Laboratory applies LEAN principles

The Pathology Department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead, UK, has adotped the National Health Service 'vision' to increase efficiency and reduce waste through the application of LEAN principles. Gateshead is a high throughput blood science laboratory for which increased efficiency will bring huge benefits.

Before the LEAN principles could be applied it was necessary to analyse how efficient the blood sample processing was. The results revealed the need for a complete laboratory re-design.

After carefully considering many possible configurations for a serum work area (SWA) platform, from several suppliers, the department decided to partner with Roche, who offered the best automated solution for the size of their laboratory.