Late results discovered by the client
A client phones: their results were due yesterday. The customer services team looks the samples up in the LIMS and finds one test still waiting in a queue in the chemistry section. Nobody in that section knew it was urgent, because the standard, express and contract turnaround options all look the same on the worklist.
Every lab has a version of this. Turnaround is promised at the order stage, but the people doing the work see a list of samples, not a list of deadlines.
Why late work is invisible until it is late
- Due times are not stored per sample, or are stored but not shown on worklists.
- A sample with several tests is only as quick as its slowest test, often in another section.
- Subcontracted tests have their own timelines outside your LIMS.
- Worklists are sorted by arrival, not by due time.
- Management reports on turnaround are produced after the fact, monthly.
Turnaround performance is usually measured, but measured backwards: what percentage was on time last month. What section leaders need is the forward view: what will be late this afternoon unless someone moves it.
What late samples cost
Clients who rely on quick results, whether for production release, clinical decisions by their own clinicians, or environmental compliance deadlines, lose confidence and may move work elsewhere. Express surcharges may need refunding under your terms. Staff spend time firefighting and answering chasing calls, and overtime goes up at the end of the week as everyone tries to catch up.
| Question | Without tracking | With turnaround tracking |
|---|---|---|
| When is this sample due? | Look up the order | Shown on every worklist |
| What is at risk today? | Nobody knows | At-risk list for each section |
| Which test is holding a sample up? | Check each section | Shown on the sample's timeline |
| How did we do last week? | Monthly report | Live view with drill-down |
How we build turnaround tracking
- We record your service levels: standard, priority and contract turnaround per test or suite, and whether they count working hours, calendar days or receipt cut-off times.
- For every sample and test, a due time is calculated at registration from those rules, and stored.
- Status data is read from your LIMS, through its database, API or regular export, so each test's stage is known: received, in preparation, in analysis, awaiting review, authorised.
- Where a test normally takes a known time in each stage, the tracker estimates whether it will make its due time and flags those at risk.
- Each section gets a screen, or a sorted worklist, showing its tests in due-time order with at-risk work highlighted.
- Subcontracted tests are tracked against the date the partner lab has committed to.
- Managers see a live view of on-time performance by section, client and test, with the ability to drill into any late sample.
The tracker reads and alerts. It does not change priorities by itself. Section leaders decide how to reorder work, which they can now do with the facts in front of them.
What changes on the lab floor
Section leaders start the day knowing what must be finished and what is at risk. Priority samples are visibly priority. Customer services can tell a client when to expect a result, and why, without walking round the lab. Managers can see where time is actually lost, whether at reception, in a particular section or at authorisation, and plan staffing or equipment on evidence.
Is this your lab?
- You find out about late results when clients phone.
- Worklists do not show due times.
- Priority samples are marked with stickers or handwritten notes.
- Turnaround is only reported monthly.
- It is hard to tell which section is holding up a sample.