Case Study: Teaching Hospital reduces medical equipment downtime with Minitab

On the Mend Using Data to Boost Access to Life-Saving Medical Equipment

Teaching Hospital worked with Minitab to address a critical challenge: medical equipment downtime was limiting doctors’ ability to deliver life-saving care. The hospital team analyzed maintenance and failure data from seven hospitals over seven years, covering nearly 700 types of equipment, to understand why essential devices were unavailable and where repair processes were breaking down.

Using Minitab’s statistical software and Lean Six Sigma tools such as Pareto charts, process capability analysis, regression analysis, and control charts, the team identified the main causes of downtime and redesigned the repair process. After piloting the new approach in one facility, Teaching Hospital reduced equipment downtime by 35% and increased the sigma level from 2.881 to 3.708 without additional cost.