Every day when a lab manager, research scientist or other science professional walks into their facility, they need to trust their tools and instruments to perform precisely as expected—and meet compliance guidelines. Whether they’re picking up a pipette or opening a freezer, reliable equipment is the foundation for success in laboratories across the world.

The growth of device usage requires organizations to protect these assets, ensuring they are properly maintained and calibrated as well as compliant. Increasing device use also spurs biopharmaceutical companies to look for additional lab and resource space. This helps companies reduce device duplication, particularly in newer research facilities built on flexible, lean processes that enable collaborative discovery and research.

Ensuring science professionals have equipment they can trust
From corporate labs to university centers to healthcare facilities, researchers in biopharmaceuticals and life sciences rely on instruments and devices as a critical component of the work they do every day. Science professionals need to trust that their equipment, from pipettes and centrifuges to scales and freezers, is accurate and reliable. Unreliable tools can lead to unreliable results.

No matter how basic or complex the equipment might be, device failure directly impacts quality and research results. For example, the qPCR process used in DNA research relies on precise pipetting to yield exact calculations. Pipetting inaccuracy of as little as five percent can result in a two nanograms per milliliter variation that becomes amplified throughout the reaction, leading to hard-to-interpret results.

Likewise, improper or inadequate calibration or maintenance can have a direct and substantial impact on the organization itself. These actions can lead to increased overall costs, increased downtime, unnecessary experiment repetition and even damage to other lab equipment. Poorly maintained or calibrated equipment can also impair an organization’s ability to efficiently plan for and incorporate equipment availability in scientific workflows.

Understanding the benefits of full life cycle equipment management
Taking control of a valuable resource, like lab equipment, with proper, compliant and proactive management and maintenance offers several advantages:

• Smoother operations;
• Better scheduling of research workflows;
• More efficient and productive use of equipment;
• Assurance of regulatory compliance; and
• Full insight into equipment needs across the organization.

The state of a lab’s equipment can make the difference between a scientist who must spend time on instrument or device set up, maintenance and tracking, and a scientist who can walk into the lab confident they can maximize valuable research time. 

Labs often make use of specialized management solutions, like HR to information technology, as powerful tools to streamline lab operations and yield better scientific results. Likewise, a full life cycle equipment management solution can offer those same operational benefits.


The challenges of managing laboratory equipment
Equipment is everywhere and nowhere
Non-coordinated, localized purchasing is a challenge many industries face. In the scientific space, equipment purchasing and selection is frequently performed by scientists who make decisions driven by the unique needs of their research. 

Inventory management in a laboratory environment involves much more than simply managing assets. Instead, it demands a strategic approach that considers the full equipment life cycle, from purchase and installation to replacement and decommissioning. In between, life cycle management includes a range of needs, including qualification and validation, preventive maintenance, routine calibration and warranty repair.

Without a structured solution that fully accounts for the entire equipment life cycle, labs can run into a range of issues, like unexpected downtime or noncompliant documentation, that siphon time, money and other resources away from science. Poor tracking can also lead to issues. For example, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it became even more important for labs to replenish stocks quickly and seamlessly as they raced to create treatments and vaccines. A lab that doesn’t properly track necessary equipment will also likely see increases in incremental spend as it is forced to replace a lost instrument or device.

Diversity of manufacturers and suppliers
Another factor that layers complexity into end-to-end equipment management is the sheer diversity of sources for instruments and devices. Lab managers and scientists can choose from a dizzying array of products, including basic laboratory equipment, manufactured and distributed by thousands of suppliers across the globe.

The choice landscape is magnified as a laboratory may stock many different types of equipment from dozens of different brands and providers. For example, a single lab might use multiple versions of the same device, like an electronic scale or incubator. That one type of device might be supplied by as many as three or more manufacturers—all with different processes for documenting verification, as well as different service contracts, warranties and policies for calibration processes.

One key challenge for labs managing their own equipment is that in-house personnel must be trained to maintain and calibrate devices from multiple suppliers. Managing various trainings can be time-consuming and difficult or virtually impossible to schedule.

Ensuring compliance
Calibration is essential for every laboratory to achieve compliant processes and results that are reliable and repeatable. For basic equipment, like pipettes or centrifuges, the management and documentation of product calibration can be fragmented and complex.

Managing the compliance component of a laboratory can create risk for organizations doing research that’s subject to regulations, whether it’s a pharmaceutical company developing a new vaccine or a lab researching innovative gene therapies. Labs within industries subject to these types of regulations are responsible for creating auditable records to show compliance with internal or external guidelines. Routine calibration of equipment and instruments is critical, as is proper documentation of the process to ensure results are compliant, accurate and repeatable.

As a result, the lab must begin the document validation process as soon as equipment is delivered. It’s critical to include a process to document, plan and schedule regular calibration that aligns with regulations and/or supplier recommendations.

