The original QR code identified each individual tube. Then I thought: why not let the same reader receive commands for the application?
01 / TWO KINDS OF QR
The same technology, two entirely different jobs.
The QR attached to a specimen answered, “Which tube is this?” The command QR codes we added later answered, “What should the application do?”
A unique identity for each tube, including its container type.
An instruction such as “OK” or “Next” for the application.
We did not plan both types from the beginning. The second use came from watching a worker scan the first.
02 / WATCH THE MOTION
The hand’s natural path was already an interface.
The worker picked up a tube and moved it into a rack positioned in front of the chest. During that movement, the right hand naturally passed close beneath the barcode reader.
If a “Yes / OK” QR label was placed on the back of the right hand, it could be scanned during the existing motion. No separate button press was required; the command could ride on top of the movement already being made.
We printed command labels: “Yes / OK” on the right hand, “Next” on the left. No expensive wearable device—just the existing reader and two labels.
Confirm the current step along the hand’s natural route.
Move to the next order or item.
03 / CHOOSE THE MOTION
Voice or right hand? Let the specimen decide.
Because the worker wore a headset, saying “Yes” required no additional hand movement. But when most specimens were standard tubes, the right hand passed the reader anyway, and scanning the hand was slightly faster.
Microbiology and pathology specimens often came in irregular forms, so hand movement was less predictable. In those cases, answering “Yes” through the headset was more natural.
Use the consistent path of the right hand.
Stay hands-free when shapes and handling vary.
04 / HALF A SECOND
Do not laugh at half a second.
The difference in one action may be a fraction of a second. Repetition changes the scale. Saving 0.5 seconds across 2,000 patient cases saves 1,000 seconds.
0.5 sec × 2,000 patients
16 min 40 secA tiny difference becomes a real improvement through repetitionDo not stop the work. Do not make people think. Do not add unnecessary movement. Speed came not from moving faster, but from removing motion.
05 / THE HERO POSE
And then Ichisaka transformed.
When Ichisaka told me, “This is excellent,” he crossed his right and left hands alternately in front of me. Right: “Yes.” Left: “Next.” It looked exactly like a superhero transformation pose.
The hero’s equipment for protecting accuracy
was two QR labels on the backs of his hands.
It was funny, but demonstrating the convenience through body movement also proved how naturally the interaction had become part of the workplace.
CHAPTER 02 · EPISODE 03 / 09