Case Study: Dokuz Eylul University improves turnaround time with Beckman Coulter automation

Improved turnaround time with lean Processes and efficient automation

Dokuz Eylul University Faculty of Medicine Hospital, a 1000-bed facility in Turkey, faced increasing demand for its testing services and needed to improve laboratory efficiency and reduce turnaround times. To meet this challenge, the hospital partnered with Beckman Coulter to adopt LEAN laboratory practices and implement a core automation system, including the Power Processor and clinical chemistry systems like the AU5821 and AU5811.

The solution from Beckman Coulter involved using their LEAN Score Card tool to identify and eliminate wasteful steps, leading to a consolidation of the emergency and routine biochemistry labs. As a result, the hospital dramatically reduced its average test turnaround times—for example, TSH TAT dropped from 208 to 105 minutes—and cut the time for 95% of samples to be completed by 31 minutes. The number of wasteful steps was nearly halved, operator workload decreased, and costs were reduced despite a 14% increase in hospital capacity.

Dokuz Eylul University

Zubeyde Erbayraktar

Laboratory Supervisor and Associate Professor