Lab Automation

Impact on Workflow

Workflow
The ultimate goal of lab automation - improve the productivity of the laboratory and the enterprise as a whole Focus on the parts of the enterprise where it can have the most impact Process flow of an organization must be studied Points where automation have a measurable impact must be identified Requires enterprise-level view of the organization and the use of process evaluation techniques

Process Optimization Approach

1) The Lean philosophy http://www.labmanager.com/?articles.view/ar ticleNo/3429/ Taken from Lean Manufacturing 2) Six Sigma Six Sigma combined with Lean approach to yield Lean Six Sigma http://www.labautopedia.com/mw/index.php /Lean_Sigma_in_the_lab

Lean Laboratory
The focus of a lean laboratory is to test samples in the most efficient way possible in terms of cost, or speed, or both Adoption of proper lean protocols require detailed analysis of process flow Performance in todays laboratories tends to be negatively affected by issues which include: Volatile incoming workload - low productivity during troughs and/or poor leadtime performance during peaks Too much WIP (Work in Progress) - many samples are partially tested but few are fully completed minimize WIP Long and variable lead times non optimum queing and scheduling Ineffective fast-track systems too much priorities!! Lack of cross-skilling staff too specialized Muda, Mura, Muri: Lean laboratory pitfalls waste reduction (fluctuations in performance increase waste. This is because equipment, workers, inventory and all other elements required for production must always be prepared for peak production)

Lean Laboratory
The most successful lean laboratory projects tackle the leveling and standard work aspects first Best foundation for a lean laboratory is analysis of historical data and forecasts in order to adequately meet the desired target. Lean in the laboratory is about more than a one-off project. Continually improve how the new process works must be maintained and performance must be managed and monitored using appropriate KPIs (key performance indicators).

Leaning the Lab

a) Level the load and mix into the Lab using a leveling Q (queue) b) Apply Pacemaker scheduling to the 1st process step downstream from the Heijunka. c) Create Standard Work and analysts roles that ensures smooth work flow after the Pacemaker (i.e. once a sample is launched into the Lab do not let it stop or Q again). d) Short interval performance management (i.e. review performance daily and correct if necessary).

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Six Sigma
Six Sigma is a business management strategy, originally developed by Motorola, USA in 1986 that is widely used in many sectors of industry. Six Sigma seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying and removing the causes of defects (errors) and minimizing variability in manufacturing and business processes. It uses a set of quality management methods, including statistical methods, and creates a special infrastructure of people within the organization A six sigma process is one in which 99.99966% of the products manufactured are statistically expected to be free of defects (3.4 defects per million).

Lean Sigma
Lean

and Six Sigma are distinct methods, each comes with a different methodology. The practitioner of Lean Sigma must first decide which is appropriate in any circumstance. As a general guide quality improvements are tackled using the Six Sigma methodology while efforts to enhance speed or reduce waste are tackled using the Lean methodology.

Process Optimization
Regardless of the approach used, the key points to understand with regard to process flow and laboratory automation are: The goal is enterprise optimization. Lab automation should be implemented where it can have the best impact on the enterprise. Creating a highly automated laboratory that does not in some way impact the enterprise critical path is of questionable value. Thus automation opportunities should be evaluated from both an enterprise view and an individual laboratory view. The impact of technology on the balance and flow of the entire enterprise process must be understood, planned and managed. Automation can enable good science, not create it! Simply applying more technology horsepower will not create good science. If the process in question is not scientifically sound or well understood, it should not be automated. The ability to generate more data, faster cannot replace and must integrate with the process of asking and answering the proper scientific questions. If a process is scientifically sound, but sensitive to human errors, then automation may provide a solution.

All about understanding process flow!!!

Tools To Help Process Flow Analysis

Capacity analysis Identifies workflow bottlenecks and capacity-constrained resources Static (time independent) or dynamic modeling (time dependent) Gap analysis Compares current output with a desired output and identify the means to bridge the discrepancy or "gap". Takt time (from the German word taktzeit - clock cycle) The maximum time allowed to produce a product in order to meet demand Takt Time is defined as: T = Ta / Td Where: Ta = Time Available Time to Work (e.g.minutes of work / day) Td = Total demand (eg. product units produced / day) T = TAKT Time (e.g. minutes of work / unit produced) http://www.labautopedia.com/mw/index.php/Evaluation_of_bottlenecks_and_pr ocess_flow

