Instrumentation saving

Without disclosing security information we can state that at present we are making 10,000 heavy metal ion determinations annually by means of the x-ray photometer and that we expect this number to increase as we find new applications among essential materials, process reagents, and others. We estimate that use of the instrument saves approximately 3000 man-hours annually. This figure is estimated on the basis that analysis of a single solution by x-ray requires 20 minutes, whereas other methods require twice this time. 

ECONOMICS. Usually, the prime economic reason for buying an electronic integration system for a chromatography laboratory is to reduce operating costs. These reductions may be realized by both manpower or instrument savings immediately or over a long term. 

In addition to the economic factors associated with manpower and instrument savings, there are additional benefits of electronic integration. In some cases it is possible to make an economic evaluation of these as well. The added benefits include ... 

ISCO instruments save you time, Simplify your work, and often give you resutts you can t get in any other way. 

Dan Gutleben, Instrument savings Peek into my diary, Instruments, 13 (1940), 6. 

Figure 12 Two typical pressure traces from a polyethylene flow curve at 190°C, one with an increasing shear rate profile and one with decreasing rates. Each time the pressure levels off, the instrument saves the point and changes the piston speed to move to the next shear rate. The resulting flow curve is similar to Fig. 14.

Texas Instruments saves 8 million each year by reducing its transit packaging budget for its semiconductor business through source reduction, recychng and use of reusable packaging systems... 

We are confident that any user of this combined evaluation technique, as well as the development of future test standards for manual ultrasonic testing will benefit from this result, because it allows a greater flexibility in the applicable method without loosing reliability. Often an expensive production of a reference block can be avoided and therefore testing costs are reduced. Since all calculations are performed by a PC, the operator can fully concentrate on his most important duty scanning the workpiece and observing the A-scan. Additional time will be saved for the test documentation, since all testing results are stored in the instrument s memory (the PC s hard drive) with full link to the Software World (Microsoft Word, Excel, etc.). 

Edcfy-cufrent NDT inspections using spatial data (sampled scans) ha >e many benefits. They separate the two conflicting aspects of an inspection scanning and signal interpretation. An instrument/display (client/server) based NDT inspection based on sampled scan data aides in the training and certification of inspectors. It can be used over the Internet or in-house Intranet networks to train or examine inspectors at multiple or remote sites. This saves travel time and resources as defects, instrumentation and teaching can all be consolidated Samples can be maintained and distributed from a central certification body providing more control andflexibility. 

Experience with inherent safety reviews indicates that project investment costs are frequently reduced as a result of this exercise. Eliminating equipment and reducing the need for safety critical instrumentation are typically the main contributors to investment reduction. Capturing these potential savings depends greatly on the timing of the reviews. 

The planning of measurements is the first consideration to obtain information by the measurement approach. Why is it essential to make plans before any action is taken. Could one not just take the instruments and carry out the monitoring. In very simple situations this approach might provide a satisfactory result, but it could result in failure as well. In complicated situations failure, in terms of missing information, would be likely. Hence in order to obtain a sufficient quantity of high-quality information and to avoid the need to repeat any measurement or monitoring, and thus to save time and effort, the planning of measurements is essential. 

Since the first separation of enantiomers by SMB chromatography, described in 1992 [95], the technique has been shown to be a perfect alternative for preparative chiral resolutions [10, 21, 96, 97]. Although the initial investment in the instrumentation is quite high - and often prohibitive for small companies - the savings in solvent consumption and human power, as well as the increase in productivity, result in reduced production costs [21, 94, 98]. Therefore, the technique would be specially suitable when large-scale productions (>100 g) of pure enantiomers are needed. Despite the fact that SMB can produce enantiomers at very high enantiomeric excesses, it is sometimes convenient to couple it with another separation... 

There is more to a laboratory than work benches and the instruments mounted on them. Free-standing equipment must also be considered. This includes refrigerators, safety storage cabinets for chemicals, safety shower, desk space, typewriter stand or computer terminal, or any other equipment that is not bench-mounted. File cabinets, which are real space-robbers, must not be forgotten. In one laboratory, much space was saved by placing two-drawer file cabinets beneath the large table used for sorting samples. 

In another facility, bench tops in the main room were covered with epoxy-treated monolithic material to resist the hard wear anticipated. The side room, where instrument work was to be carried out, was equipped with tops of plastic laminate. This resulted in substantial savings. Somehow it was difficult to convince the engineering firm in charge of building the laboratory that monolithic material, which they had recommended throughout, was not necessary everywhere. 

Mail order companies often offer excellent service. Their catalogs sometimes list specialty items not sold elsewhere, such as unique pH electrodes or plastic products. Both laboratory supply houses and mail order companies may sell popular types of instruments under their own private labels at substantial savings. 

Laboratory equipment has to be maintained on a regular basis. A record should be kept of the date and the type of maintenance performed. This should be placed in the file for the instrument involved. If the maintenance is done on an in-house basis, the report should be initialed by the person who performs it. If done by a factory representative, there will be a receipt which should be filed. More than once, good maintenance records have saved an analytical laboratory from litigation when a client claimed that its results were incorrect. 

Semiautomatic devices suited for preparative purposes are the CAMAG Linomat 5, the Desaga HPTLC applicator AS 30, and the Alltech TLC sample streaker. For all devices, the syringe has to be filled manually with sample solution and rinsed after sample application. Except for the Alltech TLC sample streaker, each of these instruments can be employed either as software-controlled or as a stand-alone device. The former is more convenient for creation, editing, and saving of the application pattern and instrument parameters. 

ToF-MS does not scan, the ions are pulsed into the analyser and the electronics accumulate 40 000 spectra per second, which are averaged and saved up to 500 times per second. GC-oaToFMS instruments are... 

To reduce the time needed for fluid evaluation, a new testing method and an associated Instrument have been developed. This method saves time by utilizing an automated, continuous, variable temperature, single-pass, pipe rheometer capable of adding additives In-line. This eliminates both the need for the large number of Individually prepared samples and a large part of the time spent using the conventional cylindrical rheometer. 

Once the experiment setup information has been successfully entered, 1t 1s stored in an ASCII file. This experiment setup file can then be placed In the queue of experiments to be run on this Instrument or 1t can be saved for later use with the manual data collection program. Any of the information entered in the experiment setup phase can be changed with the experiment setup editor. The editor Is accessed through the main menu program and works the same as the initial experiment setup program. 

Before any slit operation check, write down, or save the old motor positions Operation of slits can be useful to change the beam intensity (instead of operating absorbers). Imperfect thermal stabilization of mirrors and monochromators can be compensated by proper slit operation. Before such operation is undertaken, it should be made sure that the instrument is close to thermal equilibrium. In particular after opening the main beam shutter for the first time, it may be indicated to wait for several hours. Otherwise the operator will have to follow the thermal expansion continuously. This bears the risk to destroy the adjustment or even the detector. 

Depending on the type of instrument, the reference measurement (top diagram) might be made simultaneously with the sample measurement (bottom diagram) or a reference measurement might be saved on computer to generate the full spectrum. 

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