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Module GLP-33 · Version 1.0

Workflow, Productivity, Lean, and Six Sigma

Map laboratory workflow with value-stream and turnaround-time data, tell value apart from waste and necessary non-value work using Lean's eight wastes, and select and test one small improvement with PDSA or DMAIC while tracking balancing measures so a change is proven safe before it becomes policy.

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Who this module is for

Medical laboratory scientists, technologists, and laboratory supervisors involved in workflow or quality-improvement work.

Learning objectives

  • Build a current-state process view of a laboratory workflow with demand, capacity, queue, handoff, rework, and turnaround data
  • Distinguish value, necessary non-value work, waste, variation, and defects in that workflow
  • Select and evaluate one small improvement using PDSA or DMAIC while defining and tracking balancing measures

How completion works

Mark every required section done and answer every knowledge check in those sections correctly. The final save completes the module automatically.

Sources

18 sources

  1. 1. 42 CFR § 493.1253, Standard: Establishment and verification of performance specifications. Subpart K, Analytic Systems.

    Source note · federal regulation

  2. 2. CLSI QMS01, A Quality Management System Model for Laboratory Services, 5th edition, published June 19, 2019.

    Source note · consensus standard

  3. 3. CLSI QMS12, Developing and Using Quality Indicators for Laboratory Improvement, 2nd edition, published March 28, 2019, reaffirmed without revision October 2024.

    Source note · consensus standard

  4. 4. College of American Pathologists. Laboratory General Checklist, GEN.20316 QMS Indicators of Quality (Phase II). CAP Accreditation Program, 12.09.2025 edition.

    Source note · accreditation standard

  5. 5. Compiled review of the eight wastes (muda) applied to clinical laboratories, including Bio-Rad "7 Wastes in the Lab" and airacad.com "Reducing Lab Turnaround Times with Lean Methodologies."

    Source note · professional society guidance

  6. 6. Lean six sigma methodologies improve clinical laboratory efficiency and reduce turnaround times, PubMed 28205271.

    Source note · peer-reviewed literature

  7. 7. Reducing turnaround time for routine outpatient biochemical tests through Lean Six Sigma: A case study in China, Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 2024.

    Source note · peer-reviewed literature

  8. 8. Integrating Lean Six Sigma into Microbiology Laboratories: Insights from a Literature Review, Healthcare, 2025.

    Source note · peer-reviewed literature

  9. 9. Westgard QC, Six Sigma Basics: Outcome Measurement of Process Performance, and Sigma-Metrics of Lab Processes.

    Source note · professional society guidance

  10. 10. Institute for Healthcare Improvement, How to Improve: Model for Improvement, and Testing Changes.

    Source note · professional society guidance

  11. 11. Utilization of 5S Visual Management: A Lean Six Sigma Application in Operation of Hospital Clinical Laboratory, American Journal of Clinical Pathology, 2013.

    Source note · peer-reviewed literature

  12. 12. The poka-yoke in a surgical pathology laboratory, and ASQ Mistake-Proofing overview.

    Source note · professional society guidance

  13. 13. Single-piece flow versus batch processing in laboratory operations, compiled from airacad.com and Lab Manager coverage.

    Source note · professional society guidance

  14. 14. How to Improve Laboratory Turnaround Time, Laboratory Management Consultants.

    Source note · professional society guidance

  15. 15. Determination of turnaround time in the clinical laboratory: "accessioning-to-result" time does not always accurately reflect laboratory performance, PubMed 23086774.

    Source note · peer-reviewed literature

  16. 16. Turnaround Time (TAT): Difference in Concept for Laboratory and Clinician, PMC4022919.

    Source note · peer-reviewed literature

  17. 17. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Physician Burnout resource page on measurement and balancing considerations.

    Source note · federal guidance

  18. 18. The Unintended Consequences of Quality Improvement, PMC3861327.

    Source note · peer-reviewed literature