Management laboratory

Taylor et al. [20] have paid considerable attention to the changing role of management, particularly with regard to the introduction of robotic systems. Management has the responsibihty to define the best areas for automation in terms of cost-effectiveness and probabihty of success. Without adequate resources, a project will fail. Laboratory managers must act as the interface between senior management and analysts to ensure that the appropriate incentives, resources and education are made available. 

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Fig. 1. Volume change in anisotiopic giaphite during General Electric Test Reactor (GETR) irradiations. Courtesy of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC05-840R21400.

M. Logdlund Laboratory Manager IMC+lOF Bredgalan 34 S-602 21 Norrkoping Sweden... 

Foreword in Laboratory Management and Techniques, by J. R. Edwards, Butterworths London (1960). 

Knowing about this case, another laboratory planner insisted on a special circuit to be used only for instruments drawing low and even power. Still another laboratory managed to justify a very elaborate voltage stabilizing device to feed instruments, which they felt had paid off. 

By reviewing the main record book (referred to in one laboratory as the Good Book ) at least once a day, a laboratory manager can keep track of how work progresses. 

Monitoring program managers o Laboratory managers o Individual scientists... 

In Fig. 42.9 we show the simulation results obtained by Janse [8] for a municipal laboratory for the quality assurance of drinking water. Simulated delays are in good agreement with the real delays in the laboratory. Unfortunately, the development of this simulation model took several man years which is prohibitive for a widespread application. Therefore one needs a simulator (or empty shell) with predefined objects and rules by which a laboratory manager would be capable to develop a specific model of his laboratory. Ideally such a simulator should be linked to or be integrated with the laboratory information management system in order to extract directly the attribute values. 

A condition for discrete event simulation to become a relevant tool for the laboratory manager is the availability of an easy to use simulator with a user friendly user interface. 

J. Klaessens, T. Saris, B. Vandeginste and G. Kateman, Expert system for knowledge-based modelling of analytical laboratories as a tool for laboratory management. J. Chemometrics, 2 (1988)49-65. 

Laboratory Accreditation and Quality Systems" Together these make laboratory managers look for added security in assuring data quality and thus invoke a desire in them to fall back on the best available standard. The result is that a CRM is often used instead of a working standard. This is a tendency that is supported and encouraged by some RM providers but discouraged by others. 

The data in each table and figure of reports submitted to sponsors should be verified by QA personnel. Team leaders, laboratory managers, field managers and the Study Director should meet routinely to discuss the meaning of the data as the study develops. This allows early discussions regarding data interpretation and allows several viewpoints to be explored, which ultimately strengthen the final report for the study. 

Still, some members of the lay public are clearly skeptical of science and scientists, as indicated by the view of the profession presented on the cover of a national magazine in Figure 6.110 Although we may be assured that scientists as a group are no more deficient in morals than, say, cartoonists, it is important to understand the basis of public perceptions and to examine the practical implications for laboratory management. Industrial products are very widely distributed and many are used intimately. There are real consequences that can arise from a serious error in manufacture or design, as illustrated by the case of L-tryptophan. 

Laboratory Manager, Encapsulation Technology Center 3M Company, St. Paul, Minnesota... 

Wieck et al.188 reported on what they called "a simple approach to micro-computer-controlled electrochemistry , which in fact represents a considerable amount of laboratory automation. In this direction, the "enhancement of the performance of analytical laboratories, a theoretical approach to analytical planning by Janse and Kateman189 represented a further step in laboratory management. 

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