Lean Intervention (5s) in a Health Center Pharmacy: Effects on Perceived Musculoskeletal Workload and Perceived Hazardous Working Conditions

The present research studies the effects of Lean (5S) implementation in an acute care pharmacy of a health center. A version of the Dutch Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (DMQ) was used to record the perceived musculoskeletal workload and perceived hazardous working conditions. The participants were from the two participating pharmacies and they were divided into two groups, study and control. The study group underwent Lean transformation in the form of a 5S event. Work sampling was conducted to determine any changes in the existing process in terms of percentage of value added and non-value added activities over the course of the study. Work sampling results did not indicate any significant changes in the percentage of value added and non-value added activities post 5S. The pharmacists and the pharmacy technicians reported a significant reduction in perceived musculoskeletal workload on the wrist after the 5S event. Perceived hazardous working conditions were not reduced after the 5S for either the pharmacists or the pharmacy technicians.