Scientific breakthroughs in life-saving drugs are achieved within instrument laboratories – making it mission-critical to design those spaces in a way that inspires greatness. Efficiency and safety are fundamental to such spaces - aspects that are best attended to at the blueprint stage, to avoid expenditure on corrective measures at a later stage. Insufficient attention to design at the planning stage results in forced make-shift design solutions for laboratories, leading to wasted time, expenditure and compromised working conditions. The essential mix to achieving success involves three key factors –
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The efforts of scientists from the Research & Development and Quality Control departments
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The highly specialized equipment they use,
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A planned space that makes the workplace safe/reliable, efficient, and conducive to productivity, an often-overlooked aspect.
Each laboratory is configured to meet the needs of its specific purpose, user, and equipment. Therefore, the involvement and cooperation of specialized personnel are essential to achieve an effective laboratory design. At Godrej Interio, with our vast experience of providing laboratory solutions, we have drafted a set of considerations to ensure a safe working laboratory environment.
Location
Unplanned laboratories risk being short-sighted and inefficient in the long term. Therefore, the first design consideration is the location of the lab, which is pivotal to ensure effortless installation, access, and future modifications.
Layout
When planning a layout modification, key considerations regarding critical equipment should be incorporated. These include - the dimensions of the most extensive possible equipment while designing lab doors and corridors, ensuring that the lab benches are deep enough to contain the equipment, and anticipating future needs of the users.
Storage and selection of Worktops
Custom storage requirements demonstrate that one size doesn’t fit all. Since instrument labs house some of the most critical lab assets of companies, they need sturdy and well-designed benches and counters.
HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) of Instrument Labs
While designing an instrument laboratory, there are 5 key aspects of HVAC to consider –
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Airflow
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Ventilation
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Air temperature and humidity
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Room pressurization systems
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Requirements and operations
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MEP Services
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These services include Gas Distribution Systems, Waste Disposal systems, Electricity, Lighting, Fire Detection, Suppression Systems, and Security and Access Control.
The bottom line is that effective designing at the initial stages can go a long way in ensuring safety and efficiency in instrument laboratories. The absence of necessary design foresight has cost several establishments dearly, a risk that Godrej Interio, a one-stop destination for laboratory requirements, wants to mitigate by providing customized designs and solutions that comply with the highest degrees of safety requirements.
To learn more about Design Fundamentals for an Instrument Laboratory, download the whitepaper.
By Godrej Interio