Effort in manual operation of reproductive health cryostorage facilities.

Research Question: What areas of manual IVF cryostorage operations are common to the safe operation of IVF cryostorage facilities and require effort from embryologists?

Design: Observational time and motion data were collected by two observers equipped with the digital cameras over 2 weeks at four well-characterized US IVF centres (sites α, β, γ and δ) from 12 participants performing cryostorage tasks. To understand the work processes of the different sites and assist in the data analysis, informal interviews were conducted with the study participants and laboratory directors. Data were analysed to identify work processes that might be eliminated or diminished by automation and software improvements.