Computer-assisted work station timing analysis of instrument labor efficiency.

Area of Science:

• Clinical Chemistry
• Laboratory Management
• Health Economics

Background:

• The Workload Recording Method (WRM) is a standard for assessing laboratory instrument labor.
• Previous assessments did not consider the impact of batch size and walk-away time on labor utilization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate how batch size and walk-away time influence the labor use of clinical analyzers.
• To compare the cost-effectiveness of the Paramax B6100 and Ektachem 700 analyzers under varying operational parameters.

Main Methods:

• Direct timing of all worked and walk-away intervals for the Paramax B6100 and Ektachem 700 analyzers.
• Extrapolation of timing data to a simulated workload of over 1.1 million tests.
• Analysis of labor cost differences based on variable batch sizes and walk-away interval durations.

Main Results:

• Reapportioning tests across different batch sizes caused fluctuating labor cost differences between Paramax and Ektachem, ranging from $37,254 to $34,995.
• Increasing the minimum usable walk-away interval from 1 to 20 minutes increased Ektachem's savings over Paramax from $8,700 to $61,400.
• The WRM consistently predicted a $29,050 labor cost advantage for Ektachem, irrespective of batch size and walk-away time.

Conclusions:

• Standard WRM labor use ratings may not accurately reflect real-world operational costs.
• Laboratory managers must consider batch size and walk-away time when selecting cost-effective analytical instruments.
• Failure to account for these variables can lead to suboptimal instrument choices and increased operational expenses.