The efficiency of a laboratory depends more on how the work is sequenced than on the speed of the equipment. A good workflow eliminates the need for the analyst to think about what to do.
Scope
Analysis assignment: Automatic assignment of analyses based on sample type; adding additional analysis requests in a recorded format.
Task lists and queues: Prioritized task lists grouped by analyst or device.
Batching : The process of grouping samples to be processed using the same method into a single series; including a control sample and a blank sample in the series.
Priority management: Prioritizing samples that are awaiting production or are tied to customer commitments, and recording the reason for this.
Time and delay monitoring: Generates warnings for samples exceeding the target return time.
Capacity view: A view of the workload for the coming days, broken down by device and analyst.
Outsourcing to an external laboratory: Sending analyses that cannot be performed in-house to a subcontractor, tracking them, and integrating the results into the system.
In the real business world
Laboratory bottlenecks are often not in analytical capacity, but in waiting times : waiting for the sample to be registered, waiting for the equipment to finish another batch, waiting for the result to arrive at the approver's desk. A large portion of the total turnaround time is waiting time, not the actual analysis.
Therefore, the initial investment in improvement shouldn't be about buying new equipment, but about making the flow visible. When the problem is identified, most improvements are cost-free.
Benefit to the customer
Turnaround time is shortened; batch release is accelerated.
Analysts can view their daily work from a single screen.
Urgent requests are managed in a recorded and justified manner.
Device utilization rates and bottlenecks become measurable.