The sanitation of animal cages used in biomedical research is important although labor intensive and inefficient. Jamison V. Kovach, technology project management professor and director of the University of Houston College of Technology Lean Six Sigma professional training program and alumnus Ansupa Dash (’18), have published a paper on the value of using Lean Six Sigma techniques for animal care and use programs. By using Lean Six Sigma methodology, which relies on collaborative efforts to analyze and improve processes, the team was able to reduce the time for mouse cage sanitation by thirty-five minutes, applying countermeasures to reduce potential causes of waste. These countermeasures included implementing new procedures for clarifying schedules and visual controls. As a result, the time saved for sanitation allows technicians to complete other valuable tasks in animal care operations. The paper, “Using the Lean Six Sigma Methodology to Reduce Mouse Cage Sanitation Time for Animal Care and Use Programs,” is published in the Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, Volume 58, Number 5.
Lean Six Sigma Methods Help Reduce Mouse Cage Sanitation Times for Animal Care Operations