Increasing Lab Efficiency
The US National Institute of Justice has published a short white paper titled Increasing Efficiency in Crime
Laboratories.
On four pages the article introduces three techniques which are already wide spread in the industry. The main technique is Process mapping, a graphical representation of a workflow. This technique identifies the single steps in a process and assigns them to a role or person. Assigning the tasks to the proper staff could yield an impressive gain:
For example, the team calculated that scientists spent approximately 16 days a month on clerical work. When the laboratory hired a new evidence coordinator to do the clerical work, they were able to analyze an extra 100 cases per year, nearly the equivalent casework output of a full-time DNA analyst.
