John Black and Associates

Name

John Black and Associates

Legal name

John Black and Associates

Website

https://www.johnblackandassociates.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Management Consulting

NAICS

Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Human Capital & Workforce Transformation Consulting (BPAHACAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Learning, Training & Corporate Education Consulting (BPAHAGAE)

Keywords

• Lean healthcare consulting
• Process improvement
• Operational excellence
• Healthcare transformation
• Toyota Production System

Headquarters

HQ city

Harrisonburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Healthcare Transformation Consulting: Full-service Lean healthcare transformation engagements including organizational assessment, infrastructure building, Lean leader certification, coaching, and sustained transformation support. Billed as professional services engagements typically spanning multiple years.
2. Educational Tours and Seminars: Revenue from North American Tours (5-day tours of Lean operations) and Japan Study Missions including Japan Super Flow (2-week seminar), Japan Gemba Kaizen (7-14 day seminars), Japan Kanban (11-day seminar), and Japan 3P Lean Design (11-day workshop).
3. Book Sales: Sales of John Black's books on Lean methodology including 'The Toyota Way to Healthcare Excellence' and 'Lean Production: Implementing a World-Class System'.
4. Webinar Access: Free Mistake-Proofing webinar with email registration. Free membership to access webinar content.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

John Black and Associates is a healthcare management consulting firm that delivers Lean transformation services based on the Toyota Production System. The firm provides multi-day consulting engagements, executive immersion tours to Japan and North America, 3P Lean Design events, mistake-proofing training, and published books that teach healthcare leaders how to operationalize Lean methodologies in hospitals and health systems.

Product overview

John Black and Associates (JBA) is a Lean healthcare transformation consulting firm offering a portfolio of professional services centered on implementing the Toyota Production System in healthcare organizations. The core offering is Healthcare Transformation consulting, which is supported by experiential learning programs including Japan-based study missions (Japan Super Flow, Japan Gemba Kaizen, Japan Kanban, and Japan 3P Lean Design workshops) and the North American Tour. Additional services include 3P Lean Facility Design, mistake-proofing training, and Kaizen Fellows leadership development. JBA also publishes knowledge resources including the books 'The Toyota Way to Healthcare Excellence' and 'LEAN Production: Implementing a World-Class System.' The firm does not offer a software product but provides expert consulting, training, and coaching services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Healthcare Transformation Consulting End-to-end Lean healthcare transformation consulting built on an eight-step Healthcare Transformation Model, delivered to hospital systems, health regions, and health ministries. Engagements include Lean Leader Certification, Rapid Process Improvement Workshops (RPIWs), 3P Lean Design events, and Kaizen Promotion Office setup.
• Japan Study Tour (Super Flow) Multi-day executive immersion tours to Japan to observe Super Flow Lean production practices in active manufacturing environments. Designed for healthcare leaders who want to learn Toyota-style flow systems first-hand.
• Japan Study Tour (Gemba Kaizen) Executive tour to Japan focused on Gemba Kaizen (workplace improvement) practices. Targets healthcare leaders seeking to study how continuous improvement is conducted at the gemba in Japanese facilities.
• Japan Study Tour (Kanban) Executive immersion tour to Japan centered on Kanban systems and pull-based production in Japanese manufacturing. Targeted at healthcare leaders seeking to apply pull-system thinking in hospitals.
• Japan 3P Lean Design Tour Educational tour specifically focused on 3P (Production, Preparation, Process) Lean Design observed in Japanese facilities. Built for healthcare executives planning new facilities or major service redesigns.
• North American Tour Educational tour to North American Toyota-related and lean manufacturing facilities for healthcare leaders who cannot travel to Japan. Provides immersion in TPS practices closer to home.
• 3P Lean Design Event Multi-day 3P Lean Design event used to redesign healthcare facility layouts, workflows, and service lines using Production, Preparation, and Process design principles. Sold as a fixed-scope engagement to hospital clients.
• Mistake-Proofing Webinar (Free) Free-of-charge educational webinar on Poka-Yoke (mistake-proofing) principles applied to healthcare. Used as a top-of-funnel awareness and lead generation asset; downloadable resources and case-study examples are shared.
• The Toyota Way to Healthcare Excellence (Book) Published book on applying the Toyota Production System to healthcare delivery, authored by JBA leadership. Sold via Amazon and other retailers as a reference text for healthcare Lean practitioners.
• Lean Production (Book) Foundational Lean production book authored by JBA leadership. Sells via Amazon and major retailers and underpins the firm's training and consulting narrative.

Quantifiable outcome

• Surgery wait times reduced significantly
• +9 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature12 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship, foundational and secondary.

