Lab relocations are incredibly impactful events that many laboratory teams will undergo at least once, if not multiple times. The preparation spans years and requires a herculean effort. Risks are high and many, including being over budget, significant instrument downtime, and a poorly planned space. However, there are many strategies lab leaders can develop to tackle the challenges that arise and ensure an efficient relocation.
Using tools with purpose
Relocations involve many different internal and external stakeholders. To approach this intricate challenge, split the overall project into subprojects where it makes sense. By separating the components, you can be better organized and more effective. Use a variety of different tools and software, rather than trying to make one tool work for everything. For example, a Gantt Chart is effective for tracking timelines and milestones, but not as a cost comparison tool.
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Set the standard on stakeholder feedback
Throughout the entirety of the project, it is imperative to gather detailed stakeholder requirements to successfully design a new lab space that accommodates current and future needs. When requests are vague, stakeholders will likely return similarly vague responses. By providing detailed and exact instruction, the information required will come back in the form that is desired (e.g. a department’s forecasted square footage needs for the next three years versus “the department is expected to expand”). With more ambiguous answers, assumptions then need to be made.
Minimize complications with inventory and equipment
Ensure the right equipment is purchased with enough lead time and installations are scheduled for operations to continue as soon as possible. Request equipment wish lists from departments and review their specifications to verify the new lab can support these items. Determine areas where equipment can be shared between departments to cut down on costs and save space. It may be beneficial to purchase equipment early and ship it to a third-party warehouse. This strategy could potentially lock in larger savings if the cost of storage is significantly less than the cost of purchasing equipment much earlier, such as in a prior year, to avoid annual price increases. Another benefit to this strategy is that problematic lead times are avoided by obtaining equipment well in advance. If pursuing this route, communicate the strategy with your vendors so they can delay installations and warranty start dates to the date of arrival at your new facility rather than at the third-party warehouse. This assures that if there are any issues with the equipment during installation, the equipment is still covered by the vendor as if it was delivered straight to the new facility.
Inventory will need to be purchased to stock the new lab, and perhaps even a new inventory system will need to be implemented. Before moving, take stock of which items are being used in the current lab space and in what frequency. Rely on lab staff for this as they are the ones using the inventory day-to-day. It can be helpful and cost-efficient to order extra quantities when you first move into the new lab space. Typically, the first bulk order is the most discounted due to the quantity of items being ordered and any applicable promotional deals for new labs from suppliers. Make sure there is a system in place from the start to track inventory usage over time.
Be aware of local regulations
Permits are a necessity when building a new lab space but can lead to significant consequences if done wrong. It is difficult to stay up to date with the numerous city, state, and country regulations surrounding lab spaces, to know which permits are needed, and to understand how to fill out those permit applications. A great resource to use for detailed information is LabOps Unite, a global community of lab operations professionals. Many members have been involved in lab relocations, contain a wealth of information, and are willing to share their recent experiences. However, be sure to reach out to the permitting departments themselves for lead times, as those are constantly changing.
Build a relocation strategy
A relocation strategy builds the foundation of the move. The relocation strategy consists of the structure of the relocation, the timeline, and the type of involvement in the relocation itself. To identify the right relocation strategy, understand what the organization values. If the organization values minimizing lab downtime above all else, a weekend relocation will make more sense as it utilizes non-business days. It may be worthwhile to also Increase the involvement of the lab staff to decrease the amount of lab shutdown days. Make sure to analyze different relocation strategies and identify the pros and cons of each. Best practices and recommendations from other professionals can also be found on the LabOps Unite platform—there is an entire post dedicated to different move strategies and people’s experiences.
Delegate tasks during the relocation
When the time finally comes to physically move the lab, prepare and delegate so that you, as the project lead, are available to solve unexpected issues. Assign the lab staff the responsibility of packing and unpacking their personal items. For specialized instruments, it may also be advantageous to set lab staff “superusers”—those with extensive technical experience—as point of contacts for specific vendors. Superusers can provide technical guidance to the vendor during instrument installation to ensure correct setup and necessary configurations. Depending on the scale of the relocation, a lab ops lead can also be designated as a point of contact.
Lab relocations require plenty of coordination and preparation, but by starting the project planning process early and being very well organized, a successful relocation can be achieved.
