Improving the Effectiveness of Forensic DNA Testing Services through the Application of Lean Principles¹

1. Paper contents previously presented at the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors Annual Symposium, April 26–28, 2016 in Bellevue, Washington.

ABSTRACT

Lean is a management system of continuous improvement that eliminates waste and utilizes the scientific method to solve problems encountered in any business. The Washington State Patrol Marysville Crime Laboratory's DNA unit faced persistent backlogs of requests and the average turnaround times exceeded three months, a common situation in crime laboratories. In an attempt to improve the effectiveness of DNA testing, the laboratory conducted a lean project in 2015. This article describes the integration of lean into the DNA unit's management and testing processes, which ultimately resulted in increased productivity and reduced turnaround times for DNA results while maintaining a high level of quality.

KEYWORDS:

• Process improvement
• lean
• forensic labs
• management
• DNA

Acknowledgments

I gratefully acknowledge the teamwork and participation of the Washington State Patrol Marysville Crime Laboratory DNA Section, to include DNA Supervisor Lisa Collins, and DNA Scientists Mariah Low, Greg Frank, Carol Vo, Elizabeth Uhrich, and Katherine Woodard. Additionally, I'd like to thank Washington State University's Professional Science Master's Program in Molecular Biosciences, as well as the lean mentorship received from consultant Darrell Damron, formerly with Results Washington.

Funding

The research for this article was financially supported by the Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory Division.

Note

Notes

1. Paper contents previously presented at the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors Annual Symposium, April 26–28, 2016 in Bellevue, Washington.