Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are metrics you can use to determine how effective your lab processes are. They can help you evaluate workcell throughputs, compare errors made by automation versus manual methods, and review the accuracy and reliability of your data acquisition processes.
If you’re unsure if tracking lab KPIs would improve your day-to-day, tracking them can:
- Optimize processes: KPIs can quickly identify bottlenecks, which can then provide you with insight into streamlining your lab’s workflows.
- Measure ROI (return on investment): KPIs can help calculate lab automation’s financial benefits, check whether they contribute to operational efficiency, and review whether your automated solutions have increased your lab’s throughput.
- Justify investments: Having precise data that illustrates your operation’s performance shows stakeholders the benefits of lab automation. You can also use KPIs to project future earnings and plan for subsequent investments.
Before measuring KPIs, you’ll need to define if your metrics are quantitative or qualitative.
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- Quantitative KPIs measure tangible metrics such as cost reduction, time savings, and output volume.
- Qualitative KPIs focus on factors like data acquisition accuracy, repeatability in acquisition methods, and efficiency or turnaround time (TAT).
Why KPIs matter for lab automation
Implementing automated lab solutions without setting clear lab KPIs is like using an oven that’s always set to bake at the same temperature. Whatever you put in the oven will probably cook, but without adjusting the temperature to the recipe, you risk burning the dish.
The same thinking applies to automation — not measuring how your automated solutions are performing prevents you from making the necessary adjustments, much like how a meat thermometer shows you if you need to raise or lower an oven’s temperature.
Clear laboratory KPIs provide a structured, data-driven method for evaluating the performance of your automated solutions. With clear KPIs, it’s easier to assess whether your automation investments deliver their intended benefits.
Proving ROI for automation investments
Automated solutions can leave some stakeholders with lingering sticker shock if you need to prove how they’re used to streamline your lab’s D-M-T-A cycle. KPIs can help you track your lab’s efficiency, output value, and cost per test.
Driving continuous improvement
KPIs provide measurable targets to highlight if equipment, software, or a process is performing outside your parameters. Benchmarking your lab’s improvement can also give insight into how your operational solutions evolve. Reviewing your lab’s overall performance can allow you to identify emerging trends and address any issues before they affect other workflows.
Top KPIs to measure lab automation success
Asking your colleagues for their unique insights into daily operations will lead to comprehensive laboratory KPIs. Since they interact directly with workcells and day-to-day processes, they can identify the pain points they want to eliminate from their tasks.
Asking for feedback also enforces that tracking laboratory KPIs is a team effort. This will then give your operation a thorough approach to measuring your lab’s key performance indicators.
Some relevant KPIs you can track are:
Operational efficiency KPIs
- Sample throughput rate: The number of samples processed in a given amount of time. A higher sample throughput rate indicates increased efficiency.
- Downtime reduction: Automation solutions can perform tasks for researchers outside of working hours. These automated tasks help researchers rest and recharge, but they also directly contribute to your lab’s operational efficiency.
- Error rate: Understanding how many errors an automated solution makes compared to its control can immediately identify its efficiency. If you’re unsure how to track this metric, Green Button Go (GBG) Orchestrator can monitor all processes in the lab and highlight potential bottlenecks, enhancing overall lab performance.
- Turnaround time (TAT): A roadblock to faster TATs is following compliance standards when handling biohazardous materials safely. Automated solutions can greatly reduce the risk of exposing your team to dangerous pathogens while standardizing processes that can increase lab efficiency during the pre-analytical phase.
Financial ROI KPIs
- Cost per sample: The total cost associated with processing a single sample. Your lab’s automation solutions should reduce the materials used, cutting down on their associated costs.
- Resource utilization: Using legacy equipment and software outside of their warranties can invite unexpected costs. You will need to budget for technical support just to maintain this equipment since manufacturers will no longer offer complementary or low-cost servicing for unsupported systems.
- Return on Investment (ROI): This valuable metric calculates the returns from an automated solution relative to its initial price and ongoing maintenance costs. The higher the ROI, the more successful the automation investment.
Quality and compliance KPIs
Even the most fine-tuned manual workflows are prone to errors, as it’s estimated that 60-70% of errors that occur in the pre-analytical phase are due to manual errors.
Safeguarding against oversights can prevent your lab from accruing regulatory fines, boost your staff’s confidence, and protect your labor lab’s reputation. Automation hardware and software can provide your lab with plug-and-play, auditable solutions that align with your workflows and regulatory standards.
- Data accuracy: This measures improvements in data consistency, accuracy, and reliability due to automation. Having a bird’s eye view of all data and lab processes can help you establish internal protocols that exceed internal and external standards.
- Compliance metrics: Compliance KPIs help track if your procedures, records, and operations are aligned with regulatory standards. Automated solutions streamline compliance protocols by funneling data from the LIMS software into your regulatory reporting, audit trails, and document management.
Sustainability KPIs
Laboratory sustainability is no longer a buzzword but rather another valuable parameter that can help your lab use fewer resources, reimagine new uses for current materials, and find new approaches to reducing power consumption.
An upside to improving sustainability KPIs is they typically reduce overhead costs long-term, contributing to better financial KPIs. Automated solutions can also help integrate your underused modalities into your current workflows, extending their lifespan. To help you narrow down the approach to measuring these laboratory KPIs, we’ve split them into two sections.
Waste reduction – How automation can reduce material and chemical waste by:
- Minimizing overproduction.
- Ensuring the precise use of lab chemicals.
- Automating recycling processes and tracking the recycling rate.
- Identifying areas to reduce waste and save on costs.
Energy efficiency – Some key ways automation can improve energy efficiency are by:
- Optimizing energy use in lab processes.
- Lowering your lab’s carbon footprint.
- Collecting data on energy use per unit of output.
- Tracking and accounting for energy spikes.
How to implement and track KPIs for lab automation
Personalizing your lab’s KPIs with your short and long term goals can guide your operation in meeting its current objectives and provide a roadmap to broaden future capabilities. Defining KPIs can also identify areas for improvement and allow you to optimize resources to help further streamline your lab.
Automation software solutions like Green Button Go Scheduler offer your lab valuable metrics by tracking all auxiliary data that is already a byproduct of your workflows. You can use GBG for real-time performance metrics or measure these metrics on a timetable, providing insight into any unwanted bottlenecks.
Regularly assessing lab KPIs can also allow you to make data-driven adjustments, ensuring that your goals remain aligned with evolving needs and industry standards. Benchmarking against industry best practices and competitors can also help you establish performance targets and keep your lab competitive.
The benefits of tracking KPIs for lab automation
Tracking and reviewing your laboratory’s KPIs can empower you to make more informed decisions. Having a catalog of accurate, reliable data can help predict any issues that may arise. It can also transform satisfactory workflows into optimal ones, reducing budget costs and alleviating stresses on current resources.
KPIs also offer your stakeholders evidence of why your lab may need critical investments in the future. Lab automation software solutions like Green Button Go (GBG) Scheduler can give your lab an overview of your current operation’s data while funneling it into one source.
While tracking your lab’s KPIs cannot predict the future, they can provide a roadmap for operating optimally in the present.
Meet with our expert team to see how you can transform your lab.
