Here Tom looks at the goals of lean in the lab. They are the same as lean in manufacturing or anywhere else which is ‘Improving performance via the introduction of flow and the elimination of waste’.

But labs are not the same as manufacturing: 

• Typically more volatility and variability with less ‘process’ reliability and longer ‘task’ cycle times.
• Complex mix of routine and non routine testing, ‘non test’ tasks and projects.
• Generally less operational excellence / productivity focus.

Tom addresses how the guiding principals of lean can still apply to laboratories.