Lets look at one way to help analyze process flow in the lab
Simulating your lab

Dynamic Modeling
Allows experimentation in a virtual environment. A simulation model may be investigated by overloading it with excess work to expose bottlenecks, or running it on reduced resources to better understand impact of these conditions on output and cycle time. Careful simulation model analysis may suggest process improvements and the modification of work plans, without the need to interrupt the current facility. When changes are implemented they are done so with confidence and a minimum amount of risk. Simulation models will help to engage stakeholders. Visualizing a model of a new facility or proposed changes to an existing process will generate confidence that proposed modifications will result in a successful outcome. Stakeholder support will be more easily earned and maintained throughout the improvement project. Simulation can be a key step in resource planning. With a simulation model it may be possible to accurately gauge capacity, throughput and cycle times for complex systems, leading to the deployment of a measured FTE/equipment resources that match desired outcomes. Simulation models can be used to demonstrate how a system will cope with unexpected demand. For example, models can be used to identify ways in which redundancy in other systems are released when the process is stressed beyond typical operating capacity

We can use EXCEL to simulate the queuing part.

EXCEL examples of simulating queues

Simulation Software (Queue)

http://web2.uwindsor.ca/math/hlynka/q soft.html http://www.me.utexas.edu/~jensen/OR MM/computation/unit/que_add/index.h tml http://apps.business.ualberta.ca/aingolfs son/qtp/

SCHEDULING
Laboratories need scheduling. Samples with analytical procedures are processed on workbenches in parallel or sequential order. Here, multiple samples and procedures compete for the same devices. Through the use of specific conflict resolution strategies, resources can be shared, and throughput can be optimized. Labs can be made leaner. http://www.labautopedia.com/mw/index.php/Conc epts_for_Dynamic_Scheduling_in_the_Laboratory

Scheduling
Simulation of lab would bring about a good understanding of the process flow on the workbench Lab Unit Operation (LUO) Need to build a consistent framework of process Imagine a lab with limited resources multiple samples with different procedures are processed in parallel, competing for the devices. Need to optimize resources, need to strategize in order to achieve targeted productivity scheduling

Why schedule?
Workflows in the laboratory range from high throughput screening tests to quality control (QC) environments. Scheduling algorithms required to determine the execution sequence for the various activities and use of resources (instruments etc). Have to understand instruments, composition of activities, procedural elements of workflows, data recording and retrieval etc. Scheduling algorithm. A scheduling algorithm is a sequence of mathematical operations that assembles and optimizes a working plan from the given activities and workflows. It allocates processing time on devices. In addition, it considers any sample- or workflow-specific constraints as well as global optimization criteria when making placement decisions

Activity
An element of a workflow defined by an end user. It is defined by its duration and constraints to other activities. It may consist of several working-plan activities. An activity has predecessors triggered via time and conditional constraints. An activity may also generate triggers for subsequent activities An activity can use a device, containers, consumables, and durables Manual activities may also be included in a workflow. It is essential to allocate enough time execution of activities. An activity-finished event generator (e.g., a pushbutton) can be added to allow an operator to indicate the conclusion of the activity.

Breakdown of activity duration and relationship to other related activities

Activity
Activities need to be defined carefully. At a minimum, the following two alternatives may occur: I. Activities are defined in the finest granularity. In this case, an activity always represents one command sent to one device. In this case, an activity is identical to a working-plan activity. This first case is called working-plan activities only. II. Activity definition is in a higher granularity. Here, an activity consists of several working-plan activities. However, the semantics of these working-plan activities remains the same. This second case is called working-plan activities with fine structure

The Gantt chart showing a sample weighing step and a subsequent GC content-of-active-ingredient

Scheduling
Scheduling algorithm calculates the timing in the working plan Analyzing the timing of activities will allow scheduling which will optimize resource usage, minimize idle time and optimize overall process. Simulation helps! Detailed description of work flow/working plan must be obtained before attempting scheduling Need to describe the workflow - Workflow description language take into consideration control flow, data flow, material flow, workflow elements, maintenace, calibration, workflow scenario, exception handling.. A software system, programmed by taking into consideration the elements discussed above controls the scheduling. The end user (e.g., chemist) does not need to know how to implement and code them. She or he only needs to know their functionality and semantics. The actual implementation may be left to a system administrator or an automation specialist, who usually is most familiar with the intrinsic functionality of each workbench.

Scheduling
These concepts are usually bundled to a software system that accepts different samples with different workflows. To optimize the schedule, different scheduling runs must be generated and compared. The result's quality correlates with the calculation time. Longer computation implies higher quality, but scheduling runs that are too long is counterproductive. They worsen optimization results and squander available resource time.

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