title: Automation: triumph or trap?
abstract: Automation, a hot topic in the laboratory world today, can be a very expensive option. Those who are considering implementing automation can save time and money by examining the issues from the standpoint of an industrial/manufacturing engineer. The engineer not only asks what problems will be solved by automation, but what problems will be created. This article discusses questions that must be asked and answered to ensure that automation efforts will yield real and substantial payoffs.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Smythe
mesh_terms: D002201:Capital Expenditures; D002984:Clinical Laboratory Information Systems; D017046:Cost Savings; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D008389:Marketing of Health Services; D017056:Medical Laboratory Personnel; D012371:Robotics; D013996:Time and Motion Studies; D014481:United States