Historically, the staff working in cage wash at the University of Hustonwashed rodent cage components and stored the components on the clean side of cage wash.The rodent husbandry staff assembled the cage components before they were transported to the animal rooms on bulk carts and returned to the cage wash area to be washed. The process was performed repeatedly thorough the day. As the rodent population grew, the number of cages to be processed increased. This in turn increased the number of trips to and from cage wash and number of times a day that a bulk cart needed to be washed. The University of Houston Animal Facility has implemented the use of lean and Six Sigma tools to allow a more efficient cage handling process to be developed in their facility.
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