Miscellaneous considerations on workstations and robotic stations

Two essential facts to be considered when purchasing a robotic station are that no single firm builds everything one is bound to need to construct a robotic system tailored to their needs and that not all commercially available equipment operates by the same set of instructions or plays by the same set of rules. Compatibility between modules from different sources should thus be carefully checked prior to purchasing. 

Reliability, which is one other key feature, depends on the particular components of the robotic system and its design. Because systems are linked to operate serially, even small losses of reliability at each device can be magnified at the end. 

Because workstations can be designed and dedicated to a single, specific task, they are normally simpler mechanically and usually more reliable than are robotic stations. In addition, they can provide a data trail for regulatory compliance and are typically designed to be operated by non-experts. Commercial workstations vary in their level of sophistication, which allows the automation of even the most simple procedures. Economically, automation can benefit anybody running more than 150 samples a day and can justify purchasing a moderately priced workstation. More sophisticated workstations, however, are only profitable with a heavier workload. As a rule, a workstation will replace a 40 000-a-year technician and have a one- to two-year payback period. 

Choosing between a robot plus peripherals and a workstation is a difficult task. From the beginning, automation held the promise of freeing analysts from cumbersome, time-consuming, repetitive tasks. This is especially true with the quality control (QC) laboratory, which must routinely test products such as pharmaceuticals or foods prior to release, often with a well-defined analytical procedure dictated by regulatory requirements. In these laboratories, workstations are typically the best solution as they are often more hardwired and are better in QC laboratories, where the analytical steps are well-understood and this equipment does save laboratories time and money. The best solution for implementing the complex treatments required by some solid samples is the sequential use of two workstations when this is impossible, a robotic station is the next-best choice in most instances. 

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