Laboratory check-list

A partial check list of operations for an industrial chemical laboratory is shown in Table 1. The format of a formal list will vary considerably from one laboratory to another, but with such an aid, one can easily see which operations are compatible and then group these together. Those that need special treatment will readily stand out. The planner will also be able to estimate the number of rooms required for the total operation. Finally, a complete list of all laboratory functions will facilitate the next step, an estimate of space requirements. 

To ensure that all aspects of the laboratory s activities are covered over a set period of time, a spreadsheet of activities can be prepared. This shows when each area is due for audit. In order to have a consistent approach, a check-list approach may be adopted. An example of a check-list of aspects which should be examined as part of an internal quality audit is shown in Table 9.5. This can be used as the basis for an audit against any of the Standards already mentioned in this chapter. Not all of the parts will be appropriate for all of the Standards. Table 9.7 expands on what is included in Table 9.5 and can be used to remind auditors and laboratory staff of the things that can affect the quality of a result. 

Winery A is very large and has a well staffed and departmented laboratory. It has a separate quality control department, but it is located in the main laboratory and performs its whole function within the confines of the bottling room, warehouse, and laboratory. In this example, the laboratory quality control department has Phase II as its total area of responsibility. A system of mechanical and routine inspections against a check list works perfectly. 

The data of three consecutive injections of the check mixture are processed by AMDIS and evaluated by the operator. The results of testing are recorded in a check list and if they fulfill the acceptance criteria given in Annex 3 each system component is labelled separately OK when in waiting status in the OPCW Laboratory or Accepted for on-site use when tested for exit control (see Figure 3). The waiting status evaluation... 

Liver check list On the basis of their biochemical or biomolecular classification, essential laboratory results are systematically classed in 5 groups in a liver check list. (13) (s. fig. 5.2) (see also fig. 4.21 )... 

It may pay to check errata lists where errors are suspected in connection with some important point. Sometimes a doubtful figure or statement can be dealt with only by a laboratory check. 

Each organization s chemicalhygiene plan should incorporate a laboratory checklist so the laboratory manager and the other employees will have a benchmark as to what standards their facility should meet. The following is an example of a representative BASIC check list. Organizations will likely have specific variations on this checklist which will better meet their needs. Many will probably be more extensive and detailed. 

Various QA management systems and their benefits have been discussed, where adoption of an accreditation system is a viable option for any disease diagnostic laboratory, particularly if it has a high input of samples. This may be considered as a more formal recognition of QA. There are various types or levels of accreditation but in general a third party is employed to verify and check that the laboratory is conforming to the selected standards which are part of the accreditation scheme chosen by the laboratory. A list of the most common accreditation bodies within aquatic animal health is provided in Table 6.2. 

Local ones are listed in the yellow pages of the telephone directory. The laboratory operator should contact more than one for suggestions and estimates. In such discussions, a disposal service vdll ask detailed questions as to the exact nature of the waste and quantities involved. An agreement will be made about the types of shipping containers to be used. These are non-returnable. The disposal service may sell suitable containers and require these for certain types of waste. In other cases, the laboratory may provide its own. If drums are needed, they are available from companies engaged in drum reconditioning. Manufacturers of chemicals may have used drums available at reasonable prices, but since these wdll contain residues of their former contents, a check for compatibility must be made before using them. 

Between outside maintenance visits, the laboratory should carry out simple routine maintenance. As a matter of course, the instalments should be kept clean, in particular, spilt chemicals should be cleaned up as soon as possible. Other simple checks that can be carried out within the laboratory will usually be listed in the manufacturer s manual. 

In addition, a system for making sure staff are appropriately qualified and trained for the work that they are doing must be in place. This will enable an auditor to see clearly the demonstrated competence of the staff and how this has been checked. The requirements for all major items of equipment must be listed, to ensure that the equipment in use is suitable for the task, is in working condition and, where necessary, is calibrated. For all of the instrumentation there needs to be a documented schedule for maintenance. Measurements must be traceable, that is, the laboratory must be able to show how the calibration of measurement instruments is traceable to National or International Standards. Where this presents practical problems, as in some chemical measurements for example, interlaboratory comparison and the use of reference materials (and preferably Certified Reference Materials) will be required. 

The choice of the reference reservoir for calculating 5 or e values is quite variable among different laboratories. Table 1 lists all the laboratories that have published Fe isotope data in an abstract or peer-reviewed journal as of September 2003, and include the form in which the data are reported (e.g., 5 Fe or 5 Fe), as well as the reservoir or standard used to define 5 or s values. A common procedure of all labs currently conducting Fe isotope studies is to measure at least three Fe isotopes, which is done to provide a check on data quality, primarily evaluation of potential isobaric interferences. The choice of reference reservoir used in this chapter follows the approach of other stable isotope systems such as oxygen, which defines... 

Hj) Height of Burst (Sonic) Test. The purpose of this test is to det the height of burst of a fuze using sonic techniques. This technique requires the measurement of the time of arrival of sound at directional microphones precisely placed in a plane. A brief description of this test is given on p IIIB-20 Ref 39 Addnl info can be obtd from "Instrumentation Section, Technical Services Laboratory, Ammunition Development Division, Ammunition Engineering Directorate, Picatinny Arsenal, Dover, NJ 07801 H2) Hydraulic Ram and Vibrator Test. This test could be used to simulate impact shock on bombs or rockets assembled with fuzes that are launched from aircraft. It also could check the transportability of fuzes that experience this environment. This test is listed, but not described in Ref 39, p IIB-37... 

The list of 4,508 names of chemicals associated with reproductive effects is given in the Appendix I to this chapter. This list could be made more practical in a shorter version, to post in the laboratory, for example. The list of 4,508 names contains many clusters of names of various derivatives of a particular compound. For example, entry 239 in the list is androsta-l,4-diene-3.17-dione, the first of 110 androstane derivatives listed in numerical order. Thus, the list could be shortened by containing only the first of the derivatives under its original entry 239. followed by the next type of compound under its entry (in this case, angiotensin II, 349). The gap between the entries would indicate the number of toxic derivatives of the foregoing entry type. A quick check of the "androsta" entry and the gap between the entries provides a chemist with the valuable information that a large number of androstane derivatives exhibit reproductive effects. 

With the exception of stilbene, all organic compounds listed in Table I (samples 14 to 28) were either obtained commercially or prepared by scientists at the USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory using well-established methods. Purchased chemicals were from both Aldrich Chemical Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Fluka Chemical Corporation, Ronkonkoma, New York. The Raman data for stilbene were taken from the literature [17]. Whenever the purity of a compound was in doubt, it was checked by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The Raman spectra reported here are from compounds that were more than 99% pure. 

We used the measurements of the amount of water absorbed in the laboratory experiments to give an independent check of the -values obtained in the neutron experiments we did this by assuming that the swelling is perfectly homogeneous. In these circumstances, for each volume of water that a unit volume of clay absorbs, the interlayer spacing must have increased by 19.4 A. The conditions used are listed in Table 5.3 and the results are given in Table 5.4. There is a systematic variation... 

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