S - L A B CO R E F U N D E R

LABORATORY EQUIPMENT,
CONSUMABLES AND SAMPLES
ROTHAMSTED RESEARCH, HARPENDEN, HERTS, AL5 2JQ
A UNIQUE EVENT ON JUNE 7 2016
is being organised by S-Lab in the new Conference Centre at the BBSRC funded
Rothamsted Research site. The day will begin with plenary presentations of interest to all
and will proceed with 6-8 parallel streams covering a wide variety of topics (more details
overleaf). An exhibition area and tours of Rothamsted labs and facilities, e.g. plant growth
rooms, will also be available.

LABORATORY EQUIPMENT
This part of the event is relevant to all buyers, suppliers and users of autoclaves, drying
cabinets, growth chambers, incubators, microscopes, ovens, sequencers and other common
laboratory equipment. It will cover topics such as energy efficiency, maintenance and
management, procurement, total cost of ownership, training and value for money. There will
also be sessions on sharing of equipment, based on the experience of sector consortia.

SAMPLE MANAGEMENT AND STORAGE

This part of the event is relevant to biobanks, research laboratories and other settings where
biological samples are being stored for long periods, especially in frozen form. Sessions will
cover sample management systems; sample labelling and tracking; equipment purchasing,
management and maintenance; sample containers and racking; monitoring and alarming;
energy efficiency and other topics. (see overleaf). The event will also
launch the S-Lab Cold Storage Good Practice Principles and supporting
materials that are being developed with key stakeholders.

CONSUMABLES AND CHEMICALS

This part of the event will particularly focus on chemical management,

SUPPORTING LABORATORY IMPROVEMENT

in universities and research institutes is S-Labs main task but it has
growing commercial and public sector involvement. S-Lab outputs include
assessment tools, benchmarking, cases and guidance documents.
www.effectivelab.org.uk

CONFERENCE SESSIONS WILL COVER TOPICS SUCH AS:

Should there be more organisational policies and standard operating procedures for
equipment and sample storage and, if so, how can they be developed?
What are the next steps for equipment sharing?
What data should be collected on equipment and samples and how is it best managed?
What are the true total costs of ownership of equipment and sample storage and how can
energy, floor space, indirect cooling and other indirect costs be calculated to achieve this?
What are the key procurement issues for equipment and sample storage?
What factors influence the performance, energy use, reliability and longevity of laboratory
equipment and cold storage devices?
What are the key features that buyers should be looking for in equipment and cold storage
devices and how can the performance of different models be compared?
Should more be done to raise staff and student awareness of equipment and sample
storage issues? e.g. induction and exit procedures, training.
What are the best responsibility structures, and supportive operating practices, for quality
assurance of all equipment and storage activities?
What are the optimum maintenance and monitoring arrangements for cold storage devices?
Should as many cold storage devices as possible be co-located to minimise indirect cooling
and space costs and maximise resilience through sophisticated alarming and responses?
How can optimal use be made of sample storage space? E.g. space-efficient racking and
container forms, sharing, and other means.
What are the best methods of labelling and tracking materials and samples contained in cold
storage and what is the potential of RFID?
Are materials and samples being stored at the lowest possible temperature and can ULT
freezers have -70 as their default setting?
Should more be done to maximise the resilience of sample storage? E.g. mirroring important
samples at two locations, robust and tested contingency plans.
What are the most effective approaches to alarming and monitoring?
See www.effectivelab.org.uk Events section for latest agenda and other details.