• Shingijutsu Global ConsultingcoreTechnology or IntegrationLong-standing partnership since 1997 with Shingijutsu Global Consulting, whose founders trained directly under Taiichi Ohno at Toyota. JBA consultants work alongside Shingijutsu senseis to deliver kaizen training, gemba visits, and Lean implementation support. Shingijutsu provides the authentic Toyota Production System lineage that differentiates JBA from other Lean consultancies.
• Saskatchewan Ministry of HealthflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-year engagement starting 2011 to deploy the Saskatchewan Healthcare Management System across the entire province's healthcare system. This transformation involves 40,000+ healthcare workers across 270+ facilities serving 1.13 million people. Represents the largest Lean healthcare transformation in the world.
• Virginia Mason Medical CenterflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSix-year engagement starting 2000 to implement the Virginia Mason Production System (VMPS). Results led to VMMC being named America's Top Hospital of the Decade in 2010. JBA helped establish the Kaizen Promotion Office and trained Lean leaders.
• Park Nicollet Health ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLean transformation implementation including Kaizen Fellows program development. Achieved significant safety and efficiency improvements under JBA guidance.
• PeaceHealthfoundationalStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst full Lean healthcare implementation in 1996, before Lean was fashionable in healthcare. JBA (and its forerunner Poggetti and Associates) led seminal implementation at PeaceHealth in the Pacific Northwest. First healthcare CEO study mission to Japan conducted.
• Premera Blue CrosscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLean transformation for administrative and operational processes at this healthcare insurance organization.
• Providence Health & ServicessecondaryImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner3P Lean facility design projects including ambulatory care 3P event in Spokane, WA and walk-in clinic 3P in Monroe, WA.
• Seattle Children's HospitalsecondaryImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerJapan study missions including Japan Super Flow, Japan Kanban, and Japan 3P seminars for process improvement training.
• Boeing Commercial Airplane CompanyfoundationalStrategic or Co-development PartnerJohn Black's original Lean implementation experience came from leading Boeing's Lean transformation. This experience formed the foundation for JBA's methodology and directly informs healthcare transformation approaches.
• Shingijutsu Company, LtdcoreTechnology or IntegrationOriginal Toyota Production System consulting firm whose founders trained directly under Taiichi Ohno. JBA's partnership traces lineage to the origins of Lean and provides access to authentic sensei training.

Scale indicators20 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Virginia Mason Institute: Founded in 2008 to share the Virginia Mason Production System with other healthcare organizations. Direct peer because it disseminates the same Lean healthcare methodology that JBA helped architect at Virginia Mason Medical Center, serving the same buyer personas (health system C-suites) with adjacent transformation services.
• Catalysis: Non-profit formerly known as the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value, focused on Lean healthcare transformation, education, and peer-to-peer learning networks. Directly comparable to JBA in target customer (US health systems), methodology (Lean/TPS-derived), and deliverable model (consulting + education + study missions).
• Simpler Consulting (Siemens Healthineers): Lean healthcare consultancy acquired by Siemens that delivers enterprise-wide transformation programs (the 'Simpler Business System') to hospitals and health systems. Closely comparable to JBA on methodology, customer base, and engagement length, though with the additional scale of a Siemens-backed platform.
• Healthcare Performance Partners (Accenture): Now part of Accenture, HPP was a dedicated Lean healthcare consultancy serving large hospital systems with operational improvement and transformation programs. Comparable to JBA in core offering (Lean healthcare), customer profile, and outcome-based engagement model.

Broad incumbents

• Huron Consulting Group: L diversified professional services firm with a substantial healthcare practice covering operational improvement, performance improvement, and digital transformation for health systems. Competes with JBA for large hospital-system transformation mandates, though its offerings extend well beyond Lean into technology and revenue cycle.
• McKinsey & Company (Healthcare Operations Practice): Global strategy consultancy with an established healthcare operations and organizational performance practice that increasingly blends Lean with digital transformation for large health systems. Competes with JBA at the high end of enterprise healthcare transformation, offering broader scope but less depth in authentic TPS methodology.

Others

• Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI): Non-profit healthcare quality improvement organization offering the Triple Aim framework, training, and large-scale improvement collaboratives. Not a direct competitor for Lean transformation engagements, but targets the same healthcare executives and shapes the conversation about operational excellence in healthcare delivery.
• KaiNexus: Continuous improvement software platform enabling organizations to run kaizen programs, idea management, and Lean transformation at scale. Adjacent to JBA in that many JBA clients adopt digital CI platforms as part of their Lean rollouts, making KaiNexus an enabling/ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor.

Emerging players

• Lean Enterprise Institute: Education and publishing organization founded by James Womack that promotes Lean thinking across industries including healthcare. Comparable to JBA on the educational/seminars side (conferences, workshops, books) but is non-profit and offers Lean transformation support more indirectly than JBA's direct consulting practice.
• The Rona Consulting Group: Lean healthcare consultancy founded by Mike Rona, former president of Virginia Mason Medical Center who introduced JBA's John Black to VMMC leadership. Targets similar healthcare customers with similar Lean/TPS-derived transformation services, positioned as a smaller but adjacent practitioner with authentic Virginia Mason lineage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/JohnJohnblack7

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about John Black and Associates