You can count on it

When team members at Carver Lake Veterinary Center in Woodbury, Minn., needed a calculator, they had to scour every drawer, cabinet, and office. "By the time we got our hands on one, it would've been faster to manually calculate whatever we needed it for in the first place," says Julie Rowan, practice manager.

To keep calculators from disappearing, Rowan chose a few areas where they were often used, such as the pharmacy and presurgical medication prep area. She stuck a piece of Velcro on the back of the adding machine and another piece on the cabinet or wall so they're always at team members' fingertips.

"We save at least five minutes a day not having to search for calculators," Rowan says. "Probably more time because they're conveniently positioned." Rowan says employees don't often remove the calculators, and when they do, they usually return the number crunchers immediately because they love knowing exactly where they are.