aligned with your goals.

Ultimately, LEAN isn’t about doing more with less. It’s about doing the right things, in the right way, at the right time, by talking to all the right people. It’s about building smarter and more resilient facilities that support caregivers, patients, and communities, every day, in every moment.