Dental lab KPIs worth tracking every week
Seven numbers show a dental lab owner how the week went, from on-time delivery to remake rate. Here is how to count each one and what to do with them.
By the Tusko team
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Seven numbers tell a lab owner how the week went. Cases in, cases out on time, remakes, cases on hold, incomplete prescriptions, turnaround and volume by practice.
Each takes a minute to count once the habit is set. Together they show where the week’s time went, and what to fix next.
This guide defines each number, shows how to count it without special software, and lays out a short weekly review.
Seven numbers on one page, every week
A checklist of the seven numbers a lab counts each week, with what each one tells you: cases received, on-time delivery, remake rate, cases on hold, incomplete Rx rate, turnaround and volume by practice.
- Cases receivedDemand, and what the bench is about to feel
- On-time deliveryWhether your dates can be trusted
- Remake rateQuality, and the clarity of what you were asked for
- Cases on holdHow much work is stuck on communication
- Incomplete Rx rateHow well intake and your Rx form are working
- TurnaroundWhether your published schedule is true
- Volume by practiceWho is growing, and who has gone quiet
Why count every week
A month is too long. By the time a monthly report shows a problem, thirty days of cases have been through it.
A day is too short. One rush or one sick technician swings every number.
A week smooths out the noise and still leaves time to act. Pick a day, and count the same way every time.
Put the seven numbers on one page, with last week’s beside them.
The seven numbers
| KPI | How to count it |
|---|---|
| Cases received | Every new case that arrived this week |
| On-time delivery | Cases shipped on or before the promised date, divided by all cases shipped |
| Remake rate | Remakes started, divided by cases shipped |
| Cases on hold | Cases stopped and waiting on an answer, counted on the same day each week |
| Incomplete Rx rate | New cases that needed a question before work could start, divided by cases received |
| Turnaround | Working days from receipt to shipping, for each main product |
| Volume by practice | Cases received from each practice, against that practice’s usual week |
Two of these look outward. On-time delivery and volume by practice are what your practices feel.
The other five explain them. When on-time delivery drops, look for the cause in holds, incomplete prescriptions or turnaround.
Count them without special software
A lab on paper can count all seven with a log and ten minutes.
- Keep one intake log. Each case gets a line: date received, practice, product, promised date.
- Add three columns. Question needed at intake, date shipped, remake of an earlier case.
- Mark holds as they happen. The date a case stopped, and the date it restarted.
- Total it on the same day each week. Friday afternoon or Monday morning, and never both.
Every number in the table comes out of that one log. Nothing has to be measured at the bench.
Keep the log simple enough that the busiest person at intake will still fill it in.
If you already use lab software, most of these are a report away. Check how it defines each one, because definitions differ.
What each number is really telling you
On-time delivery
Count against the date you promised the practice, and never against a date you moved later.
If it is low, look at when cases became late.
A case that was late on the day it arrived was booked too tight. A case that became late on day four was stopped by something.
Remake rate
Spear Education puts the US average at 4%, with a range from 1% to 6% or 7%.
Dentists report a spread too. In one study of 1,777 US dentists, 59% said they remake fewer than 2% of crowns, and 17% said 4% or more.
Your remake rate means more when it is split by cause. How to write a dental lab remake policy has a short list of causes to log.
Cases on hold
Count the cases and the days. Ten cases on hold for a day each is a normal week. Two cases on hold for ten days is a problem with one practice.
Incomplete Rx rate
This is the earliest warning you have. A rising rate this week shows up as late cases later.
Split it by practice. If a few practices account for much of it, those are the conversations to have.
Incomplete prescriptions covers how to bring it down.
Turnaround
Use the middle value for each product, and ignore the fastest and slowest case. One rush should not flatter the number.
Compare it with the turnaround time you publish. If the two differ, change one of them.
Volume by practice
Compare each practice with its own usual week. A drop across two or three weeks is worth a call.
How dental labs keep practices sending cases explains what to ask when you make it.
Read them together
No number means much alone. The combinations are where the story is.
| What you see | What it can mean | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| On-time falling, holds rising | Cases are waiting on answers | Intake, and how questions are asked |
| On-time falling, holds steady | The bench is short of capacity | Scheduling, or the dates you promise |
| Remakes rising, incomplete Rx rising | Work is starting on thin instructions | The Rx form and the intake check |
| Remakes rising for one product | A process or material issue | That bench |
| Cases received up, on-time steady | Healthy growth | Nothing yet. Watch turnaround |
| One practice’s volume down, its holds up | They are finding you hard to work with | Call them |
Treat each reading as a place to look, and confirm it with the cases themselves.
Set your own baseline
Published benchmarks rarely fit. Labs differ in product mix, in how digital they are and in what their practices send.
Count for four weeks before you judge anything. Those four weeks are your baseline.
After that, compare each week with your own average. The direction matters more than the level.
A 20-minute weekly review
Hold it at the same time each week, with whoever runs intake and whoever runs the bench.
- Read the seven numbers aloud. Two minutes.
- Pick the one that moved most. Good or bad.
- Pull three cases behind it. Look at what happened to each.
- Name one cause. Stick to what the cases show.
- Agree on one change for next week. Write down who will make it.
- Check last week’s change. Did the number move.
One change a week is plenty. Fifty small fixes in a year turn a lab around.
Keep a one-page note of each review. After three months it shows which changes worked.
What to leave out
Some numbers do harm when they are tracked.
- Units per technician. It rewards speed, and speed without care becomes remakes.
- Total revenue alone. It can rise while on-time delivery falls, and it will not warn you.
- Anything nobody acts on. A number with no decision attached is clutter.
Keep the list short enough to read from memory.
See the week as it happens
A weekly count looks back. A live board shows the same things while they can still be changed.
On Tusko, the Floor shows each case by stage, practice and due date. You see what ships today and what is at risk before anyone calls.
See how it works for labs, or put your own numbers into the lab calculator.
For the board itself, read running a dental lab production board.
What is a good remake rate for a dental lab?
Spear Education puts the US average at 4%, with a range from 1% to 6% or 7%. Your own trend matters more than the average. A rate that is falling month by month is a good one.
What is a good on-time delivery rate?
There is no published benchmark we would trust. Count your own for four weeks, then aim to beat it. Practices notice the late cases, so every point gained is felt.
How many KPIs should a small lab track?
Start with three. Cases received, on-time delivery and remake rate. Add the others once counting those takes no effort.
Should KPIs be shared with technicians?
Share the lab’s numbers with the whole team, and talk about causes together. Numbers for one person, posted on a wall, push people to rush and to hide problems.
Sources
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