Streamlining the Auditing Process
I innovated the auditing process decreasing the completion time by 53%
Employer: E Line Orthodontics
When: Summer 2020
* Some information changed to comply with HIPAA
As the project designer, I was challenged to access the current monthly auditing process which allows one to see valuable information at a quick glance to discover how to improve efficiency.
DECREASE PROCESS TIME
During business hours, the time allotted for the audits was over 8 hrs. Actual time spent on the audits was 3 hrs.
IDENTIFY COMPLICATIONS
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What if audits were completed outside of business hours?
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What if the process did not require so much manual entry?
REPLICATE PROCESS
Even if the time of completion is decreased, if the process cannot be repeated after I leave, the project will be pointless.
The Process
Julie is an E Line employee who is responsible for completing the company's audits each month. Here's her journey:
Every month, Julie compiles patient information into a spreadsheet so the doctor can keep track of each patient.
x 200
x 200
Julie would gather a patient’s files, type their name into a spreadsheet, match their info to the dental software, and repeat.
The digitized list of patients reduced hassle, and the new spreadsheet featured auto population based off old data decreasing the the entire process by 50%.
How was the process reduced?
In order to decrease process time, I conducted a series of experiments changing one aspect of the process each time. By implementing the various factors, I identified what about the process caused time to increase and decrease. The experiments were reduced from 171 to 73 folders per experiment for ease:
As is Process
1 Hr. 15 min.
The Untouched Process
Experiment 1
51 min.
Digitized the Process
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Digitized list of active patients removing the hassle of getting up to physically retrieve folders
Experiment 2
39 min.
Created Functional Spreadsheet
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Updated spreadsheet with preloaded functions and options for ease of use
The experiments resulted in a 53% time decrease
Process Implementation
Once the discovery of how to limit project time was discovered, I sought to learn how to easily repeat the process.
I created a User Manual to ensure every employee could easily recreate experiment 2 to save time when completing the audits
1 Hour & 27 Minutes Saved!
The addition of the user manual afforded employees the opportunity to become comfortable with the process faster than learning on their own or by word of mouth. This opens up another opportunity to save even more money and time.
TIME DECREASED BY 53%
Changing one part of the auditing process at a time helped identify pain points that increased completion time.
SIMLIFIED SOFTWARE
The various softwares/ websites utilized throughout the process was identified as a complication that could be simplified
STREAMLINE PROCESS
Identified pain points and complications allowed for a streamlined process to be created and stored in a user manual to be repeated by multiple employees.
START: 2 hrs. 56 min.
END: 1 hrs. 29 min.