CataloniaBio & HealthTech, together with Kymos and LeanBox, organised a workshop on November 28th to share knowledge on learn how Lean methodology can be applied to laboratories in the health sector. The session consisted of a round tableand a more practical part and was held at the Kymos Group headquarters in the Cerdanyola del Vallès Technology Park, with all the places available; 40 people from 22 companies and institutions took part.

Usually associated with the management or production environment, the Lean system is also generating a lot of interest in the possibility of applying it in diagnostic and analysis laboratories. The Lean methodology analyses the way we work, plan and organise ourselves, with the aim of eliminating the waste of resources in order to be more reliable, efficient and faster. In short, to contribute to the competitiveness of the sector. The aim of this conference was to share LeanLab experiences and analyse how the Lean system can optimise common tasks in a laboratory environment in the health sector. Therefore, they talked about the management of the laboratory quality control, the reduction of the time taken to deliver results, the maximum use of the available space for highly technical and expensive equipment, the management of stock, the culture oriented to continuous improvement, or the maintenance, motivation,and loyalty of the responsible staff.

In the first part of the session, a round table moderated by Francisco Gil Vilda(CEO of LeanBox), served to share specific cases, experiences, lessons learned, successes and failures. The conversation was structured around experiences in applying the Lean system to the laboratory environment with Marta Maseda (Operational Excellence Manager, Esteve), Ignacio Micolau (Lean Manager, Qiagen), Laura Puigví (Head of Preanalytical Service, Clilab Diagnòstics), Miquel Menta (Operational Excellence Manager, Kymos).

The daywas completed with a group visit to the Kymos facilities, with the teamworking there, to see in situ the implementation of this system in twodifferent contexts and work spaces: in a laboratory and in the sample warehouse).

Daniel Martorell, Director of Business Development at CataloniaBio & HealthTech, commented that "we are very satisfied with the outcome of the conference and the great response we received, both from partners and the ecosystem. It is key that we are able to generate proposals that help to improve the competitiveness of the associated companies and entities. In this case with a conference of interest that reflects the transversality of the health sector, from the perspective of the pharmaceutical sector, medtech, health providers (hospitals) and analytical services".

Of the 56% of CataloniaBio & HealthTech companies that develop products, 52% do so from the laboratory (8% work in digital health). Also, of the 34% that offer services, 18% offer scientific services, mostly also from the laboratory; and among the 10% of knowledge-generating entities, there are also health research centres.