Moving and resisting Lean: Saskatchewan’s contested implementation of Lean healthcare

Abstract

AbstractThis article considers the complexities of how policy moves across jurisdictional and sectoral boundaries by examining how Lean Management was introduced into Saskatchewan’s healthcare system. In 2012, the government of Saskatchewan retained a management consulting firm to “transform” the province’s healthcare system using Lean Management. Over subsequent months and years, the consulting firm and provincial government worked to reconstitute the province’s healthcare system, which became the focal point of public debate in the province. This article explores the complexities of how Lean Management arrived in Saskatchewan, how it was translated to address “waste” in the province, and how resistance to its deployment shaped its mobilization in future settings.