Takatsuki General Hospital – Site Tour
Takatsuki General Hospital is part of Japan’s Aijinkai Group of healthcare facilities located in Osaka Prefecture. The hospital is regarded as one of the leading hospitals in Japan. With 29 medical departments, it also serves as a regional acute care hospital and handles an average of 1,000 outpatients a day.
General Information
- Hospital: Takatsuki General Hospital
- Foundation: 1985
- Location: Takatsuki City, Osaka Prefecture
- Affiliation: The Aijinkai Healthcare Corporation
- Number of departments and hospital beds: 29 medical departments with 477 beds
Takatsuki General Hospital – Lean Characteristics
TQM, QC Circle, Kaizen
Takatsuki General Hospital is one of the leading hospitals in Japan particularly in the area of pediatrics and neonatal intensive care. The hospital is in Takatsuki City in Osaka and serves as a prominent acute care hospital for the region. It has also been certified by the Japan Medical Service Accreditation for International Patients (JMIP) where international patients can also receive reliable and secure medical services through multilingual consultations.
The hospital is affiliated with the Aijinkai Group, which is considered a leader in the application and adaption of lean management principles to healthcare and is also recognized for its innovative approach to healthcare services.
Similar to the aims of lean application to manufacturing, there is a need to manage business processes within healthcare to cater for increasing patient and caregiver expectations related to safety, quality, and lead time of care, and business pressures related to cost and capacity.
Kaizen in Japanese hospitals has been strongly influenced by Total Quality Management (TQM). The recorded history of TQM application to healthcare in Japan dates back to 1972, and today a very large number of hospitals in the country including those in the Aijinkai Group have active TQM related activities, with staff encouraged to participate in QC Circle improvement groups as part of their professional development. Staff efforts related to improvement activities are recognized through presentation days held at the hospital, and at regional and national levels.

Taipei, Taiwan
Shinka Management staff were professional from interpretation, to detailed trip arrangements, to leading the factory tour and catalyzing the thinking and discussion.
read more

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
I recently had the privilege of attending the Lean Japan Tour organized by Shinka Management, and I can say it was an unforgettable experience! From start to finish, the tour was exceptionally well-managed, and I came away with a wealth of new knowledge and insights into lean manufacturing. I want to express my gratitude to…
read more

Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
I attended the tour in 2011 and found the whole experience very useful to build on my understanding of Lean Manufacturing. For those having a reasonable understanding of Lean this tour shows in detail the gap that Australia experiences to world class productivity practices. Most interesting was the deployment of essentially the key elements of…
read more

Orange, California, United States
Outstanding lean tour hosted by Shinka Management. When researching lean tours in Japan, I wanted to choose the provider offering the most credible program – rich in technical depth and practical, hands-on learning. I’m happy to say this turned out to be a world-class experience that I highly recommend. The program combined expert training and…
read more

Rolleston, New Zealand
This was an extremely insightful tour. Very well run by Paul and the team from Shinka Management. Highly recommended.
read more

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the November 2013 tour. I learned so much about Japanese culture and TPS. Despite coming from the IT industry, I was able to gain valuable insights on the philosophy and principles of Lean that I can apply in my industry. Ben and Paul are top-notch guides. Their wealth of…
read more
The Shinka Management Lean Japan Tour is a professional development program run several times annually. The program includes a mix of lean and kaizen seminars, hands-on lean training and visits to several benchmark lean companies. For further information about our Lean Japan Tour and Lean Healthcare Tour programs, see the lean tour overview page.
Tour Inquiries
Interested in joining us in Japan? For additional information prior to registration please fill in the form provided or contact us.