TY - JOUR T1 - Time-and-motion tool for the assessment of working time in tuberculosis laboratories: a multicentre study. JF - Int J Tuberc Lung Dis Y1 - 2018 A1 - Vanessa Mathys A1 - E Roycroft A1 - P Raftery A1 - R Groenheit A1 - B D Folkvardsen A1 - D Homorodean A1 - E Vasiliauskiene A1 - L Vasiliauskaite A1 - C Kodmon A1 - J van der Werf A1 - F Drobniewski A1 - V Nikolayevskyy KW - hands-on time KW - laboratory diagnosis KW - Workload AB -

SETTING: Implementation of novel diagnostic assays in tuberculosis (TB) laboratory diagnosis requires effective management of time and resources.

OBJECTIVE: To further develop and assess at multiple centres a time-and-motion (T&M) tool as an objective means for recording the actual time spent on running laboratory assays.

DESIGN: Multicentre prospective study conducted in six European Union (EU) reference TB laboratories.

RESULTS: A total of 1060 specimens were tested using four laboratory assays. The number of specimens per batch varied from one to 60; a total of 64 recordings were performed. Theoretical hands-on times per specimen (TTPS) in h:min:s for Xpert® MTB/RIF, mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number of tandem repeats genotyping, Ziehl-Neelsen staining and manual fluorescence microscopy were respectively 00:33:02 ± 00:12:32, 00:13:34 ± 00:03:11, 00:09:54 ± 00:00:53 and 00:06:23 ± 00:01:36. Variations between laboratories were predominantly linked to the time spent on reporting and administrative procedures. Processing specimens in batches could help save time in highly automated assays (e.g., line-probe) (TTPS 00:14:00 vs. 00:09:45 for batches comprising 7 and 31 specimens, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS: The T&M tool can be considered a universal and objective methodology contributing to workload assessment in TB diagnostic laboratories. Comparison of workload between laboratories could help laboratory managers justify their resource and personnel needs for the implementation of novel, time-saving, cost-effective technologies, as well as identify areas for improvement.

VL - 22 CP - 4 M3 - 10.5588/ijtld.17.0564 ER -