Using the Lean Six Sigma Methodology to Reduce Mouse Cage Sanitation Time for Animal Care and Use Programs

Although efficient sanitization is a high priority for Animal Care and Use Programs (ACUP), the cage sanitation process for animals used in biomedical research can be labor-intensive. To increase the efficiency of sanitation services provided by ACUP, the current project used the Lean Six Sigma methodology to reduce the time to sanitize mouse cages by implementing countermeasures to reduce causes of waste within this process for the Animal Care Operations (ACO) group at a leading public research university. Lean Six Sigma was selected for use in this project given its goal to make organizations' routine operations flow as smoothly and efficiently as possible and its applicability to biomedical and research settings as discussed in the literature. Through observation of the ACO's existing mouse cage sanitation process and brainstorming sessions with the ACO staff, the existing process was mapped, a baseline measurement of the current process performance was established, the process was analyzed to identify potential causes of waste, and appropriate countermeasures were implemented to improve the process. These countermeasures involved actions specifically targeted at reducing process delays, which included implementing new procedures, clarified schedules, and visual controls. As a result of this project, ACO's average mouse cage sanitation process cycle time was reduced by 35 min, and the time saved was reinvested within the ACO to provide technicians additional time to complete other valuable tasks and thus support animal research endeavors at this university.