It doesn’t come as a surprise when we put forth the fact that lab space happens to be a very exciting opportunity. However, most of the labs happen to have very few opportunities to create the space that goes on to elevate the technical part, make the issue that the staff is facing right, and at the same time enable them to thrive in the ecosystem.
In order to take to the point advantage of all the skills, experience, as well as the knowledge that’s needed for a successful new build or may be a renovation project, lab managers should go on to create three different teams: one internal, which is for the lab, a second that goes on to bring other skills from within the greater organization; and a third that happens to bring experience from outside of the organization.
Getting the right people onto these teams, creating effective communication within as well as in between teams, and making use of all the relevant experience happen to be crucial to implementing lab design projects that are successful.
It is well to be noted that the lab team is generally led by the lab manager and also includes a section of staff across functions that go on to represent varied lab activities as well as experience levels. It is often seen that teams of four to seven work well together.
Lab staff happen to have the greatest knowledge pertaining to the needs of the lab space. They comprehend the science that the lab goes on to practice so as to fulfill its mission. They also gauge how the present space is and is not showing its contribution to the success of science.
It is indeed helpful for the lab managers to create a team of staff that can clearly go on to communicate the requirements of the lab, represent the rest of the staff in the most adequate manner, and at the same time, communicate with the other teams involved in the project at their level best.
The fact is that certainly there are crystal clear benefits in terms of involving scientists in the lab design project. Scientists happen to be data-driven, go on to often think logically, and are often good when it comes to generating loads of ideas.
But there also happen to be some issues when it comes to including scientists in lab design projects. They do not understand how facilities happen to work; they are unaware of the regulations; they are aware of just a narrow set of design options; and the fact of the matter is that most have no or limited experience as far as builds or renovations are concerned.
Making sure to put in place the best external lab design team
Most of the labs lack the expertise of architects, lab planners, lab designers, facility engineers, and construction professionals. The lab should consider networking to identify the most suitable providers for these kinds of needs. A successful strategy is to identify the first member of the external team who is pretty well known within the organization. The individual can go ahead and assist in networking so as to identify the additional skills required for the project. One of the advantages of forming an external team with individuals who have prior experience working together is their familiarity with each other’s work styles, their individual strengths, and the way they communicate.
Assembling the external team early is extremely essential. Once a project has a planning budget, it is crucial to bring-in expertise. A common mistake happens to delay bringing in outside voices until after some major decisions are made. This approach means that certain fundamental decisions are already made prior to the involvement of individuals with more expertise. This may result in the project getting stuck due to unfortunate choices.
Regardless of how the external team gets developed, it is crucial that they offer the necessary knowledge and understanding to successfully execute a build or renovation project. It is crucial that they happen to have relevant experience in lab design projects, demonstrate efficient collaboration, all of which would lead to completing their respective tasks at a reasonable cost.
A successful lab design project needs a successful lab
The point is that each of the three teams has to offer honest evaluations that happen to be based on their expertise, the ability to generate the right choices so as to address the needs of the project, and also engage in terms of clear and prompt communication with one and all who is associated with the project.
The teams have to cooperate in order to define the requirements of the lab. It is indeed crucial for the lab manager to aid the lab staff to differentiate the requirements from the wants as the project begins. Once the best set of alternatives as well as the decisions have been put in place, each of the teams continues to participate by way of full implementation of the project. The lab team would then be tracking the growth of the project against its objectives as well as milestones.
Making use of other skills from the larger organization
Most of the labs, for that matter, happen to be part of broader organizations, which happen to have a wealth of knowledge that can also contribute towards the success of the project.
Coming up with an organization-wide team that happens to have knowledge accessibility and has experience around safety, purchasing, quality, supply chain, etc., adds to the skill sets of the project. Depending on the organization, the team can be seen more as a consultant who happens to be available to answer certain sets of questions pertaining to the project.
Failure points In lab design
One has to take into consideration that not all lab design projects happen to be completely successful. They can be of immense learning as one can go on to identify some common issues that can very well plague the projects. One of the most common issues is the dearth of communication that happens to be effective. This can go on to take place if bad news hasn’t been delivered promptly, there are no proper communication channels that are followed or of the messages that are sent are unclear.
All said and done, coming up with a new lab space can indeed be a phenomenal experience for the lab and can go on to generate prominent benefits when it comes to the staff and also the mission of the lab.
