February 19, 2024

SVSU to host lecture on process improvement

Saginaw Valley State University will host a lecture that offers insights into improving processes and achieving goals by identifying, and removing, the most important obstacle.

As the featured speaker for the Thomas and Hilda Rush Lectureship, Danilo Sirias, SVSU professor of management and marketing, will present “Integrating Theory and Application: Exploring the Thinking Process of the Theory of Constraints for Effective System Improvement,” on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 6:30 p.m. in the Rhea Miller Recital Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public.

In his presentation, Sirias will highlight the thinking process of the theory of constraints methodology, illustrating its adaptability through examples in math education and healthcare access improvement. The theory of constraints posits that every process has a single constraint or limitation that restricts improvement. Only by improving the constraint can the process be improved. The thinking process helps identify the constraint, determine the change that needs to be made and how to cause the change.

By relating the theory of constraints to improvement in math education and behavioral health access, attendees can expect to learn about the approach to management and its many applications.

In 2022, Sirias received a grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund to continue his research in applying the theory of constraints to improve access behavioral health clinics.

Sirias joined SVSU’s management faculty in 2001. He earned a Ph.D. in business administration and a master’s in industrial and systems engineering from the University of Memphis, as well as a bachelor’s in industrial engineering from the National University of Engineering in his home country of Nicaragua. He is a certified critical chain project manager, a TOC for Education trainer, and certified as an implementer by the Theory of Constraints International Certification Organization. Sirias’s research focuses on how the Theory of Constraints can improve patient care in multiple realms. He has published peer-reviewed research in several journals and has authored the books, “Bridging the Boomer Xer Gap (with Hank Karp and Connie Fuller), “Success . . . an Adventure” and “Problem Solving Maps.” His latest book, “Smash the Bottleneck: Fixing Patient Flow for Better Care,” reached the 3 three in Amazon Hot New Releases for hospital administration. Educators in countries around the world use his strategies for teaching math.

The Thomas and Hilda Rush Distinguished Lectureship was established by Dr. and Mrs. Rush to recognize and reward SVSU staff and faculty members who, by their creation or development of significant scholarly or artistic work, have distinguished themselves and bought recognition to the university.