When lab managers think about their responsibilities, troubleshooting equipment or inventory management often come to mind first. But there’s another side of the role that’s just as critical: lab operations. Lab ops is the invisible system of processes, maintenance, and logistics that ensures research can happen without interruption. Kelly Sullivan, PhD, global director of operations and labs at CIC Labs—as well as the keynote speaker at the upcoming 2026 Lab Manager Leadership Summit—describes lab ops as the backbone of lab productivity. In this article, she shares her perspective on what lab ops is, how it differs from lab management, and what effective lab ops looks like.
What is lab ops?
Lab operations—or “lab ops”—is often described as the behind-the-scenes work that enables science to happen. As Sullivan put it, lab ops is the “invisible hand” that keeps a laboratory running smoothly and allows scientists to focus on their work rather than the upkeep of the space. “They should be able to sit down at that biosafety cabinet every day and do their work and not be thinking about that piece of maintenance. . .It should just work.”
In practice, lab ops cover the management of the equipment and processes that a lab relies on to function. This includes procuring consumables, performing preventative maintenance on instrumentation and preparative equipment, maintaining safety and compliance standards, and developing and maintaining SOP documentation.
Sullivan is quick to point out that preventative maintenance is the “number one thing” in lab ops. In her academic training, she recalls rarely seeing incubators decontaminated unless something went wrong: “I don’t know if I ever saw the incubators deconned in my undergrad lab.” In contrast, industry labs shut down incubators regularly for heat decontamination and schedule routine maintenance. The difference is more than procedural—it reflects the higher stakes of industrial science. In academia, contamination might derail a graduate student’s thesis. In industry, the cost could be millions of dollars in lost progress toward a new drug.
How is lab ops different from lab management?
Though the terms are often used interchangeably, there’s a clear distinction between lab ops and lab management. It’s primarily a matter of scope. Lab management encompasses lab ops—equipment and process oversight—but also extends to team development, training, strategic decision-making, and broader organizational priorities.
In short, lab ops keep the systems and infrastructure functioning, while lab management ensures the people and processes tied to those systems are aligned and productive.
Lab ops, then, can be thought of as nested under lab management. But just as new lab managers don’t learn people leadership at the bench, they also don’t necessarily learn effective lab ops coordination there. Bench scientists are often insulated from the logistical realities of a functioning lab. Transitioning to a leadership role requires not only technical knowledge but also a steep learning curve in leadership, management, and operations.
What does successful lab ops look like?
If poor lab ops is obvious—delayed experiments, broken equipment, backordered supplies—then successful lab ops is nearly invisible. It is proactive rather than reactive. Preventative maintenance is performed on schedule, consumables arrive when they’re needed, and systems run in the background without requiring constant oversight.
As such, logistics and supply chain management are also at the heart of successful lab ops. Managers must know how quickly their lab runs through reagents and consumables, what their vendor options are, and how to forecast demand. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sullivan recalls struggling with shortages: “I couldn’t find 17-gallon sharps to save my life. . .You have to think like a manufacturer—[ask yourself, ]what’s my annual demand, what’s my price break, how much space does storage cost?” This kind of forward-thinking planning can prevent research delays when supply chains are under strain.
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Redundancy is another key feature of strong lab ops. Invoking Murphy’s law, Sullivan is adamant that managers should always prepare for failures: “Something’s going to go wrong. Always be thinking about backups.” Even when finances prevent the purchase of backup equipment, managers should build partnerships with nearby core facilities or universities to ensure alternatives are available if something goes down.
Automation also plays a growing role in successful lab ops. By digitizing and automating routine processes, managers can reduce cognitive load, streamline communication, and prevent critical tasks from slipping through the cracks. Sullivan recommends using ticketing systems, QR codes, and simple software tools: “Sometimes you want to be very personable and say, ‘My door is always open,’ but that’s not efficient. Get a ticketing system.” She describes a system in her lab where staff can scan a QR code on a piece of equipment and add a short note describing what needs done with it. That creates a “ticket” which is added to her queue of work. Automating workflows like maintenance requests or consumables tracking not only saves time but also creates a reliable record.
Key takeaways
Effective lab operations coordination transforms labs from chaotic collections of equipment and people into reliable engines of scientific discovery. As Sullivan’s perspective shows, effective lab ops are proactive, invisible, and grounded in logistics and planning.
Ultimately, lab managers should focus on the infrastructure and processes that allow science to happen and recognize that keeping a lab running smoothly is as critical to success as the experiments themselves.
Kelly Sullivan will share more of her expertise as a keynote speaker at the 2026 Lab Manager Leadership Summit in Phoenix, AZ—an opportunity for managers to deepen their understanding of the invisible systems that power every lab.
This article was created with the assistance of generative AI and has undergone editorial review.
