Table 8.
Operational efficiency calculations
| Function | Weekly quantity | Throughput (in minutes) | Weekly labor | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14-d baseline | DVC | 14-d baseline (in hours) | DVC (in hours) | ||
| Clean supplies to room | 21 carts | 11 carts | 0.1/cart | 0.03 | 0.01 |
| Cage change | 1,750 cages | 770 cages | 1.5/cage | 43.75 | 19.25 |
| Soiled cages to hallway | 21 carts | 11 carts | 0.1 | 0.03 | 0.013 |
| Moved soiled cages to cage wash | 21 carts | 11 carts | 2.3/cart | 0.80 | 0.4 |
| Prep cages for presentation rack | 21 carts | 11 carts | 8.1/cart | 2.84 | 1.5 |
| Load rack into rack washer | 21 carts | 11 carts | 1.3/cart | 0.46 | 0.2 |
| Unload rack washer | 21 carts | 11 carts | 1.3/cart | 0.46 | 0.2 |
| Remove cages from presentation rack | 21 carts | 11 carts | 2.5/cart | 0.88 | 0.5 |
| Bedding filling | 1,750 cages | 770 cages | 0.2/cage | 5.83 | 2.56 |
| Enrichment fill | 1,750 cages | 770 cages | 0.2/cage | 5.83 | 2.56 |
| Move cages into vivarium | 21 carts | 11 carts | 1.7/cart | 0.60 | 0.3 |
| Total time taken (h) | 61.51 | 27.49 | |||
A time in motion study was conducted to calculate the accurate operational savings using the digital caging system.