Laboratories relocation are complicated and need a deep understanding of particular purposes, needs and risks that come with them. Their requirement depends upon the specific industry and activity. All of them works differently according to the customer requirement. There are many equipments available for different types of sampling and techniques. Moving them becomes a lot more complex as they have numerous interconnected activities. You need to overlook all the process going on and future projects.
Understanding all the equipments are necessary before moving them as their working can be affected if they are not packed and moved well. No one including laboratory owner or workers can move them by themselves and they will need an extra hand in handling those equipments. Only professional movers and packers would know the correct way of moving them but with a little help of the laboratory personals. There are many things you would need to know if you are thinking about relocating your laboratory to a new location. Here are some things that might help you through the whole process that what goes during a lab relocation.
Understand the laboratory types
There are many different types of laboratories for different purposes. One must know about these laboratories so that they know what their lab comes under and accordingly the moving company can work. and Few are listed down below.
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Biosafety laboratories
Their purpose is the containment of some potential harmful biological agents. There are different combination of methods, equipment and facilities for the containment.
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Analytical and quality laboratories
In these laboratories, materials are tested for their quality assurance. They will test certain specifications and impurities in the sample. They are also helpful in production and supply chain.
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Clinical and medical laboratories
These laboratories test your biological samples such as blood, urine, tissues and other samples. They are used to know the medical condition of the patient. There will be samples, equipments, etc. that all you will be moving.
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Production laboratories
Different things are produced in this laboratory such as medicines, instruments, etc. It is sometimes harmful towards containment and air quality and moving their equipments will be a tough task.
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Research and development laboratories
Different research projects happen under these laboratories.
Make an inventory
Any work in this world begins with planning. The relocation process needs to be planned very efficiently especially when you are moving laboratories. There are many heavy and sensitive instruments, toxic materials, chemicals, samples, etc. that needs to be taken care of. You must make an inventory of all the different things to get yourself organized on what and how to pack and move. For instance, make a checklist of all the instruments to be moved separately from the checklist of samples.
Documentation of work
Document your ongoing day to day process of the laboratory. If there is any existing or ongoing research project, then you must document it as it will be stopped for a few days or weeks. Those documentations will help you in continue the research to be finished. If you have clinical laboratory, be sure that you have documented all the samples and their results. You can either document it in hard copies or you may use cloud storage services for protecting them. Cloud storage will be better as you would not have to worry about moving all the files to new location also.
Finish your process before moving
Laboratory work is never ending and even if it stops for a day, it has impact upon a lot of things. It is better to complete your work before moving out instead of stopping it. You never know if the sample could get deteriorated or contaminated while moving all the laboratory things. Even if you are stopping your work in middle of it, them make sure that you are taking necessary precautions against any hazards.
Get permission
To develop an experiment something in a lab, you need to take permission from your state or laboratory associations. Research about all the protocols that your new place has or whatever you need while moving your stuff.
Managing toxic materials
Who knows your laboratory materials better than you? No matter what type of laboratory it is, there will always be some sort of toxic materials present that might affect the health of living beings or the condition of other substances. You might not want that they get exposed to anything and hence managing them well must be your first and foremost priority when you are thinking about relocating.
Packing things up
Packing your laboratory is going to be a very difficult task as you will have to look through each and every small thing so that no mishap is there. Ask your moving company to arrange the best quality materials and all the necessary things. Do not overpack anything and put the samples, chemicals, instruments, etc. as they must be kept. Try to pack your equipments the same way they came to your lab. Try to find their original containers only as there is no better way to move them. label all the boxes and envelopes and do not forget to mention hazardous on boxes that contain toxic materials.
Moving laboratory
The first thing you need is to hire a suitable packers and movers for you. you must only hire the moving companies Bangalore to Kolkata experienced in moving laboratories. There are many things you need to be sure about before moving out. You have to make necessary precautions yourself as well as you must ask your moving companies to take them also.
- There must be protective gears that must be used by the professionals to protect themselves and others from getting exposed.
- Certain lab supplies, for instance, live animals, chemicals, waste material, toxic materials, etc. must be handled carefully.
- You will need some particular containers, protective equipments, temperature regulated cabins, etc. to move them from one place to another.
- Take a look at how movers are working, you must ensure that they are not just stuffing things up in the truck and make sure there is proper space between everything.
- Make sure there is someone available during the transit to make sure nothing is going wrong.
Read: what are the average packers and movers charges in electronic city bengaluru
Arriving the destination
After arriving your destination, you must ensure that you movers are unloading each and everything carefully. Calibrate your equipments and get quality assurance at your new place to get started with working there.