CURRENT ISSUE | VOLUME 19 - ISSUE 5 | July/August 2026
COVER STORY
Treat Equipment Like a Strategy Not a Purchase
From Procurement to Retirement, Every Instrument Decision Shapes Lab Performance, Resilience, and Cost Control
Asset Management
For lab managers looking to modernize without disruption, successful integration depends on compatibility, communication, and good planning
Labs that adopt lifecycle thinking make better decisions across acquisition, maintenance, and retirement
Multi-site labs need clear data, flexible standards, and trusted local owners to manage equipment more effectively
Leadership and Staffing
Not every employee is ready for mentorship. Lab leaders need to recognize the signals, shift their approach, and create conditions where mentorship can succeed
Achieve the return on investment from hiring, onboarding, developing, and retaining the right staff
Lab managers can drive innovation by escaping the expert trap through strategic questioning and the "duct tape audit"
Updated
For managers ready to move beyond daily operations, Stephanie Whitehead’s story offers lessons on building influence, resilience, and executive-level perspective
Lab leaders can protect team progress by setting expectations early and addressing disruptive conflict before it shapes the culture
Traditional coaching advice ignores these brilliant but destructive staff, damaging lab culture and lab employee retention
Management Tips
Making progress is vital to lab staff motivation
Effective QC systems make compliance part of the workflow, not an added burden for staff to manage
Updated
Business Management
From ranking equipment needs to demonstrating ROI, lab managers must translate technical requests into business value to secure capital funding
Laboratory Technology
Modernize legacy LIMS data, maintain compliance, and transition from spreadsheets to scalable AI using active data governance models
