Chapter 26, Problem 2ADM

Turn around time in an operating room of a hospital

Turn around time (TAT) is a measure of the length of time from the end of one surgery in an operating room to the beginning of the next surgery. Improving TAT improves the operating room efficiency by allowing more surgeries to be performed per day. TAT involves:

■ sterilizing the operating room.

■ setting up equipment and supplies for the next patient.

■ preparing the next patient for surgery.

The average times associated with TAT activities were determined as follows:

Sterilization	IS min.
Equipment and supply setup	10
Patient preparation	15
Total TAT	40 min.

Each activity is performed in the operating room sequentially so that the total TAT averages 40 minutes. A process improvement team determined that the TAT could be improved by moving some of this activity outside of the operating room, thus allowing these activities to be done simultaneously. Sterilization must be done in the operating room, so this activity was not changed. However, equipment and supplies were prepared in a room outside of the operating room while sterilization was proceeding. The equipment and supplies were placed on a rolling cart, and then rolled into the operating room and staged for the next surgery. In addition, the improvement team determined the patient could be prepared outside of the operating room by using a small room for patient preparation. When the operating room was ready, the patient could be rolled in on a rolling bed and staged for the procedure. As a result of these changes, the total equipment and supply setup only consumed 2 minutes in the operating room, while the total patient preparation only consumed 3 minutes in the operating room.

A. Determine the revised TAT of the new process.

B. What is the ratio of TAT improvement between the old and new processes?

C. If the average surgical lime took 40 minutes, how many additional surgeries could be performed in an eight-hour day as a result of the new process?