ORGANIZATION OF THE LABORATORY

The contents of this chapter are limited to some general observations and conclusions on the organization and operation of an electronics laboratory that serves nuclear intrumentatIon and related equipment. The same recommendation applies as well for all donated Instruments. It should be noted that there are several IAEA publications dealing with the topic (IAEA TECDOC-309, Nuclear Electronics Laboratory Manual, and TECDOC-363, Selected Topics In Nuclear Electronics). 

The optimal set-up of a service laboratory depends, to a large extent, on the social, economic and policy situation in the country. As an example, consider the specific regulations in a country, referring to the financing and control of material support to the laboratories. Therefore, it Is difficult to present a detailed assessment of the best approach for establishing and operating such a laboratory. Below, only some points that seem to apply to all countries and situations are summarized. 

A summary of the main Items of recommended facilities required for a service laboratory Is given here. Only a reminder on the essential features to be considered when a laboratory Is created are presented. Further details are given In the following chapters. 

The laboratory should have a minimal useful area of 10-12 square meters for each employee. If Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) facilities are envisaged, an air-conditioned computer room and a room for work stations should be made available. 

For countries In tropical regions, Che laboratory should be alr-condltloned. At least a part of the laboratory should be equipped to have a dry area, l.e a room with reduced humidity. 

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STL are accredited by the Department of Trade and Industry via the National Measurement Accreditation Scheme (NAMAS). This covers all aspects of laboratory operations, such as organization of the laboratory and methodology, equipment and staff training, quahty-control systems and storage of data. The company acquired the first accreditation in the UK for the analysis of organic compounds by GC-MS. It also operates appropriate procedures to conform with the Department of Health s Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) recommendations. 

In chapter 4.1 of the standard the requirements on the organization of the laboratory are described. 

Contamination of new samples by previously amplified genetic material can be a nightmare for people performing PCR routinely. Good organization of the laboratory and compliance to strict rules can prevent the occurrence of this contamination. It is better to be too hard on those, because once the contamination has happened, it is too late. Therefore, at least three different areas must be delimited in the laboratory, three separate rooms if this is possible ... 

The exact definition of good laboratory practice depends on who is defining it and for what purpose. A broad definition encompasses such issues as organization of the laboratory, management, personnel, facilities, equipment, operations, method validation, quality assurance, and record keeping. The goal is to certify that every... 

Nitrobenzene (and many other liquid organic compoimds containing nitrogen) is appreciably toxic and its vapour should not be allowed to escape into the atmosphere of the laboratory the delivery tube of the condenser should pass well into the mouth of the receiver flask. The liquid is also a skin poison if it Is accidentally spilled on the skin, it should be removed by washing with a litt e methylated spirit, followed by soap and warm water. 

The changes, however, are both numerous and significant. First of all, there is a change in the organization of the subject matter. For example, material formerly contained in the section entitled Analytical Chemistry is now grouped by operational categories spectroscopy electrolytes, electromotive force, and chemical equilibrium and practical laboratory information. Polymers, rubbers, fats, oils, and waxes constitute a large independent section. 

Agency. A second example of an external method of quality assessment is the voluntary participation of the laboratory in a collaborative test (Chapter 14) sponsored by a professional organization such as the Association of Official Analytical Chemists. Finally, individuals contracting with a laboratory can perform their own external quality assessment by submitting blind duplicate samples and blind standard samples to the laboratory for analysis. If the results for the quality assessment samples are unacceptable, then there is good reason to consider the results suspect for other samples provided by the laboratory. 

Another significant benefit of a LIMS is the improvement of the overall quaUty of the laboratory. In the case of a laboratory, quaUty is defined as satisfying customer needs in the areas of accuracy, reUabiUty, clarity, and timeliness of analytical information. LIMS can enhance quaUty in a number of ways, eg, in checking conformance to requirements, in organizing and prioritizing work to ensure timeliness, in measuring laboratory performance in areas of technical quaUty and efficiency so as to provide continuous improvement, and in helping the laboratory to communicate clearly, completely, and consistendy (16). 

Alcohols react with carboxylic acids to give esters, a reaction that is common in both the laboratory and living organisms. In the laboratory, the reaction can be carried out in a single step if a strong acid is used as catalyst. More frequently, though, the reactivity of the carboxylic acid is enhanced by first converting it into a carboxylic acid chloride, which then reacts with the alcohol. We ll look in detail at the mechanisms of these reactions in Chapter 21. 

Gangrade B. and Dominic C. (1985). Evaluation of the involvement of the vomeronasal organ in the pheromonal influences on the estrous cycle of the laboratory mouse. Anim Reprod Sci 8, 181-185. 

Mycobacteria are slow-growing organisms in the laboratory, they require special stains, special growth media, and long periods of incubation to isolate and identify... 

While these problems seem of immediate enough import to the lab manager, the economic impact of the laboratory s operations on the organization as a whole must be examined to assess the value to the organization of a capital investment to remedy these problems. 

At the end of the war, he returned to Munich as Associate Professor and Director of the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry. The Department was then under Richard Willstatter s direction, and Meyer occupied the same position as the one held for many years by Willstatter under Baeyer s leadership. He resumed his investigation on keto-enol tautomerism, and, in collaboration with H. Hopff, isolated by distillation the pure enol form of ethyl acetoacetate. Other work from the same period included an examination of the action of nitric acid on phenol and phenol ether (with W. Reppe and W. E. Elbers), and a study of narcosis (with H. G. Billroth)— an extension of his father s work. 

Briefly, the quality management system is a combination of quality management, quality control and quality assurance. Quality assurance and quality control are components of the laboratory s quality management system. There is often confusion over the meaning of quality control and quality assurance and regrettably they are often used interchangeably. This is possibly because some quality control and quality assurance actions are interrelated. The definition of the terms can be found in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Standard, ISO 9000 2005 [2],... 

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