Tools of the Trade for Lab Managers

The 29^th Annual conference “Tools of the Trade” for the Association of Lab Managers will be occurring October 15-17, 2008 at the Conference Center at Waltham Woods, Waltham, MA. For the first time in the history of this conference, the event will be held in New England during the “leaf peeping” season close to all the cultural, historical and academic action of the area.

This conference promises to bring new management tools to everyone who attends. The workshops and conference cover a variety of topics of interest to all lab managers. And this year ALMA brings attendees a first - the opportunity to participate in team building activities where they will learn skills to share with colleagues back home-be sure to bring sneakers! There’s even a tour of a state of the art R&D facility, and for those craving a bit of culture, a reception at a local museum.

The Boston area is a hot bed for new ideas that we hope to share with you in the comfortable and beautiful setting of the Waltham Woods Conference Center, just off Rte. 95 in Waltham, MA. Don’t miss this opportunity to add to your “tool belt” and to network with other lab managers.

This year’s theme of “Tools of the Trade” promises to bring skills to the experienced as well as the inexperienced technical managers. Below is a list of the topics and speakers:

Communication Across Cultures. Mary Adams Viola, Tufts University.
Wait a Minute! Hear me out…. Daniel J. Schneck, Virginia Tech.
Going Paperless - Converting from Paper Forms to an Electronic Laboratory Notebook for Routine Analyses. Dale Seabrooke, Labtronics, Inc.
Results of Pilot Trial with Electronic Laboratory Notebooks, Norm Lucas, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
Becoming an Effective Mentor. John Ford, Project Solutions.
The Leadership Challenge: Getting Things Done in White Water. Samuel H. Liggero, AirPrint Networks.
Creating Innovative Space. Robin de la Parra, Millipore Corporation.
Can Anyone Document Processes? Scott Helmers, Harvard Computing Group, Inc.
Management the Hard Way…A Scientist in the King’s Robes. Mike Neag, ICI TechDirect.

Prior to the start of the conference, there will be multiple workshops giving managers the chance to learn “best practices” from experienced laboratory managers in a small classroom setting on the following subjects:

Applying Lean Principles in the Analytical Laboratory. Derek Lake and David Zoller, SABIC Innovative Plastics
Essentials of Laboratory Safety. Wayne Collins, Agilent
Leadership for the Twenty-First Century: What is Your Style? Alan Cabelly, Portland State University
Maximizing Efficiency and Efficacy in the Global Analytical Laboratory. Jan Damm and Alexander Debets, Organon
The Analytical Laboratory in a Regulated Environment. Tony Montana, Garden State Nutritionals
Practical Management of the Modern Analytical Laboratory. Claude Luchesi, Northwestern University
Talent Management in the Lab: How Do You Get the Most Out of Your Workers. Alan Cabelly, Portland State University
Influence Without Authority- So Logic Won’t Work…Now What Do You Do to Influence Difficult People? Mary Adams Viola, Gordon Institute, Tufts University

On the last day of the conference, there will be a three hour team building exercise, “Exploring the Dynamics of Teamwork” which will bring into action multiple concepts of project management: planning, implementing, resource management, communication, leadership, problem solving, conflict management, change management, execution and quality. Each attendee at the conference will have the opportunity to participate in three distinct team-oriented exercises during this session. At the end of the exercises, there will be a debriefing session to discover the lessons learned during the exercises and discussions focused on how these lessons can be applied back at work.

If you need more information and/or would like to register please go to www.labmanagers.org

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