Many instruments and devices used in the lab must be calibrated by trained, accredited technicians. Performing calibrations through in-house personnel can create risk if staff members aren’t properly trained or aware of the documentation required for calibration.

Maintaining and servicing equipment
Along with factors like compliance and calibration, labs must consider equipment and instrument maintenance an integral part of full life cycle management. For example, maintenance that follows manufacturers’ recommendations is key for providing reliable tools to science professionals. Warranty management is a consideration as well. Organizations need to consider not only whether the equipment is under warranty but also who is responsible for managing the warranty.
 
Service providers are often capable of maintaining a range of models across different industries. However, not every service provider covers every service that might be needed for full life cycle management. For example, some may offer only repair and maintenance service, while others can provide a wider range of services, such as calibration.

Labs should also consider the location where a service provider will work on equipment. Some third-party providers work strictly offsite, requiring the lab to schedule and coordinate maintenance as well as deal with the potential for longer downtimes. Onsite services, in which the provider comes directly to the lab, can reduce or eliminate the need to recruit, hire and train an in-house service staff. This type of service also eliminates downtime due to transport to an offsite maintenance facility.

In addition, asset management tools can streamline service and maintenance. In some labs, equipment is considered an asset management challenge. They might purchase asset management software and add it to their organization’s information management systems platforms.

Full equipment life cycle management goes beyond treating instruments and devices as assets—an efficient process for managing equipment instead requires an integration of tools, processes and personnel. When these three components are considered in a holistic way, labs can get more value out of their equipment. And it often takes more than a software program to pull those three components together. 

The advantages of outsourced life cycle equipment management solutions
One way for laboratories to protect their assets and ensure compliance is by contracting with a life cycle equipment management service. Depending on a lab’s needs, it’s possible to find one company with end-to-end solutions or one that provides specific services that can help maximize an organization’s resources. It’s also critical to work with a partner whose services cover equipment in every stage of the workflow.
Comprehensive services that cover all facets of equipment management provide an ideal solution for labs. These services would include:

• Installation and validation of new equipment;
• Complete standardized and customized calibration services;
• Preventative maintenance and repair services;
• Warranty management;
• Process consulting to fully integrate and optimize these services; and
• Onsite support option to facilitate client equipment information services as well as service call and vendor management.

Providers able to provide a one-stop-shop offer the complete scope of services, including access to a wide range of products from trusted manufacturers and the option to place expert onsite personnel to ensure every need in the facility is met. The full-service provider will also offer flexibility as well as scalability, which is increasingly important for increasingly fast development timelines.

Labs should also consider the technical expertise of a potential services partner. A provider with in-depth technical knowledge of a laboratory’s type of life science can provide more targeted insight into solutions that can streamline and perhaps even customize equipment solutions.

Also consider the solution providers’ ability to provide accredited services, like ISO 17025-certifed service centers and technician teams. Experienced life cycle equipment management providers who can combine ISO and GLP quality standards with working relationships across a variety of original equipment manufacturers can help ensure reliable, accurate equipment is available on demand.

There’s another essential factor when considering outsourced equipment management: selecting a provider that protects the lab from risks like noncompliance and regulatory issues. This can be especially important in an increasingly global environment in which labs might work under multiple local jurisdictions, each with its own unique regulations. This demands deep regulatory knowledge that can cross country boundaries, as well as assurances of regionally compliant management, documentation and validation of calibration and repair issues.

In addition, labs should consider whether a full lifetime equipment management provider can empower the laboratory with connected lab technologies. This forward-looking management environment can maximize the value of lab equipment and data with devices. For example, connected lab capabilities can standardize data formats and connections to work with all laboratory devices, management systems and equipment management service providers, as well as equipment suppliers and e-commerce portals.

The connected lab concept can improve the value of equipment throughout its life cycle, from the automation of installation management steps to workflow management to scheduling/availability issues. Connected devices also provide advantages like auto replenishment of consumables or data that indicate a device needs maintenance before it fails.

Manage equipment for the full life cycle —efficiently and effectively
A single-source equipment solutions provider can be an invaluable partner, with the resources and expertise to help laboratory teams:

• Maximize the value and availability of lab equipment;
• Garner value from lower-cost equipment;
• Ensure crucial compliance and calibration issues are fully, reliably and routinely addressed;
• Create an effective framework that provides properly trained and scheduled maintenance and repair resources and processes to keep all equipment running properly; and
• Protect lab operations—particularly in preventing scientists and lab techs from having to engage in complex and time-consuming equipment management tasks.

From purchase to calibration to replacement, an outsourced life cycle equipment management service can be a crucial partner, able to empower researchers to do what they do best: science. 

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Rohit Shroff is Senior Vice President of Avantor’s Global Lab Products group. He is an experienced life science business leader with more than 12 years in product management, marketing, strategy, sales development and innovation. He leads Avantor’s lab products portfolio and critical workflows functions in both Americas and Europe regions. Prior to joining Avantor, Rohit held leadership positions within the life science industry, including Tecan Group & Nestle.